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Garage Tank

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Feb 18, 2019
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I'm thinking of setting up a tank in my garage. I live in the East Bay (Alameda). My garage's walls are finished, but I suspect it gets pretty close to outdoor weather. What do I need to keep in mind when running a tank in the garage? Any tips?
 
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May 27, 2015
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You will be fine. I had the same concerns as you before I set up my garage tank. The only “main” is you will need to think about how to keep it cool during the super hot summer days. As you know, the east bay doesn’t have too many hot days in a roll. I use a chiller, but you might be able to keep it cool with fans. The cold is not a problem. This past 2 months have been very cold at night, 30-50 degrees and a single 150 watt heater has been able to keep my 75 gallon tank 77-78 all night.
 
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Mar 2, 2015
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My 190 is in an uninsulated garage in Almaden Valley.

Regulating temp hasn’t been impossible. Heater is a 300w + 500w backup.
Cooling is done by a fan unit blowing across the top. The problem with that is if the room gets very high humidity, the cooling effect is reduced.




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Supporting Member
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Nov 7, 2005
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Don't dismiss how much heating you may need for the tank. When it gets cold, you may find that you need a lot of watts of heating.

Also is this a multi-purpose garage? Like tools, and other things in it? If so don't be surprised if everything that can rust will rust quicker than you would like.
 
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Feb 18, 2019
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Don't dismiss how much heating you may need for the tank. When it gets cold, you may find that you need a lot of watts of heating.

Also is this a multi-purpose garage? Like tools, and other things in it? If so don't be surprised if everything that can rust will rust quicker than you would like.

You were right! My 200w wasn’t cutting it and the temp started to drop to the low 70s and wouldn’t come back up to 78 even during the day. There are two vents right behind the tank that make the temp in the garage the same as outside. I threw in another 200w and now the temp is stable.
 
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I’m really surprised. i haven’t had any problems keeping tank temps up in my garage tank, and i leave my garage window open 24/7 to help with ventilation.
 
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BOD
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Oct 8, 2019
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My new frag tank is going in a detached uninsulated garage. I'm wondering if I will have problems.

I have some extra heaters I don’t need.
 
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