Garage setups?

[uhgster1]

I've been dealt a kidney punch! I'm moving and the new place won't let me keep my reef in the house! My only choices are to sell my coral or setup in the garage. I don't have the funds for a chiller but I'm hoping there's an alternative to cooling an aquarium without one. My garage isn't climate controlled but I know that keeping it warm in the winter will not be that challenging. My anxiety is all about my 90 degree garage. Any opinions or advice?

 

[d2mini]

If you don't have the funds for a chiller, not much else you can do.

Evaporative cooling via fans can only help so much. But being in the south, summers are tough. The garage will get too hot.
And if you do spring for a chiller, your best bet would be to locate it outside because it will produce it's own heat, just adding to the heat in the garage.
Maybe a drop-in coil chiller would be a good option for you.

 

[CarrieB]

Keep it at work? Local library? Nursing home?

 

[R_C]

Keep it at work? Local library? Nursing home?

 

[hawkinsrgk]

Do you have a window in the garage that you could put a window unit in

 

[Ubans13]

My suggestion would require quite a bit of water but if you could do a closed loop system and it would be much cheaper. Let me explain! A chiller is nothing but a heat exchanger using a chemical. I recently have made a copper heat exchanger for my father using copper pipe. It is used to cool beer during home brew. It has a garden hose fitting on either end. The water coming into you house is always cool due to how deep it is in the ground. You could use city water or well and run the garden hose threw the pipe in your sump and you now have a heat exchanger. The water then runs out of the pipe and to drain. There are also set ups that run a recirc line to a cooler filled with ice. Using a return pump you then send the cooled water back to the coils in the sump. I know we dont wanna use copper in an aquarium but this could be done using 1/2" poly tubing or stainless tubing from home depot. If you are really handy you could figure out how to set this up to a thermostat and a solenoid valve and you would pretty much have a chiller. This could also be used as an emergency fix for someone who has lost there AC or even power to there house and the ability to keep the tank cool.

 

[uhgster1]

My suggestion would require quite a bit of water but if you could do a closed loop system and it would be much cheaper. Let me explain! A chiller is nothing but a heat exchanger using a chemical. I recently have made a copper heat exchanger for my father using copper pipe. It is used to cool beer during home brew. It has a garden hose fitting on either end. The water coming into you house is always cool due to how deep it is in the ground. You could use city water or well and run the garden hose threw the pipe in your sump and you now have a heat exchanger. The water then runs out of the pipe and to drain. There are also set ups that run a recirc line to a cooler filled with ice. Using a return pump you then send the cooled water back to the coils in the sump. I know we dont wanna use copper in an aquarium but this could be done using 1/2" poly tubing or stainless tubing from home depot. If you are really handy you could figure out how to set this up to a thermostat and a solenoid valve and you would pretty much have a chiller. This could also be used as an emergency fix for someone who has lost there AC or even power to there house and the ability to keep the tank cool.

I appreciate your idea! You got my noodle cooking! I was also thinking about a window ac unit in the garage but that would not be very efficient, (large garage), but a window unit running with a closed loop system like what you described in front of the vents might do it! Thanks!

 

[SandJ]

Insulating the garage doors would help a lot. And the door tracks should be adjustable to make sure there are no gaps on the sides.

If there is a window, a blackout curtain may help keep some of the heat out also.

Is there a way to partition off part of the garage and leave the door into the house open? You may be able to hang some sort of curtain up from the ceiling to act as a wall. Maybe even build a temporary wall(s) out of 2x4s (making the garage into 2 rooms). Then you could heat/cool the fish room by leaving the garage door into the house open.

 

[Kershaw]

My suggestion would require quite a bit of water but if you could do a closed loop system and it would be much cheaper. Let me explain! A chiller is nothing but a heat exchanger using a chemical. I recently have made a copper heat exchanger for my father using copper pipe. It is used to cool beer during home brew. It has a garden hose fitting on either end. The water coming into you house is always cool due to how deep it is in the ground. You could use city water or well and run the garden hose threw the pipe in your sump and you now have a heat exchanger. The water then runs out of the pipe and to drain. There are also set ups that run a recirc line to a cooler filled with ice. Using a return pump you then send the cooled water back to the coils in the sump. I know we dont wanna use copper in an aquarium but this could be done using 1/2" poly tubing or stainless tubing from home depot. If you are really handy you could figure out how to set this up to a thermostat and a solenoid valve and you would pretty much have a chiller. This could also be used as an emergency fix for someone who has lost there AC or even power to there house and the ability to keep the tank cool.

+ 1 to this.
I see chillers for cheap on Craigslist.

 

[Untamedrose]

Different place? Cant be the only place in your budget, living needs out there.

IDK I wouldnt move somewhere that wouldnt take my dog.

 

[Mebeknob]

My suggestion would require quite a bit of water but if you could do a closed loop system and it would be much cheaper. Let me explain! A chiller is nothing but a heat exchanger using a chemical. I recently have made a copper heat exchanger for my father using copper pipe. It is used to cool beer during home brew. It has a garden hose fitting on either end. The water coming into you house is always cool due to how deep it is in the ground. You could use city water or well and run the garden hose threw the pipe in your sump and you now have a heat exchanger. The water then runs out of the pipe and to drain. There are also set ups that run a recirc line to a cooler filled with ice. Using a return pump you then send the cooled water back to the coils in the sump. I know we dont wanna use copper in an aquarium but this could be done using 1/2" poly tubing or stainless tubing from home depot. If you are really handy you could figure out how to set this up to a thermostat and a solenoid valve and you would pretty much have a chiller. This could also be used as an emergency fix for someone who has lost there AC or even power to there house and the ability to keep the tank cool.

Another option could be to create a geothermal ground loop from your sump. Imagine a pump attached to the coil above (more loops and modified to handle SW) but then you bury it 6 ft down in the ground. Basically you use he earths cooler temps to cool your SW.
I'm in Phoenix and this is what I'm planning for my garage tank.

 

[Rob's Reef]

My tank is in my garage. But I run it on the warmer side of the spectrum so summer heat doesn't effect it as much. I did do the door insulation but I keep the back door open to let fresh air in. Back door has a security screen so I can keep it open. but I do have a chiller in case things get too bad... I'm in southern cali it was 104 yesterday. I do have a larger tank so it takes longer for the temp to fluxuate.