A 240g in the garage?

jeffreylam1132 · #1 07/11/2007, 01:30 AM

Hi All,

I have posted this in the large forum tank, but I figured I'll post here as well. I've recently purchase a beautiful 240g from a local reefer. It is my dream tank and I really love the design of the stand and canopy. Anyway, when bought it home, the wife jaw dropped and say it is way too big for our dining room. She told me no way the 240 is going in our dining room. BTW, the tank measurement is 8'x2'x2'. Man, why is it always the wife get in the way of our hobby.

Anyway, here is my question. It is no way I want to get rid of this tank. I was wondering if I set it up in the garage, would I have a hard time dealing with the heat and everything else. Does anybody here have a big fish tank setup in their garage? Please chime in. Setting this dream tank in the garage is my last resort. What do I need to do to make this work? Please help......... Thanks.

supernareg · #2 07/11/2007, 01:32 AM

chiller. a powerful one.

Gabriel_T · #3 07/11/2007, 01:33 AM

It is certianly not ideal but you learn to live with it. I am in the same situation however I am actually selling my 240 which I kept in my garage. The tank was okay not to hot in the garage either. Just prepare to set up a couch and refigerator in your garage.

btw my tank is for sale for $450

Bebo77 · #4 07/11/2007, 01:34 AM

it can be done.. i know a certain "farmer" that is doing it now... lol

faded1004 · #5 07/11/2007, 01:35 AM

how is your garage setup? is it insulated? concrete floors? alot of vents? ceiling put in?

i think in general, garages dont' usually have problems in 1 temp directions... they are usually extreme in both directions...

solution? insulate and drywall the garage... keep all tanks and equipment off concrete floors... keep a chiller and heater? you shoudl be okay? my garage has ceiling and walls all dry walled and it doensn't get too cold ... but it does get hot when 2 freshly driven cars are parked inside... there is no ventilation inside...

you want stability in water conditions... i think that temp is your only hurtle? may be making sure there enough power able to go to garage( check your estimated power consumption and check your breaker for the garage outlet)?

KWoo008 · #6 07/11/2007, 02:20 AM

My dining room happens to be adjacent to my garage and was thinking about setting up a tank in the garage and cutting a hole in my dining room wall. Too bad I have two cars and setting up a big tank in there would prevent me from being able to get out of my car once it's parked inside the garage. Best of luck with your tank!

xtm · #7 07/11/2007, 02:29 AM

It can definitely be done. However you will have to significantly spend more money on the initial setup and also the day to day operating costs because of the nature of the garage itself. (insulation, heating, cooling, modification, etc)

On the bright side, I've seen some stunning garage reef setups and most of them are in-walls. Here's one
http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/l...al-system.html

another garage setup
http://www.hassanmoore.com/equipment.htm

Honestly, if i knew 10 years ago what I know now, I absolutely would not get married myself. I feel your pain man.

jeffreylam1132 · #8 07/11/2007, 03:06 AM

When it comes to decorating the house, the wife is the boss! Marriage can be a pain sometimes, especially when reefkeeping is your most favorite hobby. Don't get me wrong, she does like to look at fish and corals and don't mind me having a tank. But this tank was just a little bit too big for her taste.

My garage is insulated. It has ceiling and drywalls. The only problem is their are no windows and no vents whatsoever. The floor is concrete. Will take a pic of the garage and post it up.

jeffreylam1132 · #9 07/11/2007, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by xtm
It can definitely be done. However you will have to significantly spend more money on the initial setup and also the day to day operating costs because of the nature of the garage itself. (insulation, heating, cooling, modification, etc)

On the bright side, I've seen some stunning garage reef setups and most of them are in-walls. Here's one
http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/l...al-system.html

another garage setup
http://www.hassanmoore.com/equipment.htm

Honestly, if i knew 10 years ago what I know now, I absolutely would not get married myself. I feel your pain man.

Thanks for the link, xtm. Now, got some major thinking to do.

jeffreylam1132 · #10 07/11/2007, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by faded1004
how is your garage setup? is it insulated? concrete floors? alot of vents? ceiling put in?

i think in general, garages dont' usually have problems in 1 temp directions... they are usually extreme in both directions...

solution? insulate and drywall the garage... keep all tanks and equipment off concrete floors... keep a chiller and heater? you shoudl be okay? my garage has ceiling and walls all dry walled and it doensn't get too cold ... but it does get hot when 2 freshly driven cars are parked inside... there is no ventilation inside...

you want stability in water conditions... i think that temp is your only hurtle? may be making sure there enough power able to go to garage( check your estimated power consumption and check your breaker for the garage outlet)?

Faded, is there a reason why the tank and equipments can't be on the concrete floor?

FOSELONE · #11 07/11/2007, 03:24 AM

id get a divorce...

Paulairduck · #12 07/11/2007, 08:24 AM

i run a 180 in my garage, in chino hills where it is hot, I run my lights to come on 5:00 am and off @ 1:00 PM. My garage is fully finished and I am going to connect it to my central air, all i need to do is insulate my garage door and it should be ready to go. This is not a sps tank, it has softies that are a little more stable when it comes to temperature fluctuations.

Crusty Old Shellback · #13 07/11/2007, 08:38 AM

I had my 400G set up in my garage for about a year while I was building the room to put it in. Heat was not all that big of a problem as I sat my sump on the concrete floor and that helped pull the heat out of the system. That and I did have a vent fan put on the one vent that was in the back wall.

Biggest problem was humidity and rust. Since there was no way to vent out the mositure, most of my tools rusted. It was a constant battle having that much SW in a enclosed space. So if your going to do it, make sure you set up some good vents to the outside. Mine was temporary so I didn't want to start hacking away at my garage roof or walls.

Good luck.

cthetoy · #14 07/11/2007, 09:22 AM

My 60g sump is in my garage and it does get humid with 2 fans blowing across it. There should be some small vents in your garaI bought a small box fan and hanged it across the vent. During the summers the fans blows cool air from the outside. If its real hot I might leave my garage door open about 6" off the floor for additional venting.

gtrestoration · #15 07/11/2007, 09:39 AM

Are you keeping a tank in the house as well? If so you need to think about the expense of operating both tanks. Just the 240 could be a burden on the power bill even in a perfect location. If your wife just tolerates the hobby this could very well lead to another getting out of the hobby thread were you have both systems up for sale.

If we didn't have spouses to tame our obsession it could really get out of hand.

SteveU

jlnguyen74 · #16 07/11/2007, 10:38 AM

Poor Jeffrey,
I share your pain. Last time I bought a 180-gal, my wife had the same reaction, said she like the way the living room was set up. What I did was taking the sofa against the wall that I want to put the tank to the garage, and put my tank at the sofa's spot. Up side, I have the 180- gal in my living room. Down side, I slept on that sofa in the garage that night, but hey, no pain, no gain. The sofa is still in the garage, and my 180-gal is still in the living room. Anyway, I knew some has tank in the garage, just need a good chiller.

Onesaltydawg · #17 07/11/2007, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeffreylam1132
When it comes to decorating the house, the wife is the boss! Marriage can be a pain sometimes, especially when reefkeeping is your most favorite hobby. Don't get me wrong, she does like to look at fish and corals and don't mind me having a tank. But this tank was just a little bit too big for her taste.

My garage is insulated. It has ceiling and drywalls. The only problem is their are no windows and no vents whatsoever. The floor is concrete. Will take a pic of the garage and post it up.

I have an acrylic custom size is about 180 gallons if you want to trade. Size is 57" x 30" x 24" with center overflow.

bergzy · #18 07/11/2007, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jeffreylam1132
...Anyway, when bought it home, the wife jaw dropped and say it is way too big for our dining room. She told me no way the 240 is going in our dining room. BTW, the tank measurement is 8'x2'x2'. Man, why is it always the wife get in the way of our hobby.

.........I was wondering if I set it up in the garage, would I have a hard time dealing with the heat and everything else. Does anybody here have a big fish tank setup in their garage? Please chime in. Setting this dream tank in the garage is my last resort. What do I need to do to make this work? Please help......... Thanks.

not all wives are an obstacle to our enjoyment of our hobby. in fact, it was my wife who suggested we renovate the house to fit in my current 180g reef. this included putting a rather large hole through the wall so that all my equipment could be out in the garage.

in addition to the 100g sump in the garage, i also have a 110g reef with all the goodies like hailde.

so...

what i do is keep the garage door open basically during the evening to vent the humidity out. it does get toasty in there during the day but with large volumes of water, the change will be slow and subtle. thus, this is why it is important to keep the garage open during the cooler evenings as long as possible. my sump fans do 99% of the cooling for my tanks. i do have a chiller on each but they rarely come on to cool the water.

electrical use is electrical use. you will get a nice whopping bill no matter what you do and yes, with the greater temperature fluctuations...there will be more heater and cooling use in the summer and winter.

i almost like my garage tank as much as my in house display. i am really happy to have both.

faded1004 · #19 07/11/2007, 10:50 AM

ohh, the concrete floor issue... it is a sink for heat... sometimes, you won't be able to control cooling?

i am not saying it is a problem, but you should keep it in mind...

i just recently started my 260g, and i got my first power bill before the tank! hahahaha, 50 bucks! for my whole 3 bedroom place... i am kinda scared to see the next bill... should come in this week or so...

eekkk...

xtm · #20 07/11/2007, 11:15 AM

My wife and I had a fierce, intense fight after I bought my 60G cube. AND THAT IS ONLY 60G.

She says I didn't even bother to ask what her opinion was. She even started throwing things around the house.. heck I even proposed a divorce the following morning! hahahaha!! It turns out that she wanted the 300G that I showed her a week ago. DUHH!!!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by gtrestoration
If we didn't have spouses to tame our obsession it could really get out of hand.

I agree with this. If it wasn't for the wife, I probably have a 5-thousand gal. reef right now.............and $100K in CC debt

jeffreylam1132 · #21 07/11/2007, 11:41 AM

As promised, here is a pic of my garage.

jeffreylam1132 · #22 07/11/2007, 11:43 AM

Seems like heating and cooling is going to be a big problem. How about if I do a FOWLR tank?

Crusty Old Shellback · #23 07/11/2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gtrestoration
If we didn't have spouses to tame our obsession it could really get out of hand.

SteveU

How true this is. But then again, she did tell me it was OK to go and get the 2nd 400G tank since it was free.

Just got to get it set up where I want it now.

Not for sure who did it, but I have seen a thread on here where a guy has the tank in the garage and a viewing area in his living room. No it's not Steve Weast tank, but one local.

Big question is, what do you use your garage for? If your like me, having a tank in there can complicate things. Seems woodworking, which makes a ton of saw dust and chemical smells from the finishes, along with mehanic stuff, like building bikes and hot rods, dosen't fit well with having a tank in the garage.

Just something to think about.

crushed_rock · #24 07/11/2007, 02:23 PM

you shoud pm simon.007. His tank is in the garage.

jeffreylam1132 · #25 07/11/2007, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by blown63chevy
How true this is. But then again, she did tell me it was OK to go and get the 2nd 400G tank since it was free. Just got to get it set up where I want it now.

Not for sure who did it, but I have seen a thread on here where a guy has the tank in the garage and a viewing area in his living room. No it's not Steve Weast tank, but one local.

Big question is, what do you use your garage for? If your like me, having a tank in there can complicate things. Seems woodworking, which makes a ton of saw dust and chemical smells from the finishes, along with mehanic stuff, like building bikes and hot rods, dosen't fit well with having a tank in the garage.

Just something to think about.

My plans are half of the garage will be dedicated for the tank and the other's half for laundry and parking a car. Do you think by parking your car in the garage, would this have any affect on the tank?