Garage setup?

[WesF]

Yeah I am planning to condition the entire garage and only use one side for the frag tanks.

How would salty air cause issues since salt water doesn't evaporate, just freshwater?

The vapor will retain some traces of salt. This is why cars near the ocean rust quicker. When the wet air condenses on the coils it has traces of salt in it. Overtime that can corrode the coils faster than normal wear and tear.

 

[ReefMadScientist]

You don't need to temp control the garage but insulation helps. Heating/cooling the tank alone could actually cost less than heating/cooling the entire garage.

Humidity can become a problem if you have a lot of water like in my case.

I guess this is subjective to where you live. My garage gets 115 degrees plus and may be a culprit to some algae/bacteria issues in my water. I could cool the containers themselves but it would be a never ending battle with the heat. I have glass doors for my garage.

As for humidity, this will be a pain point. I have been to a few local garage reefer pads and their garage was a sweat shop.

 

[WesF]

I'm in NC and it gets pretty hot and humid here. My top off tank will get funky and I have to clean it out often in the summer but never had and issues with the tank because the water stays the same temp all year.

I used to have the chiller in the garage and that made the garage a sauna, so I moved it to the crawl space and it made a big difference in the garage temp.

Still need to get the RH under control.

 

[ProjectAnemone]

Here is a link to my friend's system. The whole thing is in the garage. Temps here in MD range from 100+ in summer to the low teens in winter.

http://wamas.org/forums/topic/17233-justins-550-almost-cube/page-1

 

[jaybk5211]

Project anemone could I touch base with him on how he does it?

 

[Bbaz123456]

Ductless split system would be an ok option during the summer but the recovery time during the winter after opening the doors would take hours, even if grossly oversized. If you have gas available in your home, that would certainly be your best option. A 75-100K Hot Dawg unit heater would bring you up to temps in a matter of minutes. They are much cheaper too even though you would be best to go with the Stainless heat exchanger.
PS. I am an HVAC contractor

 

[Bbaz123456]

Or just leave your cars outside

 

[jaybk5211]

My car will stay outside, the wife and kids not so much. Lol.

I'm thinking with multiple heaters air couldn't cool a tank that fast within 1 minute but I could be wrong I guess.

 

[WesF]

I don't heat the garage in the winter and the aquarium heaters hold temp in the tank just fine. I use MH lighting so that helps. LEDs might result in a higher electric bill in the winter.

You will need more wattage than the manufacturers size recommendations. And be cognizant on the load you put on the circuit. Heaters are on a dedicated circuit because I use 4 x 400w

 

[jaybk5211]

So yours is fine without heat? What are the temps in the winter where you are?

 

[WesF]

Pretty mild compared to other parts of the country but it's not uncommon to get into the 20's


Probably similar to TN

 

[jaybk5211]

I'm in Tennessee so not far from ya, it stays somewhat mild during winter but we can get days in the teens occasionally.

 

[Justin1997]

My barber cuts hair out of his garage. He has a beautiful reef tank 300 gallons, his garage is insulated has chiller heater laundry sink does about 10 gallon top ups every week. He used to have an attached 90cube to the system. He does have a lot of rust with all the salt in the air eats away at everything.

This is in Ontario Canada cold winters hot summers

 

[jaybk5211]

Wow that's impressive with those temps. So curious is there a way to mitigate or at least minimize the rusting?

 

[WesF]

Keeping RH around 40% is what I'm going to attempt next.

 

[Justin1997]

I would assume a close system he has no lid just a canopy but it's not completely closed.

 

[jaybk5211]

How do you measure relative humidity? Would a dehumidifier control it?

 

[WesF]

A RH sensor will give you a measurement. Some thermostats and A/C units will measure/control RH.

A dehumidifier will have an RH set point and control to that.

 

[s2nhle]

Have you consider build a small room in the garage for the fish tank?

 

[saleen385]

I live in NC and my one 180 is in the garage(going on 2yrs.) I have a chiller and heaters. The garage is a 2 car 20'x20' insulated but not heated or cooled. Temp stays between 78-80. I have a window fan actually one of those that has 2 fans one blows in and one blows out.

Jim