Quarantine tanks in basement

[whyoming.white]

So my wife doesn’t like looking at extra tanks in the living space of our house. So I am thinking of moving my quarantine activities to the basement. I will most likely use either 20L or 40 breeders.

My basement usually stays in the 60s in the summer but in the winter can drop to the lower 50s on real cold New England nights. Is it unrealistic to think an aquarium heater could keep up with the heating needs? I’ve thought about using insulation board to cover the sides of the tanks to hold in some heat.

 

[Breadman03]

It’s possible. You can always use more heaters, and I’ve been using blue foam insulation boards around my sump every winter. It allowed me to retire my 1,000 watt heater

 

[ca1ore]

You just need to use a larger heater.

 

[Jeff_Toronto]

Heater will keep up. Just get one larger than rated for size of tank. I'm up here in Canada and outside it's about -15 right now. I keep my house around 74 but tanks are in room that is much cooler and tank maintains steady 78. I have a 10g qt and using a 50w heater and works fine. A second qt tank is running a 100w because it was lying around not being used (spare for DT) and both are constant 78.

 

[maroun.c]

how about housing the tanks in a small insulated partition or closet. you'll definitely need to vent it and add a couple of fans to push humidity out which will increase your heating needs a bit but make it more doable. plan it in a way where you could leave it open for more ventilation during warm season. a small dehumidifier in that closet might decrease teh need to vent it and the heating cost, but don't make it too dry to avoid crazy evaporation from tanks.

 

[EmdeReef]

So my wife doesn’t like looking at extra tanks in the living space of our house. So I am thinking of moving my quarantine activities to the basement. I will most likely use either 20L or 40 breeders.

My basement usually stays in the 60s in the summer but in the winter can drop to the lower 50s on real cold New England nights. Is it unrealistic to think an aquarium heater could keep up with the heating needs? I’ve thought about using insulation board to cover the sides of the tanks to hold in some heat.

a glass cover should help quite a bit if you don’t mind cleaning all the salt creep..

 

[whyoming.white]

Thanks everyone. Right now I’m looking into framing a small room 8x10 or something along those lines in my basement to keep temps a little more stable.

 

[Wiskey]

I keep my QT in the garage. I wrapped it on three sides and the bottom with a plastic insulation stuff that I got on Amazon, and I have a fan and 50W Heater in a 5G coral QT along with a temp controller, and auto topoff.

It gets into the 40's in there, as well as into the 90's in the summer. The heater and fan always keep the system at 78.

Whiskey

 

[HiddenUser]

Heaters will be fine. My sump is in the basement for my system and its been in low 60's at night down there. Depending on the tank, I've found that a glass lid will heat keep heat in as well. Might just need to add an air stone for better air exchange.

 

[whyoming.white]

I keep my QT in the garage. I wrapped it on three sides and the bottom with a plastic insulation stuff that I got on Amazon, and I have a fan and 50W Heater in a 5G coral QT along with a temp controller, and auto topoff.

It gets into the 40's in there, as well as into the 90's in the summer. The heater and fan always keep the system at 78.

Whiskey

Link for the insulation stuff?

I was thinking of using the foam insulation board from Home Depot for the sides and bottom. Just not sure how a glass 40 breeder will react to being on top of insulation board.

 

[whyoming.white]

Heaters will be fine. My sump is in the basement for my system and its been in low 60's at night down there. Depending on the tank, I've found that a glass lid will heat keep heat in as well. Might just need to add an air stone for better air exchange.

I picked up a free 20 high yesterday. I have 2 small heaters I might stick in and see where the temp is at after running for a few days.

 

[Wiskey]

Link for the insulation stuff?

I was thinking of using the foam insulation board from Home Depot for the sides and bottom. Just not sure how a glass 40 breeder will react to being on top of insulation board.

I used this stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BQSYRO/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The foam stuff might be better, I'm not sure, but this stuff is easy to use and seems to work well. I can even rest the tank on the trim still, with this stuff covering the bottom pane of glass.

Whiskey