Fish tank in hot garage 2 weeks - advice needed

[Run4Fun]

Hi all!

I need some advice. I have to do some work on the house that is going to require me to keep my 125g red sea reefer xl in my garage for a few weeks. The challenge is that I live in Florida and my garage does not have A/C, so temperatures in the garage will regularly hit 95 degrees. I do not have any photosynthesis dependent creatures in the tank so I will keep the lights off. I am looking for any tips to help keep the water temps stable. Would a chiller be able to keep the temp stable in that kind of consistent heat? If so, any recommendations on type of chiller? I'm not to keen on paying $$$ for a new chiller, but may be able to borrow a chiller from a LFS. Thanks for any advice!

 

[WWIII]

You could rent a portable air conditioner. I used one in my garage when we got our hardwood floors installed. It kept the garage reasonably cool (under 80) during the summertime in Kentucky. We had days well into the 90s with heat index up near 100. Other than that a big chiller would work, but may be hard to come by to borrow. Very large fans may help, but I don't think they will do enough. Some guys freeze rodi water in 2 liters and float in the tank, but that takes some work.

Good luck!

 

[ReefSlice]

Gonna take a very large chiller to maintain a 125g outside in Florida. I don't see how you could possibly keep the temp down without spending a fortune and lots of time spent worrying, especially as we approach summer here. Why not get a few large brute tubs and divide your livestock up, or even just hold it all in a 100g tub somewhere in your house for a while? Could even stick it in a closet somewhere. It surely wouldn't be as nice to look at, but it would be safer for livestock and easier on your wallet. Especially if we're just talking fish and inverts and no light is needed, this is definitely your best best.

 

[Run4Fun]

You could rent a portable air conditioner. I used one in my garage when we got our hardwood floors installed. It kept the garage reasonably cool (under 80) during the summertime in Kentucky. We had days well into the 90s with heat index up near 100. Other than that a big chiller would work, but may be hard to come by to borrow. Very large fans may help, but I don't think they will do enough. Some guys freeze rodi water in 2 liters and float in the tank, but that takes some work.

Good luck!

That's a great idea! Did the portable A/C require install in a window or was it stand alone? I do not have a window in my garage. Did you rent it or did you already own one? If you rented, where did you rent it from?

 

[Run4Fun]

Gonna take a very large chiller to maintain a 125g outside in Florida. I don't see how you could possibly keep the temp down without spending a fortune and lots of time spent worrying, especially as we approach summer here. Why not get a few large brute tubs and divide your livestock up, or even just hold it all in a 100g tub somewhere in your house for a while? Could even stick it in a closet somewhere. It surely wouldn't be as nice to look at, but it would be safer for livestock and easier on your wallet. Especially if we're just talking fish and inverts and no light is needed, this is definitely your best best.

Unfortunately, the entire house has to be completely empty for two weeks so garage appears to be my only option. I'm a bit worried about the chiller too, and there is so much risk for equipment failure, yet I may go with a combo of the chiller and portable a/c.

 

[HB AL]

The portable a/c is a good option although it wont cool the whole garage much, you can aim the cold air coming out of the unit right at the tank. Much cheaper and easier than installing a chiller. Just buy one of the cheaper portable ones and aim it at the tank, your heater might actually kick in at times.

 

[WWIII]

That's a great idea! Did the portable A/C require install in a window or was it stand alone? I do not have a window in my garage. Did you rent it or did you already own one? If you rented, where did you rent it from?

Yeah it needs a place to exhaust the hot air. I just opened a window and put plywood over it. Cut a 12" hole in the plywood for the exhaust duct. If you don't have a window, not sure? Maybe you could rig something up on the garage door itself?

I rented it from a store here in Louisville. I think it was sunbelt rentals. I'm sure there are several around your town that rent them. I think it was around $250 for the week, but oh so worth it!

 

[WWIII]

This one ought to do it for ya ;-)...

This one is similar to what I rented/used...

 

[OriginalUserName]

Buy one of the portable AC units with the hot exhaust tube. Section off the garage using sheets of xps insulation. Basically build a temporary fridge around your tank. That will be more than adequate.

 

[Flexin]

Make a base for the garage door, two or three feet high across the opening and put insulation on the inside of it, close the door on top of it. Make an exhaust hole for the a/c unit or, cheaper, get a window unit and mount that on the plywood off the floor. Solution for no window

 

[Ikserk]

I would recommend building a simple and cheap wall around the tank and above it, then the portable air conditioner in that smaller room. That way the AC only has to cool a smaller volume of hot air. You could insulate the walls too for even better performance

 

[jda]

12k BTU portable AC units can handle 400 square feet, or a normalish sized garage. I would run a dehumidifier in there as well... it is easy to cool a space with little humdidty.

If you do get a chiller, plumb it to run outside so that the heat does not stay in your garage.

 

[OriginalUserName]

12k BTU portable AC units can handle 400 square feet, or a normalish sized garage. I would run a dehumidifier in there as well... it is easy to cool a space with little humdidty.

If you do get a chiller, plumb it to run outside so that the heat does not stay in your garage.

Garages aren't usually insulated though.

 

[Dr.Xipoles]

I know a couple of guys here in Florida who keep tanks in their garages without insulation or anything else. They just use a chiller and it keeps the tank at 78 deg. F.

I was also wondering how it keeps the tank cool since it was putting the heat from the tank back into the garage wich would go back to the tank, but according to them, it works out fine.

 

[OriginalUserName]

I know a couple of guys here in Florida who keep tanks in their garages without insulation or anything else. They just use a chiller and it keeps the tank at 78 deg. F.

I was also wondering how it keeps the tank cool since it was putting the heat from the tank back into the garage wich would go back to the tank, but according to them, it works out fine.

That must cost a fortune to run the chiller!

 

[Dr.Xipoles]

That must cost a fortune to run the chiller!

Lol, I didnt ask about that. Maybe....the things we do for this hobby. [emoji16]

 

[nereefpat]

Have you thought about, instead of moving it to the garage, moving it to a friend's place or a lfs?

 

[Shaun Sweeney]

If you have a deep freeze, start freezing 1 gallon plastic jugs and keep throwing them in. I did that for a couple years till I got the chiller and I keep a bunch on hand just in case.

 

[Peanut]

I have my main display (125 gal) in the living room, but its all plumbed into the garage where I have my 30 gal sump and also an additional 20 gal frag tank plumbed into the system. The Chiller is in the garage, its 1/5 hp, and does not run continually. In the summer its so hot in the garage I break out in a sweat just thinking about going in there. I do have an a/c in a window in the garage, but I only turn it on an hour or so before I work in there to make it tolerable and then shut it off when I'm done.

 

[SPS Reefer]

Why not get a few large brute tubs and divide your livestock up, or even just hold it all in a 100g tub somewhere in your house for a while? Could even stick it in a closet somewhere. It surely wouldn't be as nice to look at, but it would be safer for livestock and easier on your wallet. Especially if we're just talking fish and inverts and no light is needed, this is definitely your best best.

My opinion is that this sounds like really good advice^