Tanks in Garages?

[AndyH5512]

I am setting up a frag tank, and was curious to know if anyone has had any success in placing tanks in their garages. I also posted this under the coral prop section, however I wanted to see what my fellow Central Floridians thought. I would obviously need a chiller. For now, the garage is not air conditioned. Does anyone have any experience with similar conditions? Thanks.

Andy

 

[cstires]

I have my refugium in the garage. I haven't had any issues with it, and I am running a chiller.

 

[lifesworksataol]

i think it just wouldnt be worth it. that is if you plan on selling frags. the cost to run the chiller would be very costly. compared to the frags growth wouldnt be worth it. its way to early for me. i hope this all sounds right. :-D

 

[dugg]

My tank is in a room with no A/C. I run a 1/4hp chiller on a 30g tank, and it kicks on and runs about every 20 minutes. I also run fans in the canopy and one on the sump, and evaporate 2 1/2 gallons per day. It all runs fine, but it is a ton of extra work because of the evaporation, and the chiller costs a small fortune to run. I haven't checked it out, but i would guess that the chiller is costing me $60 a month or maybe a little more to run. That adds up to $720 + per year, so i would think for a frag tank, you would spend your profits on electricity.

 

[AndyH5512]

Thanks for the input so far, please keep it coming if you have experience.

The reason I am considering the garage is due to the lack of space. The frag tank is 6' x 2'. However, if it is going to cost that much in electricty (on top of what everything else already associated with running a system costs), I will find room inside for it.

I cant wait to get it started. I have everything except for the pupms, and we still have to build s stand also.

 

[JUICE!]

You'll need one heck of a chiller to keep a big tank cool in your garage. It would probably be more cost effective to insulate and air condition your garage. I turned a screen porch into an extra room a while ago and added vents and extended duct work into the porch from the main house, put up wood frame walls with insulation and double paned windows, etc.....

I kept a 180G with 3x400W Metal halides in the extra room alond with a 55G freshwater tank and didn't use a chiller. The power bill was about the same and the extra room stayed the same temperature as the main house. I did put a 4" inlet and exhaust duct to cool the lights. It drew in air from outside, across the halides and back outside powered by a snail fan hooked to a thermostat. You could do the same thing in your garage, but you'd need to make sure your A/C unit was rated for the extra cubic footage.

That tank stayed up for about 5 years. I didn't build the room for the tank...I just wanted an extra room. The tank came shortly after the room was paid off.

~D

 

[JUICE!]

by the way.....did you know that the smallest wall a/c unit you can buy at wal-mart has a 1/4 horsepower compressor?

 

[lifesworksataol]

yea if you had a window in your garage you could chill the room with a window unit

 

[AndyH5512]

I was thinking about the A/C route as well. There is no window in the garage, so that would make for a real mess I think. I will more than likely just place it in the house to alleviate headaches and insane power bills.

Your build of the extra room sounds nice, Juicey. I like the fan idea.

 

[mrcrab]

My 345 is in the garage but I insulated the attic, had the garage door replaced with a 2" foam insulated one and installed a larger a/c unit for that side of the house.

 

[JUICE!]

My father does a lot of residential addition and renovation designing for homeowners. That made the task a lot easier. Like Mrcrab mentioned, air conditioning a garage isn't that big of a task. especially if you don't have windows. The Garage door and attic would be the only places you would need to insulate. If your central a/c unit is big enough, you could just add an extra duct and vent to the system. It could be done pretty cheaply, but if you wanted to be able to use the garage door you would have to replace it.

Putting the tank in your house would be the best bet. You can still do the same thing with the lighting on a tank inside. The snail fan can be bought from home depot and the inlet for the fan fits the 4" dryer hose. You could draw air out of the attic and the pump it back into the attic. You would get better results as far as tank temperature by drawing in air from the house and pumping it in the attic, but then your a/c cost would rise. It's very affective, and fairly quiet. Much quieter than a chiller.

What I was thinking earlier when I mentioned the walmart wall a/c units is.........why does a 1/4 horse chiller cost so much when it has the same basic guts as a $99 wall unit?

Kinda makes me feel like someone is stealing from me!

 

[tricky]

Not soure if you ever park your car in the garage, but do not consider this if you do. I have a fried that had a sump in the gargae that had a severe tank wipeout from the exhaust fumes of that quick come and go each day.

 

[AndyH5512]

Thats a good point about the compressors, Juicey. You know the markup on this hobby is insane.

Tricky, I wouldnt have room to park the car in the garage (I dont already, really, LOL). However I had thought of the exhaust as well as the salt air corroding my car over time.

Looks like ease of overall install and upkeep will win over saving space inside the house. No big deal, I will just be able to stare at it more often, LOL.

 

[surfjeepzx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11055877#post11055877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dugg
My tank is in a room with no A/C. I run a 1/4hp chiller on a 30g tank, and it kicks on and runs about every 20 minutes. I also run fans in the canopy and one on the sump, and evaporate 2 1/2 gallons per day. It all runs fine, but it is a ton of extra work because of the evaporation, and the chiller costs a small fortune to run. I haven't checked it out, but i would guess that the chiller is costing me $60 a month or maybe a little more to run. That adds up to $720 + per year, so i would think for a frag tank, you would spend your profits on electricity.

Why don't you get a window shaker ac unit? Even a big'n would cost less than that to run.

 

[dugg]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11091849#post11091849 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by surfjeepzx
Why don't you get a window shaker ac unit? Even a big'n would cost less than that to run.

The window in this room is over my front porch, so the condensation drain would be an issue, but the reason i have my office and tank in an unairconditioned room to start with, is because i have lots of pins holding my right shoulder together, and air conditioning makes them ache.

 

[JUICE!]

I hear you there! I have bad nerved damage and a bunch of shrapnel in my shoulder, back and legs...winter is my enemy! A/c isn't too bad so long as I keep warm. You could, however, knock out the "O" in the drain on the window unit and just run a pvc tube through the porch onto the ground. I feel you on the pain though. I eat Vicadin like candy and it still doesn't help much.

~D

 

[dugg]

Vicadin is candy lol. I don't use it unless i have to, but i have had a script for Demerol for over 20 years now. Pain medications only make it so you don't care if it hurts, they don't stop the pain. I have better things to do with my life then to sit on the couch and drool on myself for now anyway lol. Ibuprofen actually stops pain better then presciption pain meds do.

By the way Juicey, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.