Cooling tips for Garage fishroom setup

[sanjay21]

1. You may only need to exhaust your garage if the humidity level becomes too great from the aquariums in the room. Adding lids to your tanks will drastically reduce the humidity levels.
2. Ease of running a dedicated circuit for a fish room depends on many factors, If your circuit panel is already in your garage then all you would have to do is run a new properly sized circuit over to where your tanks will be. Be absolutely sure that you check if your panel is capable of handling the extra amp load and protect all outlets with a GFI, since these will be exposed to wet conditions. I ran a new 20 amp circuit using 12 gauge COPPER wire with a ground from my panel to a gang box on the wall near my tanks. Do not skimp out on wire sizing or material when dealing with high voltage. This may be a project that an electrician will have to do for you if you have any doubts/concerns.
3. A portable A/C unit will help with cooling off your garage but many of these are designed for small, already insulated rooms and draw a lot of amperage for the amount of BTU's ( cooling capacity ) that they produce. A heat pump mini split may be expensive to begin with but I have installed a ton of them and they work very well.
4. You can start by adding R-30 or greater above your ceiling for insulation. Check your local codes for their minimum guidelines and recommendations.

Kevin ! that's really helpful tips. I will consult a electrician probably. I might manage everything else myself.

[Ryan925]

Have you considered just putting up some false walls for your fish room? May be easier to insulate than entire garage. Is your home one story or two? If one is there attic space above the area you will have your tanks? Could you add an additional vent from your home's hvac unit if you were too put up false walls?

[sanjay21]

Have you considered just putting up some false walls for your fish room? May be easier to insulate than entire garage. Is your home one story or two? If one is there attic space above the area you will have your tanks? Could you add an additional vent from your home's hvac unit if you were too put up false walls?

I wasn't looking to insulate full garage, I was planning doing some false walls like you mentioned and insulate those walls. I live in a two story home, honestly I haven't checked my Attic yet , I moved to this house on the 10th this month.

[fishbubbles]

Have you considered just putting up some false walls for your fish room? May be easier to insulate than entire garage. Is your home one story or two? If one is there attic space above the area you will have your tanks? Could you add an additional vent from your home's hvac unit if you were too put up false walls?

Adding an additional vent into your garage from your existing ac system is highly against code. If someone ever ran a gas motor such as a car or generator in the garage, that vent becomes a direct route into your home for the carbon monoxide to travel into.

[sanjay21]

Adding an additional vent into your garage from your existing ac system is highly against code. If someone ever ran a gas motor such as a car or generator in the garage, that vent becomes a direct route into your home for the carbon monoxide to travel into.

oh wow ! I didn't know that ! If I'm installing an A/C in the fish room space, how do I vent the hot air out ?

[fishbubbles]

oh wow ! I didn't know that ! If I'm installing an A/C in the fish room space, how do I vent the hot air out ?

Depends on what type of system you're going to use. If you install a mini-split system, it is exactly like the system in your home but much smaller. In short... heat is absorbed by the freon that passes through the coil of the wall unit and is then brought outside where the outdoor unit dissipates the heat into the outside air. ( This is an extremely simplified way of explaining it without getting too technical ) If you use a portable unit such as a window unit or the stand alone systems then heat is usually forced out of a duct through a window or wall opening. Another option for you may be installing a PTAC unit which is like what you see in many hotel rooms. PTAC's have to be cut into the wall but you have to be sure that no load bearing wall studs nor solid poured sections of concrete are ever cut.