Things we do for our fish

[Freshwater4Life]

Had a heat wave this past week with weather in the 90s and it's only May. Which I'm ok with except my tank was reaching temps of 86 and had me worried about how my rays would be able to cope with this all summer long as it's only may and it's already that hot. So I got a 10000 btu wall unit for my 305 sf garage. All sides are insulated expect the side the windows on . So far it had the garage down to 75 degrees in a pretty quick time. Hopefully it won't kill my electric bill to bad but oh well . Be interested to hear if anyone else has down something similar in a garage / fish room or how they cooled their tanks if they had high temp issues too.

 

[robham777]

I have most of my tanks out in the garage and have considered adding a window unit as well. I have had tanks out there for 3 summers but my garage is in a very shaded spot and with some cross ventilation 84F is about the max temp anything gets. I think I would like the AC more than the fish.

 

[Freshwater4Life]

I have most of my tanks out in the garage and have considered adding a window unit as well. I have had tanks out there for 3 summers but my garage is in a very shaded spot and with some cross ventilation 84F is about the max temp anything gets. I think I would like the AC more than the fish.

Yea Mine is fairly shaded too except for when the sun rises til about 10 am maybe. I was pretty surprised how high the temp rised . And yes lol it is definitely an added bonus to be chillen in the AC while hanging out in front of the tank. So far I can definitely suggest one but we'll see how it does when it's in the middle of the summer and 90 everyday.

 

[robham777]

Yea Mine is fairly shaded too except for when the sun rises til about 10 am maybe. I was pretty surprised how high the temp rised . And yes lol it is definitely an added bonus to be chillen in the AC while hanging out in front of the tank. So far I can definitely suggest one but we'll see how it does when it's in the middle of the summer and 90 everyday.

I think I am going to add an ac unit this summer, I can't imagine it would draw more power than the heaters do during the winter. I am looking at this unit by Hair. It is ac/heater/dehumidifier all in one unit.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Haier-12...PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-300422891-_-300013935-_-N

 

[Freshwater4Life]

I think I am going to add an ac unit this summer, I can't imagine it would draw more power than the heaters do during the winter. I am looking at this unit by Hair. It is ac/heater/dehumidifier all in one unit.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Haier-12...PIPHorizontal1_rr-_-300422891-_-300013935-_-N

Yea I was looking at those portable units myself but after doing some research it seemed the window units were the best bet. But that's only from me reading online and seeing what people with garages did for climate control. I have no personal or first hand knowledge of those systems so maybe you can get it and we can compare.

 

[robham777]

Yea I was looking at those portable units myself but after doing some research it seemed the window units were the best bet. But that's only from me reading online and seeing what people with garages did for climate control. I have no personal or first hand knowledge of those systems so maybe you can get it and we can compare.

My options are limited since I have those old aluminum frame windows that open outwards with a hand crank. Living on the very hurricane prone coast of Alabama, I was also thinking one of the portable units would be easy to move inside and run off a generator during a prolonged power outage.

 

[nossalucard]

My tip: Save your empty 16oz water bottles after you finish with drinking the water.

Fill them 90% with Tap water----->FREEZE---->Float in tank a few at a time until you figure out how many it takes for how long to get to temp you want!

Been doing this for years as required...

HTH, YMMV.....

 

[mattison187]

My tip: Save your empty 16oz water bottles after you finish with drinking the water.

Fill them 90% with Tap water----->FREEZE---->Float in tank a few at a time until you figure out how many it takes for how long to get to temp you want!

Been doing this for years as required...

HTH, YMMV.....

Clever

 

[Freshwater4Life]

My tip: Save your empty 16oz water bottles after you finish with drinking the water.

Fill them 90% with Tap water----->FREEZE---->Float in tank a few at a time until you figure out how many it takes for how long to get to temp you want!

Been doing this for years as required...

HTH, YMMV.....

I actually did that with ice bags in my sump but with a 350 gallon system it's a pain trying to get that right And I'm actually out of the country right now. Wanted a more permanent less hassle solution. Plus having ac in my garage is nice for for me and my family too. Lol

 

[BIG-G]

I think the window unit is the way to go I have one on my little fish building. I have 13 tanks running largest is 220. Its easy to just set the temp to about 80 and forget about it. Yeah you have to pay for electricity. But you would pay the electricity to freeze the water too.