help! storing an aquarium in a garage? advice!

F

fwiffo

AC Members
Dec 5, 2007
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the title speaks for itself. storing a fish tank in a garage sounds like a bad idea to me, since it would make trouble for the silicone with the temperature shifts up here in buffalo.

this thread has its root in this craigslist deal i am considering:
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/for/1697641589.html

store wants 55 for the tank and 50 for the stand. can get the lid for 20 bucks off my buddy.

so what do you guys think?
thanks!
 
As long as there was no water in it and the silicone still feels springy soft, it should be just fine. I stored 2 of my smaller tanks (20g long and 16g tall) through this winter in our garage that is not sealed very well (door doesn't meet the ground and is held shut by a brick, lol) and not insulated. We're in Wisconsin, and you can bet temps were well below freezing. I've used the 16g a couple times already this spring, once for QT and once for a tank leak on a 44g that I had been using.
 
I think silicone is a pretty durable substance. How could one of it's key intended purposes (sealing around exterior doors/windows) be accomplished if the stuff was going to fall apart due to a little cold. I'm with checking it for general flexibility and you'll likely be fine.
 
Well if you're keeping it inactive in the garage for the time being, just get it all cleaned up, and wrap it up in plastic sheet all nice and tidy with tape, So its ready to go when you are ready. I'm sure silicone has some extremely high temp ranges it will be fine in.
 
A garage is cold in Buffalo, but not an Ice-box. The tank should be fine.
 
I just stored a tank in my unheated garage for the past 6 months. The temperature in there dropped as low as -40 for a few weeks. When it warmed up, I filled it with water and no leaks. I'm sure you'll be fine. When I put it in there, I was planning on redoing the silicone if I needed too, but it holds water just fine.
 
I'm in Mass, not quite as bad a Buffalo, my 40g long was ok. Just test it before you bring it inside. Worst case resealing, not all that hard (& I'm a semi-klutz). Silicone is used for window & door caulking...
 
I have a tube of marine silicon, I use it to make my tanks, it says will withstand -30 C to 150 C without shrinking cracking....
 
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