Can you Put a Saltwater Aquarium in an Unfinished Basement?

When I got my 210-gallon mixed reef tank, it wasn’t exactly planned. I got an amazing deal on the tank from a fellow reefer and had to move quickly to make the deal happen. This was a huge upgrade in tank size as I moved up from a 75-gallon reef tank. The tank is very large measuring 6 feet long and 2 feet wide. Looking throughout my house I simply didn’t have a good living space where I could locate the tank. The only option I had was to put the tank in my unfinished basement.  

So can you put a saltwater aquarium in an unfinished basement? Yes, you can put a saltwater aquarium in an unfinished basement. At the time of this writing, I’ve kept the 210 in my unfinished basement for close to a year and have learned a few things you should think about before placing a saltwater aquarium in your basement.  

How My Basement is Setup with My Saltwater Aquarium in it

My basement is completely unfinished with smooth concrete floors and concrete walls. There is no ceiling and no insulation in between the floor joists. My basement is considered a walkout basement and has many windows and a large glass double door so there is great natural light that comes into the basement. I live in the northwest and the winters can be brutally cold at times. The summers can also get hot, but being in the basement it stays pretty cool. I do have forced air heating and cooling. There are only two small vents in the basement supplying heat so it doesn’t heat up or retain heat well. The other challenge is electrical, where there is only one electrical outlet for the tank and the entire basement.    

Considering how my basement is unfinished and currently set up it was a learning process to keep the tank healthy and running smoothly. Some of the considerations included usability, keeping water temperature right, getting the tank into the basement, humidity, electrical, and freshwater access.    

Getting the Tank Into the Basement

I got extremely lucky in this aspect. The tank I bought was only 2 feet wide. The door to my basement had just enough room to squeeze it through with no room for fingers. I have stairs leading into the basement and with a corner, on the stairs, it would have been impossible to go down the stairs. Really think hard about alternatives if there are stairs involved with a large tank. Access was easy for me as I could actually drive my truck right up to my basement backing in close to the door to make quick work of moving the tank into the basement. If you aren’t as lucky with a large tank, other options might be to remove windows or doors entirely to get the tank into the basement.

Usability of Saltwater Aquarium in an Unfinished Basement

First off is usability. If you are not going to spend a significant amount of time in your basement, I do not recommend putting a fish tank in it. Ultimately if you are going to enjoy the tank you may come to resent it. 

Sitting in the basement the tank will consume resources including electricity, water, and salt. You’ll want to ensure that you have a reason to be in the basement with the tank.  

For me, I utilize my unfinished basement for a home office and workout area. 

In front of my tank is an area rug, coffee table, and futon. Having a nice seating area provides me a nice place to have a meal, have the family check out the tank, and is a great place to read a book or just relax. Behind the futon is a desk where I’ve set up an awesome home office. On the left and right of the desk are two monitors and in between the monitors is an awesome view of the tank. Looking at my tank while working helps the day go by and stress and emotions in check. 

Beyond my desk is a workout area that gets variably used. With the seating area, home office, and workout area I spend a significant amount of time with my tank and it doesn’t get neglected.

If you are going to put a tank in an unfinished basement consider what other activities you conduct or could conduct in the basement to ensure you have adequate time with the tank.  

How to Keep Proper Water temperature with an Aquarium in an Unfinished Basement

Depending on where you live, it can be quite the challenge to keep the temperature of your tank warm enough and stable. I live in the northwest and the winters can get very cold for extended periods. My house furnace is in the basement and there are two return vents. However, with the majority of the basement uninsulated, it gets very cold compared to the rest of the house.  

The tank in my basement consists of a 210-gallon display tank, a Trigger Emerald 39 sump, and a plumbed in 50-gallon low boy frag tank. Overall I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 275-300 gallons of water in the system. To keep the tank warm enough I had to more than double the wattage of heaters.  

In the spring and summer, my basement stays cool and is much warmer. 

I usually use a 300-watt Eheim Jager heater for the entire system. I keep the heater in the main display tank. In the dead of winter, I add a second 300 watt Jager heater in the display plus another 150 watt Jager in the frag tank. I’m able to keep the temp around 75 degrees, but it does cause a spike in my electric usage and cost.  

ReefSumper Recommended Heaters

Though less common, an unfinished basement could be too hot. For this, it is recommended to utilize a chiller.        

Humidity Issues by Keeping an Aquarium in an Unfinished Basement

Another aspect to think about with having an aquarium in the basement, especially if it is a large one, is the sheer amount of evaporation and humidity that it can produce. My basement reef tank goes through a full 5-gallon freshwater bucket in about 2.5 days. 

Evaporation can cause humidity issues in your basement. High humidity in a basement can lead to rotting of wood, rusting of metals, and even mold issues.

This can be a tough battle and the level of condensation and humidity will vary greatly based on where you live. There are several approaches you can try to decrease the amount of humidity in the room.  

You can try to run a dehumidifier in the basement with your tank. This has both pros and cons. A dehumidifier will reduce the amount of humidity in the basement but could also cause your tank to run through more freshwater. 

Dehumidifiers need to be drained as they pull water out of the air. Usually, this task is done manually which adds another maintenance task to the list. 

Some dehumidifiers can be plumbed into a drain to remove this task. Another con is that these units are typically not cheap and can use a lot of energy leading to a higher power bill.  

Another way to help with humidity is to consider the overall temperature of the basement. If your basement stays warm, the humidity may condensate on the walls or windows of the basement. This can be happening as cooler humidity hits a warmer surface leading to damp condensation similar to a glass of cold water sweating on a hot day. If it is possible, try reducing the heat in the room by turning your thermostat down or increasing cooler air conditioning.

Probably the easiest and way to help with humidity from a large tank in a basement is to ensure it is well ventilated. You’ll want to have access to outside air where you can, most of the time this is accomplished with windows. If you have a severe humidity issue the next thing you use try is exhaust fans that pump the humid air out of the basement. Simple exhaust fans like those in bathrooms can be used for this purpose. I also will use window fans to push air out of the basement when the weather is warm. 

How to Fix Room Humidity Issues from a Reef Tank

Electrical Considerations When Keeping an Aquarium in an Unfinished Basement

In my unfinished basement electricity is an issue. I have lights run throughout the basement but only have one existing outlet. Before placing your aquarium in an unfinished basement, you want to make sure you have enough electricity capability available to support all the equipment you’ll be hooking up. The safest way to do this is to contact a licensed electrician to check your electric capability out and upgrade if necessary. If you know a little bit about home electric setups you can get a rough estimate.

Homes have outlets and other items like lights that connect to circuit breakers. Most homes have multiple circuit breakers that are 15 amps or 20 amps. 15 amp breakers are capable of 1800 watts and 20 amp circuit breakers are capable of 2400 watts before they trip. A circuit should only be running at 80% capacity at any point in time for safety. Most of the time you can find the running watts of a piece of equipment on the label of the equipment or its power supply. Keep in mind that you must also include everything else that is connected to the circuit breaker. So if you have lights or let’s say a tv on the other side of the basement that is connected to the same breaker you have to include those in the calculation. The other thing you can do is acquire an electricity monitor that allows you to plug-in devices to tell you how much wattage they are using.

Sometimes it is not easily known what outlets and what lights are connected to which breaker. The way to find this out is to turn on the item in the room you are wondering about and then switch off the circuit breaker to see if the light or item shuts off. 

If you have too much wattage being used on the outlets available in the basement, you must reconsider or enlist an electrician to add a breaker and outlets as needed. Another thing you can do is reduce the energy consumption of the tank. The easiest way to do this is to consider DC-powered equipment and LED lights both of which can use much less energy to run.     

For my tank I calculated all the wattage I would be using and made sure to go with led lights and DC pumps. My total wattage was low enough to run off the single outlet, but I do risk tripping the breaker if anything else is added in the future. In the future, I would like to run the tank on its own breaker.

Fresh Water Access for you Aquarium in an Unfinished Basement 

Water changes can be one of the more tedious tasks in the saltwater aquarium hobby. I like to try and make this task as easy and efficient as possible. The task to consider is the location of freshwater. The last thing you want to have to do is haul heavy water to the location of your tank with manpower. If you don’t have a water source in your basement consider how you will get it there with minimal effort.

Fortunately, in unfinished basements, there are usually exposed water lines that can be tapped into as a freshwater source. This can make an unfinished basement the ideal place for a RO/DI system and water change station. I have many areas in my basement where I can tap into a line and set up a RO/DI water change station. This is on my list to do, but in the meantime, I have a garden spigot next to one of the windows of my basement. I run a hose from my tank is where I mix salt out the window to the spigot for easy access. Another thing to think about is putting a sink in the basement. My basement has a roughed-out drain and it would be pretty easy to place a utility sink in the basement.     

How to Make a PVC Garden Hose Aquarium Water Change Attachment

How I Make a Large Saltwater Aquarium Work in an Unfinished Basement 

The biggest factor for me in putting a tank in my unfinished basement is the amount of use and time with the tank while being down there. 

I would not put a tank down in my basement if it being down there wasn’t a significant portion of my normal days. 

Having an office in the basement, a workout area, and other family activities in the basement have ensured that I spend a good amount of time consistently in the basement. The basement in effect has effectively become my man cave where I work, work out, and even relax.

The hardest thing for me to deal with is the amount of energy required to heat the tank in the middle of winter. The hit to the electricity bill went up at least $40 a month with the extra heaters. I plan on rectifying this in the future by framing, insulating, and conditioning the basement with heat. I have moved over to led lights and DC pumps which has helped. Overall there can be many additional challenges by having a tank in an unfinished basement, but if you are going to enjoy it down there they can be overcome.