Hello reefers! I am new to the site....and only in the hobby about a year. I'm behind the curve compared to probably all of you on here so searching for some answers...and help. I have been sifting through the wealth of information that is GARF.org and their DIY pages are incredible. I'm inspired to build a frag system inexpensively. So what I mean.......I wish to use something besides a glass aquarium. While traveling a few months ago I stopped in at a coral store in Alabama. This place housed their propogation tanks using what looked liked very very large utility sinks(those white plastic sinks). These things had to be 10ft long......or longer. Well......thats overkill for my needs......but I'm thinking something similar. GARF also has a really interesting DIY light project and DIY aggrocrete rock. Basically, I want to try what they call the "55 gallon bullet proof reef" except transform their project into a frag system....and something larger than 55gallons. Does anyone hear have experience or suggestion for such a project. It all seems so doable while I'm on the GARF site......then when the computer is off.....its back down to the reality that I just don't know where to even begin!!
to the Razorback Reef Forum, a reef forum with lots of very nice members always willing to help Several members have built frag tanks, sure some will post back & offer some advice.
So I emailed Progressive Marine (fantastic store BTW if your passing through AL to get to FL), he is using commercial fisherman coolers for frag system. I'm trying to figure out how to get a hold of one....or something similar. This is going to be in my garage so heating and cooling are going to be issues.....mainly cooling. Chillers are way too expensive..for me....so my thought on cooling the tank is.....By a used dorm fridge. Something like the 1.7cu ft. Buy a small diameter hose...like maybe 1/4in and get like 100ft. Coil up the hose inside the fridge......have the hose enter on one side the fridge and exit the other.....my theory is that having 100ft(might be overkill) of hose will allow the water to chill enough so that it can enter the refugium and then tank, thus maintaing a nice tolerable water temp. Any thoughts on this?.....is sounds rediculous going back and reading it.
JMO it might be better to cool the garage with a small ac unit. Keep the room at 80 the tanks will stay the same. Putting a big tank in a hot room is asking for trouble. IMO.
Hmmm, I actually didn't even think of that. We still use the garage as a garage......the door is open quite a bit.....and we leave it cracked for venting purposes. I'm wondering how effecient an ac unit would be......it would certainly help, but I think I will still need something else. Any thoughts......I appreciate any input.....I am way out of my knowledge base.
I would suggest using an a/c unit but if the garage is still being used as a garage I wouldn't put the tank in there. Its just to hot in arkansas for this type of setup the way your wanting to make it. You also need to think about what type of lights you plan on using because that will also factor in to the heat issue. Just do what I did and claim one of the guest bedrooms for the tanks. My refugium,sump and my frag tank are in this room away from site from the main display in the living room. Thats the only reason my wife let me have the frag tank. Your welcome to come take a look sometime.
let me put my two copper in on this since i currently have a 200gal frag system in a garage now. It takes a BIGGGGGGGG a/c unit .. i have a 7k BTU portable unit in there , have insulated the roof above the garage and insulated the door also.. the tank is currently sitting at 89 degrees and tops 91 degrees some days. the low of the tank is about 84. right now i am toying with leaving the garage closed all the time and with the ac unit just in the room the best i can get is 88 degrees in the tank. next step is to point the a/c unit directly at either the glass frag tank or the poly sump and see if this helps. at this point the water is wayyy too hot to grow frags , i have a Kenya in the tank just for kicks and it look pitiful. the color of it seems to be doing OK with no lighting . snails and crabs seem to just think its a tropical water and seem OK but im sure they're not happy. my only suggestion would be get at least a 12k or a 15k BTU unit and keep the door closed. if i was wifeless or wanted to be i could use the spare bedroom as SAM suggested. till then i have a tropical holding tank for rocks / snail and crabs.
Everyone is talking about cooling the tank... Here is my experience. It is VERY difficult to keep a tank cool in a garage that is not completely insulated (walls, ceiling, and door w/good weather seal). I was using the same air unit that ljinks is using and my garage walls and ceiling are not insulated, but my door is and I have done a little work on getting a good seal on the door. Now, here is the other side of the coin. Heating in the winter. I tried to keep a tank in the garage at another point during the fall and winter. In the fall it went well, but when winter set in good, I had problems. In the winter I run a 1500w radiator heater with a digital thermostat to keep the garage bearable. When it was 30 degrees outside and I had a tank in the garage I could not keep the temperature up even when I ran the heater wide open. The highest I could keep it with the radiator heater next to the tank, a 150w heater in the tank, and 250w MH over it was 68 degrees. This would be fine for fish and inverts, but stony corals will slow their growing, if they hit 65 degrees most will stop completely. As far as your dorm fridge idea, that idea has been around for a while and most places you hear people saying it is highly inefficient. Plastic tubing doesn't transfer heat very well. So again. If you can get the temp under control in the garage itself, say down around 78, you may be good with a good.
Ok, so the garage is not going to work. Well Sam, since you suggested it and now you have met my fiance(wife in 3 days), I'll let you talk her in to the system in the bedroom.....Ha...JK. So spare bedroom it is. Just for curiosity....has anyone ever used underground piping to cool a system. Surely running pipes 4 or 5 ft down could keep a tank cool......but I guess the flip side is unless you could bypass them in the winter it would create water temps WAY to cold. I appreciate all the feedback!!!!! You have kept me from a very costly mistake.
