Best cooling methods, suggested mini split

[Socalreefer4816]

Long story short. I live in so cal. Can get up to 100 degrees at times. I'm about to move my tank into the garage which I have remodeled and insulated completely and drywalled. I also insulated the garage door.

So what would yo do to cool the garage. I wanted to use a mini split. But don't know which unit I should use (garage is 20'x20').

Or should I be fine with a fan blowing on the water? Or should I use a chiller. I have two systems. So I would need two chillers. And I hear they use a lot of electricity

 

[brett_schn]

I say use a chiller

 

[Mark Gray]

<y house is at 92 right now tank is at 78 with fans

 

[Socalreefer4816]

Interesting. Looking forward to more replies

 

[Michael Cronmiller]

If you want to go a/c style rule of thumb is 500 sq ft per ton of a/c...but if you're in a garage heat load will be high even with insulation and tank light heat, maybe over size by 1/2 ton of air conditioning

 

[andrew james]

I keep my tank in our sunroom in GA and i run metal halides I installed a blower pointed directly at the waters surface it turns on when the water temp reaches 78. Since ive had it setup like this the water has never reached 79. The only problem is I evaporate nearly 10% of my total water volume per day

 

[lion king]

I've been able to keep tanks at 80 with fans in a room that gets as hot as 87. I use a temp controller that maintains set temp. You'll get evap so you want an ato. The larger the tank the more stable the temp will maintain. My 29 g the fans comes on often, 125 in same room not as much.

You can go the mini split route if it's in the budget. You can also do a through the wall unit. Chillers will be more expensive than a mini split, temp controllers and fans. You'll also want the chillers outside because they put of heat, and are noisey.

 

[Mark Gray]

I keep my tank in our sunroom in GA and i run metal halides I installed a blower pointed directly at the waters surface it turns on when the water temp reaches 78. Since ive had it setup like this the water has never reached 79. The only problem is I evaporate nearly 10% of my total water volume per day

What type of blower are you using I amaybe need one I am going to try to stay away from a chiller if I can

 

[andrew james]

Its a lasko pivoting blower 89.99 on amazon. The stream of air is far more precise compared to a fan so you can aim is to blow perfectly parallel over the waters surface.