Whats the best way to keep tanks warm in uninsulated/unheated garage?

[Louis Z]

which and what types of heaters should I use? Temps may get in low teens yet during winter temps usually hold around the hi 20s when the cold fronts move thru. What would be the best way to heat the tanks or should I insulate them to some degree?

[Mike_Noren]

Originally posted by Louis Z
which and what types of heaters should I use? Temps may get in low teens yet during winter temps usually hold around the hi 20s when the cold fronts move thru. What would be the best way to heat the tanks or should I insulate them to some degree?

I hope you're talking celsius, not fahrenheit... But anyway, I, personally, would do both - two thermostat-controlled heaters (for redundancy, in case one fails), and at least 1cm styrofoam under, on the back, and sides to soften the blow to the electricity bill.

[Louis Z]

Its F' not C' unfortunately. I would insulate to the best of my ability. I was thinking 3 300watt heaters to prevent the dips. Right now I have one 10 gal out there yet I wanted to put several 75gal out there. I would prefer to keep them indoors, yet my wife is not accepting a fish breeding room. None of these would be display tanks just rearing/holding/spawning tanks. I dont want to try it with fish and find out the hard way- anyone with experience?

[j_mccen]

May need to add some anti-freeze??????:confused:

[CleveYank]

move the wife out of the house and put the tanks on the side of the bedroom that she kept all her crap.

I mean really...guy wants a few fish tanks...hmmmm there are worse hobbies...like say play in a band on the weekends and never be there...been there done that...or be addicted to fishing or hunting and never be home...been there done that too. Your old lady needs to give a little.

Now if you don't listen to my first suggestion...which may or not be the best cure...lol...just kidding.
I digress...But to address the temp bit you could build the tanks on stands. Put them on top of styrofoam and put it on the backs and sides of the tanks and on the fronts if you make them removeabe say with velcro and then build these high enough so you could put a baseboard style oil filled electric heater underneath and rig some type of real thermostat and fuse the thing and maybe even GFCI it for safety...some way to make sure you don't get a meltdown and I bet this for failsafe with the 300 watters you could keep those tanks at the exact temps you wanted.

Hmmmm
Seems like alot of work...I still like my first suggestion the best.

[kevinpo]

Home Depot sells 2" thick foam in 4'x8' sheets that has backing on both sides (one side is silver and the other white). It's cheap and works very well. I use the wide clear tape to hold the pieces together. You can stick and unstick it for a couple of months before it needs replacing. I just cut the end (of the tape) and add a new piece over it. I would also heat the garage with a space heater a few feet from the tanks. The whole garage might not be warm but at least the area around the tanks will be.

HTH,
Kevin

[rbaker]

I think you're setting yourself up for failure. Trying to maintain a constant temp in a frozen garage will be extremely difficult at best. If you lose power, your livestock will be dead before you can get a generator running...

I personally agree with CleveYank's first idea...:) If you decide to keep her and still want to have tanks out on the frozen tundra... I would build a small enclosure where you can keep the tanks. It will be much easier to maintain the tank temp if you heat the air around it.


JMO,

Ryan

[Rickeejb]

Louis Z,
Heck I thought I knew where Conroe was at. I thought at first they had moved it to the panhandle. Your 300 miles south of me and my garage, 98% of the year would be warm enough to keep tanks in it. Probably 50% of the year it would be too warm. I would think most of the year you would be having to keep your garage airconditioned. You ought to be able to get by with an electric space heater as long as you keep the door closed on cooler days. With lights and heaters in the tanks and tops over the water. The biggest problem will come if you have a power outage on a cold day, then your only hope would be a generator.

[micagreenmachine]

What about those propane heaters? (for the air, not the water...) I think you can pick them up at most hardware stores.

~Todd

[mikester]

Heating is not your problem - your garage will get way too hot in the summer to keep a tank out there.

[Louis Z]

What i had in mind was 6 months of temps not in the high 90s. I wouldnt be able to keep them during the summer in the garage because everything just cooks in there. I was worried about those times when the artic blasts cause the temps to dip quickly below the 20s. I didnt know if the heaters could maintain the temps. I didnt think about the power outages. And I wanted to stay away from propane space heaters. I guess risking breeder fish would be more costly. I just have to think about other ways. But thanks for all the replys. I may just try an empty tankful of water just to see. As for my wife well yall guys are funny.

[Eric Boerner]

You could always insulate and drywall your garage (less than $400 for a 2 car garage). Stick some weather gaurd on the garage door, or heck, if you don't plan on using your garage for your car, insulate and drywall the garage door too.

Then, pipe in an industrial heat/ac duct into the garage from the main house.

I bet you could get it all done for less than $600 DIY. Under $1.5k with a builder. Plus insulated and drywalled garages, WITH central air do increase the value and sellability of the home. ;) The wife will buy that one hook line and sinker. :D

[Louis Z]

Yes I thought about the drywall and insulation but thats for the new house that we are looking to build. The plans are there for reinforced floor and beams with a 7 by 20 walled in area with ducts so as to keep all this stuff out of the house. Has plenty of outlets, and a floor drain, and utility sink. I was just trying to setup a temporary facility in the garage. I really dont want to put any cash into it as since we are renting until startup and wait for finish.

[rayjay]

I kept a 65 and a 75g at my shop last winter with the temps in the shop down to 38F. They both had 4 150 watt heaters in them and still it was a problem keeping the temps up in the mid 70's.