Fish Room

[Absint Reefer]

I would like to have several quarantine and breeding saltwater aquariums in my garage but I also have many expensive metal tools in their as well... My question is if I build a false wall to separate them will this help stop or slow decay on the tools
or is it a waste of time and money.
Thanks,
Carson

[cannarella]

Dehumidify and keep the warm moist out of the air as much as possible. You can always coat the metal tools in a light coat of oil or WD-40. It depends on the type of tools. If they are woodworking tools you won't want the coatings on there to contaminate your work.

[coralnut99]

Originally posted by cannarella
Dehumidify and keep the warm moist out of the air as much as possible. You can always coat the metal tools in a light coat of oil or WD-40. It depends on the type of tools. If they are woodworking tools you won't want the coatings on there to contaminate your work.

If it's a relatively small area, ventilation to the outdoors works too. Should be cheaper than a dehumidifier to operate. Agree 100% on the way to care for tools. My mechanics tools get WD40 every so often. Woodworking tools do OK with a light coat of wax wiped on with a rag. Nothing very heavy, just a swipe with a wax-laden rag. You do have to keep the wax in mind, and remove it, if you use the tool just before applying a finish other than wax or oil.

[scbadiver]

I have mine seperated with a wall. I made it with 2x4's and insulated it with a plastic vapor barrier on the fishroon side. I haven't quite finished sealing up between the joists but it is still better than it was. I also run a dehumidifier most of the time in my shop. The tables on the saw, jointer, drill press etc all need a little attention pretty regularly to keep the rust off even with all that. If you wax the tables with some good paste wax that will also help but as Cannarella said, be carefull of what you use as the wax can get on your wood and make staining and finishing operations a lot harder.

[cannarella]

Originally posted by coralnut99
If it's a relatively small area, ventilation to the outdoors works too. Should be cheaper than a dehumidifier to operate. Agree 100% on the way to care for tools. My mechanics tools get WD40 every so often. Woodworking tools do OK with a light coat of wax wiped on with a rag. Nothing very heavy, just a swipe with a wax-laden rag. You do have to keep the wax in mind, and remove it, if you use the tool just before applying a finish other than wax or oil.

True true. I would be concerned about heat loss with venting to the outside, but it would bring in fresh air.

[A.T.T.R]

i keep my fish room at 76 ish degees ( warmer then my house)
but at 50 or so percent humidity so it feels ice cold out there

but very lil corrosion compared to when it was hot and sticky!
actualy.. none now!

( 15000 btu window AC unit mounted in attic)

[coolfish5]

I would definitely want a wall to keep the rest of the garage more dry and salt free.
I'd love to see a picture of your fish room, that is a lot of tanks. What type of rack/stands do you use?

Thanks
John

[Absint Reefer]

all of those tanks are in my two bedrooms so I have been using metal iron stand for displays and stock tanks but I plan on moving all stock and breeding tanks to the garage to expand
How much do dehumidifiers run? and do I run it all day and night
Thanks,
Carson

[coolfish5]

Dehumidifiers start around $150 from what I have seen. I was lucky enough to pick one up at a garage sale for $20 that actually works (though the overflow switch is broke so it will spill if I leave it). If you have a drain in the room you can just run a hose to it, so no dumping the tank. They usualy have a humidistat that turns them on when the humidity is at a certain point and off when its lower.