aquarium in garage
- Thread starter Rossy
- Start date
Winter: insulate the garage, add more insulation to the tank, and run heaters on the tank. Rugs can help insulate the floor if it's concrete. I would not recommend using space heaters to the garage or routing HVAC there unless you have plans for the garage to be something more than it is.
Summer: chillers, aerators, bags of ice, fans, run the water uncovered where possible to encourage evaporation, add water routinely. Block off light into the garage during the day to reduce heat accumulation and consider using large fans to vent heat from the garage at night. If the floor is concrete, it's likely the coolest part of the garage, so remove the rugs.
Of course the species need to be capable of withstanding some high temps and low oxygen conditions if the temps get too high, and they also may need to be able to withstand low temps if they get too low.
Feeding regimens need to accommodate different metabolic rates if the temps vary too much.
Summer: chillers, aerators, bags of ice, fans, run the water uncovered where possible to encourage evaporation, add water routinely. Block off light into the garage during the day to reduce heat accumulation and consider using large fans to vent heat from the garage at night. If the floor is concrete, it's likely the coolest part of the garage, so remove the rugs.
Of course the species need to be capable of withstanding some high temps and low oxygen conditions if the temps get too high, and they also may need to be able to withstand low temps if they get too low.
Feeding regimens need to accommodate different metabolic rates if the temps vary too much.
Something to really think if its really worth it, could get costly in winter and deadly to fish in summer with high heat stress.
I keep tanks in the garage. The water will get pretty warm in the summer like 93F. You will need to run a few air pumps to aerate your tank to keep the oxygen moving. In the winter you need to figure out how to keep the tank from being too cold.
Hello; I had a basement garage in a house. One thing I did during the winter was to hang tarps to enclose and area. I had my tanks inside that area. That way heat lost when the garage door opened was reduced.
I found that weight at the bottom of the tarps was needed as the tarp would move too much each time the big door opened. I used lengths of fencing top rail. This had the advantage in that the tarp could be rolled up out of the way during warm weather or any time open access was needed. I left them rolled up and tied off in the summer. There was a difference in the temp inside the enclosure. Depending on how the garage is made, it may be necessary to block off at the top. My basement garage had open spaces at the top along the floor joists.
I was lucky in that the house had an oil furnace inside the area enclosed. The heat ducts were insulated but some heat came off the unit into the basement. This helped but I also ran large capacity heaters in the tanks and my electric costs were up due to them.
I understand the dilemma. A basement or garage often being the only place that will hold a large tank. These areas are often not insulated and neither heated nor cooled. While the initial cost can be substantial, I would consider the suggestion of insulating the garage. If you keep the tank for a number of years this could save expense over time.
Good luck
I found that weight at the bottom of the tarps was needed as the tarp would move too much each time the big door opened. I used lengths of fencing top rail. This had the advantage in that the tarp could be rolled up out of the way during warm weather or any time open access was needed. I left them rolled up and tied off in the summer. There was a difference in the temp inside the enclosure. Depending on how the garage is made, it may be necessary to block off at the top. My basement garage had open spaces at the top along the floor joists.
I was lucky in that the house had an oil furnace inside the area enclosed. The heat ducts were insulated but some heat came off the unit into the basement. This helped but I also ran large capacity heaters in the tanks and my electric costs were up due to them.
I understand the dilemma. A basement or garage often being the only place that will hold a large tank. These areas are often not insulated and neither heated nor cooled. While the initial cost can be substantial, I would consider the suggestion of insulating the garage. If you keep the tank for a number of years this could save expense over time.
Good luck