Never to set up a monster tank in a uninsulated garage...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Silent Bob said:
Living in a townhome my garage is my mancave. The garage was originally finished as that is where I spent all my time on my other hobby, giant rc airplanes. I live just outside of Chicago so it gets pretty cold in the winter. The electricity bill is around 160 a month with the 600, 70, and 55 running along with the heater.
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Ok cool. I just want to get an idea on how much cheaper would it be from insulating the garage. Here in Victoria, BC our kw rates are on a tier 2 system where it's $0.06 for the first 1500kw or 1700kw used then anything after that is $0.10 per kw. I don't know how much Chicago rates are but I assume it's not too far off. Anyhow thanks for the info.


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The flip side of a well insulated (almost air tight) room is that when the air temp is considerably cooler than the water temp, humidity levels tend to spike and you end up with condensation forming on your walls, windows and ceiling; this can lead to some serious mold issues.

I actually have to keep a window cracked in order to let fresh air in to keep humidity levels below 70%. My heaters run a bit more because of the cold air entering the room (last night, outside air temps got down to 37F), but I figure it's better than running a dehumidifier, which would pull 500+ watts. I'm not sure though...I may buy a dehumidifier some day to test it out because I have heard that as a result of pulling moisture from the air, dehumidifiers also put off a good amount of heat which would be a nice corollary benefit.

I think if I were dealing with more extreme temps, I would look for fish that can tolerate seasonal fluctuations in temp.

Heating large amounts of water can definitely get expensive in cold climates.
 
aldiaz33 said:
you end up with condensation forming on your walls, windows and ceiling; this can lead to some serious mold issues.
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Yeah I had the same problems in my garage, made a mess during the winter!

AquaticEco recommends 4 watts per gallon to raise water temps 9 degrees over ambient room temps. As you can see this can add up to a lot of watts quickly which will get expensive. Sometimes it's more economical to insulate the tank and/or heat the entire room during cold winters.
 
Thanks guys for the advice. I may hold off on setting up my new tank as next year will be a very busy year for me as I'm in the process of opening up a business. So my new tank will most likely not be set up at my parents house but it will be set up in the city where my business is going to be. Just have to look for a new home with a large enough garage and make sure it's well insulated too.


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I have my 1200G in a double garage for and it only need to use 1500w heater only. But then my garage is pack with storage stuff so it have less air space so less cold air, beside it is not where you set up your tank as long as you seal up every gap so there is no cold air get in and tank need to be seal as well so no heat escape. The only thing I change in my setup in winter is less drip water and lower temp to 27 Celsius and increase it to 29 in summer. A few degrees do save me some electrical bill :).
 
hondas3000 said:
I have my 1200G in a double garage for and it only need to use 1500w heater only. But then my garage is pack with storage stuff so it have less air space so less cold air, beside it is not where you set up your tank as long as you seal up every gap so there is no cold air get in and tank need to be seal as well so no heat escape. The only thing I change in my setup in winter is less drip water and lower temp to 27 Celsius and increase it to 29 in summer. A few degrees do save me some electrical bill :).
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Thanks for the advice. One day I would like to see your crazy 1200 gallon set up:). My 600 gallon will be set up somewhere in Vancouver too cuz that's where my business will be and where I will be living next year. Also I may ask u for help and advice with setting up a drip system.


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25mm Polystyrene on the back, sides and top would have made an enormous difference to your heating bill, even in an uninsulated shed with your cold temps. Have a look at this heat loss calculator one of the guys on our local forum made; http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=48031

You can even calculate the cost of the heating if you know the cost per kilowatt hour of your power and work out how much money you'll save with a bit of insulation. I had a quick play around with it for a standard 450g (96x36x30"), based on 19mm glass, no substrate, tank running at 26C and the ambient air temp at 4C adding 25mm polystyrene to the back, sides and top of that tank would have reduced the heat loss from 1279W to 345W.
 
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