Reefing in unfinished basement?

[Cook]

My wife is pushing for us to move. Our current house is a ranch on a concrete slab, so I can put a tank anywhere I want for the most part without worry. We are considering a new house, which is a two story with wood floor joists and a crawl space in the newer part of the home and an unfinished basement in the older structure. I could see the basement as a potential option for the fish and corals but it's not climate controlled currently. The space is insulated though and there are framed in walls that need electrical and sheetrock, etc. What difficulties would I experience in the short term if we do move and I set my current tanks up down there? I had a 30 gallon Rubbemaid tub in my garage this winter and outside of moving to a 300W heater to ensure I had enough heat to keep a stable water temperature I didn't really have any issues, but I wasn't worried about keeping corals in it.

Currently, my largest tank is the 90 gallon, I'd like the option to move up to a 150 or a 180 gallon system.

 

[ZapataInc]

My wife is pushing for us to move. Our current house is a ranch on a concrete slab, so I can put a tank anywhere I want for the most part without worry. We are considering a new house, which is a two story with wood floor joists and a crawl space in the newer part of the home and an unfinished basement in the older structure. I could see the basement as a potential option for the fish and corals but it's not climate controlled currently. The space is insulated though and there are framed in walls that need electrical and sheetrock, etc. What difficulties would I experience in the short term if we do move and I set my current tanks up down there? I had a 30 gallon Rubbemaid tub in my garage this winter and outside of moving to a 300W heater to ensure I had enough heat to keep a stable water temperature I didn't really have any issues, but I wasn't worried about keeping corals in it.

Currently, my largest tank is the 90 gallon, I'd like the option to move up to a 150 or a 180 gallon system.

@Adam I know can answer this.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Good question.

As a first step; I’d say you can use a Digital Thermometer to log the maximum and minimum temp that the basement is reaching. Something like this, as I’ve used these in my greenhouse for years

Amazon.com

Edit: not sure why it says Robot check, but the link works

Of course, it won’t give you information for other seasons of the year, but it’s a starting point.

 

[Adam]

Justin has his frag system in an unfinished basement too. My last house had the sump in unfinished space but the rest of the basement was finished. That house didn't have insulation between the floor joists like this one does. That insulation is more for sound deadening than heat/cool. Wish I had done it in the last place.

I think the two main concerns would be air circulation to keep the humidity I think check and keeping things from falling into the tanks. Everyones houses are different so you'd have to look at this gs on a case by case basis. But you dont want the space humid like some LFS's.

 

[Cook]

Justin has his frag system in an unfinished basement too. My last house had the sump in unfinished space but the rest of the basement was finished. That house didn't have insulation between the floor joists like this one does. That insulation is more for sound deadening than heat/cool. Wish I had done it in the last place.

I think the two main concerns would be air circulation to keep the humidity I think check and keeping things from falling into the tanks. Everyones houses are different so you'd have to look at this gs on a case by case basis. But you dont want the space humid like some LFS's.

Thanks all. Temp monitoring is a good suggestion. I was thinking I would definitely need some type of dehumidifier to keep the moisture level in check especially during the summer months. I don't want to create a better environment for mold than a basement already is. I hadn't thought about the possibility of debris. The vent ducts are exposed in that area also, so I wonder if I could insulate and enclose that section of the basement without adding too much demand on the A/C and heat system without trying to renovate the whole area. We are about to make an offer, I'll quiz the inspector when we get that far.

 

[ichthyoid]

“The vent ducts are exposed in that area also, so I wonder if I could insulate and enclose that section of the basement without adding too much demand on the A/C and heat system without trying to renovate the whole area.”

How many square feet are in the unheated area there & what is the ceiling height(s)?

If you can get that, I can help with a room volume & load calculations.

It will help to know the size of the existing AC (tons) & rest of the house square footage, as well.

 

[gainesvillereef]

I agree the 2 biggest concerns are stuff falling in the tank and humidity. I have a dehumidifier in my unfinished space. My tanks are all located in the finished section of the basement.