# anyone keeping aquariums in the garage in the winter?



## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

i have 10 tanks in my garage and i cant place them back in the basement because i ran out of room.

now im faced with either cutting down to 4 tanks only or keeping them all where they are but during the winter season.


some advantages:
my garage is insulated but it still gets chilly.

what i have seen is ppl put insulation on 4 sides of the tanks and leave the front open. thus trapping the heat. 


just wondering if anyone in canada has done this. really need to think of something asap!


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

Or just run a space heater... We used to run a space heated in our garage when I was growing up because we always did things in there. I think it would help keep the temp at a decent level.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

that would use a lot of electricity?



RevoBuda said:


> Or just run a space heater... We used to run a space heated in our garage when I was growing up because we always did things in there. I think it would help keep the temp at a decent level.


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

I suppose... I mean, I don't know how efficient those things are. I figured it may help with your dilemma.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

ye sit would help. thats the last thing that i want to do really. someone had to have done this without a room heater in the winter.



RevoBuda said:


> I suppose... I mean, I don't know how efficient those things are. I figured it may help with your dilemma.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

peacocks said:


> that would use a lot of electricity?


How much electricity do you think heating 10 tanks will require?

How chilly does your garage get? If it's pretty well insulated, then I think heating the garage will not be much different from heating all your tanks.

Also, what kind of fish do you have in there? Can they stand temperatures around 20C?


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

it gets pretty cold in my garage but i do know its insulated. as for the heating. it gets to about the same temps as outside. so if its -20 itll be about -18. it gets cold.



solarz said:


> How much electricity do you think heating 10 tanks will require?
> 
> How chilly does your garage get? If it's pretty well insulated, then I think heating the garage will not be much different from heating all your tanks.
> 
> Also, what kind of fish do you have in there? Can they stand temperatures around 20C?


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

peacocks said:


> ye sit would help. thats the last thing that i want to do really. someone had to have done this without a room heater in the winter.


http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-other-Aquarium-Setups-FISH-ROOM-CLEAROUT-ADD-1-W0QQAdIdZ411818684

Check out the pictures in this ad. I am not sure if this is a basement or garage, but there's insulation around the tanks themselves. Maybe you can contact whoever posted that ad, and find out what they did? It looks like durofoam insulation sheets. There's more info on those at http://www.plastifab.com/lp/durofoam.html

Hope this helps...

Al


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

peacocks said:


> what i have seen is ppl put insulation on 4 sides of the tanks and leave the front open. thus trapping the heat.


http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-pets-other-Aquarium-Setups-FISH-ROOM-CLEAROUT-ADD-1-W0QQAdIdZ411818684

Check out the pictures in this ad. I am not sure if this is a basement or garage, but there's insulation around the tanks themselves. Maybe you can contact whoever posted that ad, and find out what they did? Whether it was supplemented by a space heater, or if they relied solely on the insulation and in-tank heaters. It looks like they used durofoam insulation sheets. There's more info on those at http://www.plastifab.com/lp/durofoam.html

Hope this helps...

Al


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## Dman (May 1, 2012)

What you could do is build box around the tank and insulate around the box and make 2 doors on hinges that you can close and it will contain the heat alot the better  I am a insulator, so if you need some insulation, If you measure it up I can get it for you or you can get 2" styrafoam and layer it around your tanks and tape the seams, then just tape two styrafoam doors on the front you could open, the heat from any heaters or lights will stay within 

Ps. Make sure you put insulation on the floor


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Well you can always keep some cold water species if you're worried about the electricity bills for heating


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## RevoBuda (Sep 3, 2011)

I think Dman has the best idea. I am curious though, if you were to upsize your heaters, wouldnt they be able to keep up with the temp drop? Say putting a 100 watt heater in a 10 gallon tank? Just by the priinciple of how they work, I'd imagine you'd be fine.


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## Riceburner (Mar 14, 2008)

Without boxing around the tanks on all sides, you'd be running a lot of electricity. Even then you'd be running a lot. How about boxing it in and running a line off the forced air heating?  Could be done depending on how your garage is setup.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

im thinking of making a styrofoam room. making walls of styrofoam around my set up of 10 tanks. going to go home depot and check the cost for 1-2" thick styrofoam and decide from there. i dont want to spend a fortune.



Riceburner said:


> Without boxing around the tanks on all sides, you'd be running a lot of electricity. Even then you'd be running a lot. How about boxing it in and running a line off the forced air heating?  Could be done depending on how your garage is setup.


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## J_T (Mar 25, 2011)

Won't be a fourtune. But it will be an investment for sure!

I would go with dmans idea. Build panel walls, and insulate them. The garage by design is a cold zone. Heating the space would actually be bad. It would put heat into your acttic space. Not good unless you like mould.

So, build the panels sturdy, and get years of use. Some tuck tape would be good to seal up any joints.



Posted with my Xperia, using Tapatalk 2


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## Kooka (Feb 8, 2011)

Making that styrofoam room sounds like a good idea. You could save money on the materials by building the room against the house-side of the garage. I would also look into properly insulating the garage door. I know for a fact most garage doors let in large drafts, especially in the winter.


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## Mlevi (Jan 28, 2012)

If you wanna further cut down on the budget, look at big shops / industrial establishments. I know someone who scored decent sized Styrofoam sheets from a company's recycle bin (about 4' x 4' x 1.5") for free. They had received a shipment which was protected by Styrofoam, and were dumping them. With a little elbow grease, he was able to insulate a 10' x 10' room in his basement.

If you spread the word, and someone's working in an industrial/warehouse environment, maybe you can score something similar? 


Al.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

A few things to consider. Does the garage have a ceiling? Is part of the house above it? The garage needs to isolated from the house for protection from exhaust fumes entering the house proper, so heating it won't get into the attic. As well, styrofoam needs to be covered with fire protection such as drywall to be legal/safe. Keeping the tanks warm enough could be very costly, if the winter were as cold as normal, even with a well insulated enclosure.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

BillD said:


> A few things to consider. Does the garage have a ceiling? Is part of the house above it? The garage needs to isolated from the house for protection from exhaust fumes entering the house proper, so heating it won't get into the attic. As well, styrofoam needs to be covered with fire protection such as drywall to be legal/safe. Keeping the tanks warm enough could be very costly, if the winter were as cold as normal, even with a well insulated enclosure.


hmmm . the the garage is sep. nothing is over it. i think i might do the styrofoam room. its my best bet really.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

I have never done this, but how much are you really going to heat up the tank with the styrofoam in a -20C day???? Also, remember that whatever you do, you still want to be able to maintain the tank by doing water changes, so not sure how the cannister filter's tubing will be affected as well.

You may need two heaters in there working in conjuction and set the temp to like 65F (or lower if you want), to increase your chances, but not sure if it will work in a -20C case. The more the water is moving, the better your chances. If it was goldfish, and you had a larger volume, and water was on the move, then you would have no problem at all, but you only have a 10G ?? 

Honestly, i would think the easiest / cheapest way would be to downsize, cause how much are you going to enjoy the aquarium in the garage anyways, even in summer times???


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## des (Jul 30, 2011)

Let's just back track for a moment here before we talk about insulation.

Do the tanks in your garage have heaters in them to begin with? 

Simply insulating the tank with no source of heat in the tank is not going to help maintain the temperature. 

Insulation helps reduce heat loss only if there is heat present to begin with.


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## Dman (May 1, 2012)

des said:


> Let's just back track for a moment here before we talk about insulation.
> 
> Do the tanks in your garage have heaters in them to begin with?
> 
> ...


Well ya gotta also gotta consiter the light too, they give off tons of heat  and that's enough to maintain a warm temp


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