My new coral greenhouse

[ctenophore]

wow i heard about a greenhouse project but didn't realize it was a full on coral/fish farm, awsome work.

 

justin, do you want a convict tang to help with algae? my pbt is pestering him like crazy, LMK.

Thanks! I can always use more tangs. Will send PM shortly.

 

Wow this is amazing!!! Have you started selling your corals yet?

Thanks! Yes I have started selling, only to LFSs though.

[Jeronimo Matias]

Congratulations on the assembly, it was great.

the anemones you are cutting?

[ctenophore]

Congratulations on the assembly, it was great.

the anemones you are cutting?

Thank you!

Yes, I am cutting the anemones.

[Sikryd]

Looking good Justin!

 

I hope that nem' is doing good for you. I can't wait to see your setup in person one of these days.

 

 

 

[ctenophore]

Looking good Justin!

 

I hope that nem' is doing good for you. I can't wait to see your setup in person one of these days.

Thanks Chad. It's about ready to be cut, but not in fifths

[Leishman]

5ths sounds better that 1000ths that I tried..........

[BrendanG]

Wow, you've been doing some SERIOUS work,

you've done a wonderful job

 

I'm really Glad to see captive aquaculture at work (or at play) in my own neighborhood!

[HowardofNOVA]

I just got back from breaking that one down, so look for version 3 eventually coming to MD/VA. I kept all the tanks (13,000 gal worth!) and equipment so if/when I find a good space up here I will have a much shorter build time.

 

Noooooo, Not again!!!

[Chad]

I just had a chance to read through this whole thread...

Excellent job on your greenhouse!! It looks great. It seems like you have a nice balance of frugality where appropriate and robustness where needed.

Just curious, is this a livelihood or a hobby?

I would love to have a conversation about the business side of all of this at some point... I retire in about 9 more years and have been tossing the idea of doing a very similar venture.

Thanks for the read!

[jtro]

Great system and build

If I may ask who did you purchase your solarium from and what where the dimensions? Just trying to get a idea of the size.

Thanks

Jim

[ctenophore]

I just had a chance to read through this whole thread...

Excellent job on your greenhouse!! It looks great. It seems like you have a nice balance of frugality where appropriate and robustness where needed.

Just curious, is this a livelihood or a hobby?

I would love to have a conversation about the business side of all of this at some point... I retire in about 9 more years and have been tossing the idea of doing a very similar venture.

Thanks for the read!

Thanks Chad. Frugality and robustness, that is a very good pair of adjectives that describe how I try to operate. This is becoming a livelihood slowly but surely. It is not an easy business but it is a lot of fun and can be economically sound once a good niche is found. I am paying all bills so that is good. I'd be happy to discuss all the business "secrets" that so many in this industry feel that they need to guard with their lives. The reality is lots of hard work and a little creativity is what makes it possible.

 

 

Great system and build

If I may ask who did you purchase your solarium from and what where the dimensions? Just trying to get a idea of the size.

Thanks

Jim

Thanks Jim. I got the structure from Sunshine Rooms (www.sunshinerooms.com). Great bunch of folks to work with. The aquaculture room is approx. 22'6" x 25'9". The peak is 17'6", eaves ~10' and a 9/12 pitch roof. I have a second L-shape portion that is separated by a french door that will be living space which is about 22'x12', but is a lean-to style 2/12 pitch roof.

[gmubeach]

How do you make your water? Do you use rodi or something else!

[ctenophore]

Yes, RO/DI. I use an old "Oceanus" model from a company I don't even remember the name of now, I think they are out of business. I've modded it to have two membranes and dual DI postfilters. It makes about 100-130 gpd on 50 PSI pressure. I may get a booster pump one of these days.

[El Camaron]

it was great meeting you Justin, your greenhouse and tanks are insane, very impressed with your set up. Hopefully we can go fishing or surfing sometime soon and thanks again for the PAR meter.

[thewire]

WOW!!! ..are you hiring? I will work for corals

[Coral Hind]

WOW!!! ..are you hiring? I will work for corals

 

There is already a long line for that job.

[truestelf]

amazing coral greenhouse, Nicest i have ever seen online. I would love to see it in person sometime. I think you are doing a great job aquaculturing corals so we don't need to always get "wild" caught ones. simply AMAZING!

[ctenophore]

Thanks truestelf!

[Supreme Reefs]

Any updated pics of everything?

[ctenophore]

I will try to get some soon. My last ones were taken with a borrowed underwater camera which I don't have now. In general, most corals are doing quite well, including some I would not have expected to. Like the "deepwater" efflos. Full sun, no shadecloth, 1000+ micromol PAR and they are growing and look great. However, some of the "easy" acros like validas have withered away by slow bottom-up stn. I think it could be a function of water flow through the tight branches. The efflos are flat so are easy to keep clean, while the bushy validas tend to get stuff stuck in them, even with my surge effect streams-on-a-lightmover.

 

All the softies are doing well, as are the anemones.

[Supreme Reefs]

I will try to get some soon. My last ones were taken with a borrowed underwater camera which I don't have now. In general, most corals are doing quite well, including some I would not have expected to. Like the "deepwater" efflos. Full sun, no shadecloth, 1000+ micromol PAR and they are growing and look great. However, some of the "easy" acros like validas have withered away by slow bottom-up stn. I think it could be a function of water flow through the tight branches. The efflos are flat so are easy to keep clean, while the bushy validas tend to get stuff stuck in them, even with my surge effect streams-on-a-lightmover.

 

All the softies are doing well, as are the anemones.

 

 

How big are the efflos?

 

Man i really want to see the whole set up in person!

[dave w]

I saw Justin's setup a month or two ago and it's hard to find words for impressive it is. Better yet was the wealth of knowledge that he shared freely about greenhouses and some of the special issues they have. Thanks for the advice, Justin.

[dschflier]

Hey Justin,

I was just looking at the thread. Very nice. Did you ever get the wood stove? I got one in our house and they really do a great job. If you get one installed by the end of the year you get a 30% tax rebate.

 

David

[ctenophore]

Thanks guys. Glad to help, Dave.

 

I haven't gotten the stove yet. I want to soon, as I finally finished & trimmed the other part without the coral tubs.

[tclipse]

I'm sure we'd all love to see a pic update, this is awesome.