Keeping 35 gallon in garage

[vincemo22]

Who currently keeps an aquarium in their garage? Thinking about setting up a frag tank in the garage but my garage has no ventilation and I don't own a chiller. Is there even a chance the temp stays at a reasonable level?
Thanks!

 

[laserjim]

Who currently keeps an aquarium in their garage? Thinking about setting up a frag tank in the garage but my garage has no ventilation and I don't own a chiller. Is there even a chance the temp stays at a reasonable level?
Thanks!

Put a thermometer in your garage. Will tell you all u need to know. In mine it would boil in a couple hours .lol

 

[vincemo22]

ha so I guess that's one for bad idea. I figured as much but didnt know if anyone had any ideas or success with chillers, etc.

 

[bwhit1406]

My mixing station stays in the low 80's with the lid off in the summer and requires a heater in winter in my garage.

 

[vincemo22]

How many gallons is your mixing station? 35 gallon tank will prob absorb heat much quicker than larger volumes.

 

[TURKLET0N]

I was just at Bobbyv's and he has a frag tank in his garage with a chiller. It seems to be working really well. Without a chiller or air conditioning to your garage I doubt you would be able to have a tank in there.

 

[laserjim]

If you have a big enough chiller, you can put in there no problem

 

[BobbyV]

I experimented, without a chiller and only fans running, temperature rose to 84 degrees. But at night the temperature actually rose. (You would think the opposite.)

Keep in mind the coral you also tend to keep.

Zoa's as we know can be more tolerant of higher temperature swings.

There is a very popular Zoa Collector/Seller in South Florida who keeps a tank in the garage and he says it peaks at 87 and his zoas do fine. I would paste the thread, but it wasn't stated on RC. Google: "Zoa's and high temperature." Maybe you will stumble across it like I did.

Chillers are expensive and be prepared for them to add about $50 - $75 a month to your electric bill if continuously running in the garage. (I am running a 1/3 HP.)

I would suggest you setting one up without a chiller and fans and see if some zoa frags tolerate it and keep us posted on your findings.

I have some really nice SPS, Zoa's, Chalice & Rainbow Acan's in my system, so I am a bit too chicken to try it.

If you do go with a chiller, make sure to buy some extra fuses for the chiller when they blow. You can buy them on EBAY 5 for $5.

I wish you good success, if you go this route. Setting up new tanks are always fun. (I hope you stay within your budget .. .. .. )

 

[BobbyV]

Pictures and graphs always help.

Chillers work awesome. (If you don't mind paying for awesome. I wish I didn't have to.)

You can see where I did a 70% water change a few days ago.

What is interesting the water itself wasn't super warm - but it was filled up in the garage and was mixing for about two hours. (interesting)



You can see how many times my chiller turns on and off. (Hope that fuse keeps up the good work!)

Also note, maybe the temp increase was when I left the garage door open. 6pm coming home from work doing random stuff in the garage.

 

[bwhit1406]

How many gallons is your mixing station? 35 gallon tank will prob absorb heat much quicker than larger volumes.

Each container is about 30 gallons, but i am only running a small pump to mix salt and not lights or a return pump. Like others have said Chiller is a must for stability, just dont get forget about the heaters for winter time.

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[cprice]

I keep my 80g frag/fuge tank in my garage without a chiller or A/C. I have about 130 total gallons in the garage and a 150g display tank in the living room behind it. With half in the garage and half in the house, my tank goes between 77 and 80. I have a fan on the DT that comes on when the tank hits 80 and it drops it to 79 within 90 minutes. Works great for me!




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[vincemo22]

Thanks for all the great advice! I might give it a go!