Keeping tank in garage?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Get some electric heaters and set them close to the tank. And then try to insulate the garage as good as possible. Or just go cheep and do a native tank. and don't worry about a heater at all. Gars and channel cats.
 
Wont the gar need warmth,how about a pike or a muskie?
 
regalt;3330917; said:
I just picked up a 405 gallon tank and since its size 84Lx36Wx31H and its heavy as hell, I cant put it in the basement or threw a door with out tearing the door out or it apart, so it will be set up in the garage. so I was just wondering what some of you guys do during the winter to it if your garage is not heated. Mine seems to stay around 50 degrees in their during the winter time.

50 degrees during the winter is not bad. I have a 350 and 150 in my garage in N. California and during the winter my garage can also drop down to 50F in the evening. For the 350, I require 2,000 watts of heater capacity to keep the tank at 76 during the coldest nights. The rate of heat loss will be influenced most by the steepness of the temp gradient that exists between your tank and the surrounding air. I would first add a seal between the door and frame to prevent dafts. This will allow your garage to trap heat. I don't think it's necessary to insulate the entire garage, but you should try to elimnate drafts and openings. On the coldest nights, you should consider using an electric space heater...a few degrees increase in ambient temperature can make a significant difference. Start will 2,000-2,500 watts of heating capacity.
 
yea i defiantly need to seal up the garage door really good that will help allot, also its all concrete floor in their should i maybe put a piece of carpet under it to help out.
 
regalt;3333067; said:
yea i defiantly need to seal up the garage door really good that will help allot, also its all concrete floor in their should i maybe put a piece of carpet under it to help out.

I don't think the carpeting will make much, if any difference. The slab may feel cool but concrete is essentially a ceramic and as such, heat transfer should be poor. In other words, coupled with the fact that heat rises, I wouldn't expect a concrete floor to suck much heat out of a room...but admittedly, I don't know this with absolute certainty.
 
50 is nothing, just put an extra heater in. winters here in WA cause my garage to go into the low 40's, without the tanks in there even below freezing. i just run 5watts per gallon and cover the tank with blankets, all my tanks were glass last winter and not once did the temp drop below what i had them set at.

now a 400g tank will be 2000w, but with the blankets they really dont run that much. im shure i couldve run less heaters, but their cheap insurance. you could run 1000w non stop and worry, or run 2000w and not, either way it takes the same amount of energy to heat a body of water.
 
If you insulate your garage properly you will save big in your energy bills. A little bit of insulation some weather striping and a couple pf base board heaters and your set.
 
MonsterFishKeepers.com