5 year old Greenhouse Update

[dendronepthya]

@reefer31 - I would go with a lean-to design here in NE Ohio because there would probably be energy savings by having a conventional wall on the north end rather than a greenhouse wall. It is easier to insulate and there could even be room to have office space/storage in the front area. In terms of light, it would basically be the same because no light comes in through the north end. In the winter especially, the sun does not go very high on the southern horizon.

@madean and rED86 - The smaller metal pipes I hang the gates on can hold at least 100 lbs or so based on when we used them to hold orchids. On top of the tanks, we only expect to put on 10 lbs at most. The larger greenhouse frame is insanely robust. You can probably hang cattle from them without any difficulty.

As for shading, we don't do anything special. We've made removable screens from shade cloth and PVC that we place on the tanks and on the hanging gates to provide more shade. We've installed larger shade cloths on the greenhouse itself that do not move knowing now that we don't ever need the full power of the sun.

[dendronepthya]

On an unrelated note, our water chemistry is slowly but surely improving after the addition of two part additives and the new calcium reactors. For a very long time, our values were very low and getting worse due in large part to infrequent use of additives and infrequent water changes. It was not a problem when we had relatively low stocking levels but once our corals really started growing, Ca, Alk, and Mg took a dive.

Before we started on this aggressive regimen, our values looked on average like:

Ca: 300
Alk: 6
Mg: 900

In the past two months, we've increased these figures to:

Ca: 410
Alk: 11
Mg: 1100

We are testing weekly now to make certain our reactors are dialed in, and I am hoping to raise the Ca into the 450 range over the course of the next 30 days. This is in part because I want a higher level, but also because I think our Alk is rising a bit too high. At times, the test kit shows Alk values over 12, and I don't want it to go any higher.

[Wolverine]

Originally Posted by dendronepthya

You can probably hang cattle from them without any difficulty.

That would definitely give you the shade you need.

[Electrobes]

Really glad to see the parameters improving for you. Had you ever considered using a two part? I am thinking you could use something like an inexpensive pump and the ingredients (Like RHF's) would be very cost effective. I don't know if it would be cheaper than using reactors though...?

[kmacartney]

Originally Posted by Wolverine

That would definitely give you the shade you need.

Hanging cattle like Kobe beef?

[dendronepthya]

Originally Posted by Electrobes

Really glad to see the parameters improving for you. Had you ever considered using a two part? I am thinking you could use something like an inexpensive pump and the ingredients (Like RHF's) would be very cost effective. I don't know if it would be cheaper than using reactors though...?

We are using a little bit of two-part. Reactors are great for maintaining water chemistry but not so great at raising levels. Once we dialed in the reactors, we started adding Ca, Alk, and Mg to raise the levels of each to where we wanted. Doing that exclusively rather than using the reactors would probably be too much of a time commitment to be worth it.

The reactors are not cheap by any means, but we tend to spend a bit more for automation. Now that I think of it, I don't think we cut many cost corners putting this thing together.

[Electrobes]

Whoops, I hadn't noticed to said you used two part. I didn't realize that raising parameters with two part was more difficult than with reactors.

I have to admit, your dedication, professionalism, and environment/work space should be praised.. I know if I were into propagation I would SO be using this and raaden's knowledge to the bone.

I'll stick with rock making, and let you professionals propagate.

[jimicasper]

You should check out atlantic sea farms. They grow coral in a greenhouse in Virginia. I believe they even grow lots of sps.

[madean]

dendro- I am sure with the fluctuations of live stock, and apparent algae, you must gave an accumulation of nitrates and phosphates with the heavy feedings. What do you do to combat nitrates and phosphates. I have been thinking about a DIY sulfer denitrator for nitrates but I hate the idea of the PH and ALK levels dipping because of the denitrator. I was thinking a sulfer denitrator would be perfect for you because you could design 1 unit and run it a week on each of your 1000 gallon systems. And just rotating from week to week which 1000 gallon system gets the denitrator.

[EvMiBo]

Have you gained most of your knowledge through hands on experience?

I assume you must have had to do some research, is there a website or some books you read to gain ideas, knowledge, etc? I've recently become very interested in aquaculturing fish and invertebrates and a greenhouse idea supports to concept even more. I'm sure you are, but you should be very proud of your success.

[dendronepthya]

Video of an orange-spot goby doing a great job of keeping the sand bed clean:

[inktomi]

Very nice video there. Certainly lucky it was working up against the glass =)

[dendronepthya]

Xenia video:

[inktomi]

Seems the xenia video isn't public =\

[dendronepthya]

oops should be fixed now. I'm new to vimeo

[dendronepthya]

@Electrobes - I appreciate the kind comments. This whole project was a lot of work and investment and worth every bit. It's certainly not the best money-maker in the world, but I have high hopes yet.

@madean - The Nitrates in the tanks is undetectably low. We tested a couple weeks ago using Salifert test kits and none of them showed any signs of Nitrates. We don't test for Phosphates though and I might do so just out of curiosity. As a general rule, we do not fiddle with parameters we do not test for. If the tests come back with elevated Phosphate, I'll definitely consider a device that would help. Algae is no fun at all.

@EvMiBo - I did a lot of research initially. I purchased a book by Anthony Calfo on greenhouse coral propagation and visited a couple of different setups like Tropicorium in Michigan. In the end, most of it was trial and error over the years. It is definitely a good idea to do as much homework as possible, but I would recommend being flexible and understanding up front that what works for others may not work for you. If I had followed any single model exactly, my greenhouse would not exist right now.

@inktomi - I'm really enjoying this new video thing. I hope to have more published in the future.

[EvMiBo]

Thanks, I think I'll start with that book. Do you know of any gh setups in the Southeast region?

[ReefAnon]

Thanks for posting this thread - very inspiring. Couple of questions...

What do you do about condensation - gather this can be a problem.
Do you have to supplement natural light during the winter for SPS?

Daniel

[underwaterfirefighter]

Thanks for sharing your incredible set up. i would be very interested in a stock list. Could you pm me please? Awsome job!

[dendronepthya]

@EvMiBo - I've seen none personally, but I recall a couple others in the FLA area that did some greenhouse setups like scubadude and Treeman. I think...

@ReefAnon - Condensation isn't a problem per se, but it's definitely noticeable on some days. The only issue it causes is paper tends to get a little wet. Everything else is ok, the electronics, etc. Once it is sunny, the greenhouse is actually very dry regardless of what it's like outside. It could be in the dead of winter outside, but if the sun is out, it is downright hot and dry inside.

As far as supplemental lighting goes, we have lights but they are not intense enough to grow many SPS. We will probably keep growing some types, but the really light demanding stuff we probably won't be keeping much longer.

[chi]

First off, awesome work you've done. Never figured that a smallish greenhouse would work so well in Ohio.

Secondly, have you consider breeding fish? It seems like such a natural extension to the coral propagation that you're already doing.

[dendronepthya]

@chi - If you can believe it, I've never successfully bred any fish. I wouldn't even know where to start.

[inktomi]

If you're interested, you might want to start with clownfish - they're apparently among the easier to raise.

[Dejavu]

This thread has been nominated for Thread of the Month

[dendronepthya]

Now that we are into the fall, I can already see the corals starting to improve their color and growth rate.