My new coral greenhouse

[WDLV]

I didn't take the time to read the whole thread. (Sorry.) I just wanted to know about the roses. Do you have any problems attributable to them not having a place to anchor? Like, I'm sure they wander. Have you taken any steps to keep them out of the pump intakes?

[ctenophore]

Not really. They like the flower pots, and typically stay put if placed in one. Every now and then one will go through a prop pump like a stream or a maxijet, gets cut into a few pieces, some of which live and some die. Less than 5% wander though.

[WDLV]

Thanks for the quick reply. I know it's an old thread. I'm trying to come up with ideas to how I might be able to keep a tank full of them with the lowest possible maintenance and this gave me a couple ideas. Thanks!

[ctenophore]

My experience is that heavy feeding makes them grow best, regardless of light. Lots of flow is useful too. Balancing heavy flow with tendencies to get sucked into props/intake screens/overflows is tricky. Airlifts are an option, but can be loud and messy. I am working on a few ideas for anemone specific flow devices, and will post more details if they work out. Also heavy feeding tends to grow aiptasia unless you start with a sterile system, so plan on keeping a few peppermints in with the anemones.

[rey]

Hi my name is Rey. I've been interested in the topic of sunlight versus artificial lighting for growing corals. Do you think you could tell me a bit about that or at least point me in the right direction? Thank you

Edited May 5, 2011 by rey

[WDLV]

Hi my name is Rey. I've been interested in the topic of sunlight versus artificial lighting for growing corals. Do you think you could tell me a bit about that or at least point me in the right direction? Thank you

There are a couple ways I had considered doing it way up north here. No matter which you decided on there would be two factors you'd have to consider. One is that you need a Southern exposure. The other is keeping a low nutrient load and or a lot of algae grazers.

You can use skylights, solatubes, a full greenhouse or whatever method you like. The problem you'll have with natural sunlight is the intensity and length of the exposure through the seasons. You will have longer days than a natural reef in the summer and shorter days in the winter. I don't know if the corals can adjust but I imagine that they can as there are sub tropical reefs that exist in places like Lord Howe Island. Which, if memory serves is approximately the same distance from the equator that we are. The other option is artificial light supplimentation in the summer months.

ctenophore can probably tell you how necessary/unnecessary supplimentation is during the winter months.

Edited May 6, 2011 by WDLV

[ctenophore]

Some corals do fine with seasonal light changes, others do not. Acroporas seem to have the hardest time with light changes, while many soft corals don't seem to care. I use artificial lights over the stony coral in the winter. The worst is when heavy snow falls and makes it dark in the greenhouse for a week straight. Even then, the softies are fine (although I lost a lot of cespitularia when it snowed this year).

 

Otherwise, sunlight is really the best to grow any coral. Many will be brown (or at least muted color) as they are in the wild, but they are very healthy and grow quickly. Some corals maintain very vivid color in sunlight (rose anemones, green sinularia, etc). My pink pocillopora looks really bright pink in full sun, but several acros are completely brown until they go under 20k light for a week or two.

[rey]

What about temperature control? I'm in north Florida so that is my biggest concern. I'm trying to research the subject but I'm having a bit of a hard time finding any information. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place for the info.

[mellowguy]

The setup is awesome. I'm looking into starting a small scale propagation tank myself. Something around 4' X 8', give or take. I have tried to find tubs to use and can't find anything available on the internet, other than hydroponic trays and they don't seem deep enough. What are these tubs called and where can you find them. Any information you can share would be great.

Thanks

[jason the filter freak]

They're not mine but I can tell you they're custom made foam core, sprayed with fiberglass

[WDLV]

http://www.fiberglasscreations.com/aquariums/tanks.htm

[WDLV]

http://www.aquaculturetanks.com/

[ctenophore]

They're not mine but I can tell you they're custom made foam core, sprayed with fiberglass

Yes I had them made by a boat builder in Florida. You could probably find somebody in VA or MD who could do the same thing.

 

http://www.aquaculturetanks.com/

Dolphin makes nice tanks but they are really pricey.

[mellowguy]

http://www.aquaculturetanks.com/

 

Thanks for the info guys. Does anyone know of a cheaper solution that would be non-custom and something I could just order? Something like a livestock tank? It wouldn't have to be so large. 2-3 feet wide and 4-6 feet long would be good to start with. I guess 12" - 16" deep would be all I need. My real interest right now are bubble anemones, carpet anemones and ricordea.

[Origami]

Thanks for the info guys. Does anyone know of a cheaper solution that would be non-custom and something I could just order? Something like a livestock tank? It wouldn't have to be so large. 2-3 feet wide and 4-6 feet long would be good to start with. I guess 12" - 16" deep would be all I need. My real interest right now are bubble anemones, carpet anemones and ricordea.

What about a 50 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank? Dimensions are 52 x 31 x 12.

 

Scroll about halfway down this page for dimensions on this family of stock tanks.

[mellowguy]

I have some filtration questions, for a system I'm planning. I want to start propagating RBTA's, carpet anemones, zoanthids, mushrooms & ricordea. Later I will possibly add SPS and LPS. But for now, the first group is what I have chosen. The main reason for these being chosen is the growth rate and simple division. Also, I won't need as many nutrients, such as calcium, before adding SPS and LPS, which will be much later. For now my question is what filtration is best and necessary? I'm planning a 150 gallon setup.

 

A protien skimmer is obvious. But what is a definate "no problem" gallons of tank water/ filtration gallons rating ratio? I have read before to have double the filtration rating for reef, but also have read to have 3 times the filtration rating for SPS and LPS. So for a 150 gallon system, having a 450 gallon rated skimmer meets that (1) gallons of tank water/ (3) filtration gallons rating. Is that overkill? I'm considering MRC My Reef Creation Skimmers or a Red Sea C-Skim 1800.

 

Refugium is another definate item on the list. Stuffed with chaetomorpha. Size of refugium is another thing I'm not sure of.

 

How much live rock is needed and is it as important as needed for a reef system? I was thinking of live rock in a tub, tank, 55 gallon drum or trash can, with no lighting. Just forcing the the water to flow through in a sump or possibly down over and through like a wet/ dry filter, using a 55 gallon drum or trash can. Live rock has much more surface area than bio balls, for beneficial bacteria.

 

Other things I'm considering are bio balls, phosban reactor & UV steralizer. My biggest questions are getting the filtration to be overly sufficiant. So referencing a per gallons scenario or referencing the 150 total gallons I'm planning is very helpful. Is it best to have no fish or would tangs or a wrasse be more beneficial than having no fish? Anything that you have would be very appreciated.

[AcePuck35]

Justin,

 

I was just doing Google searches for different things in the salt water aquarium hobby and came across this post. Because of this post I started reading the forums and eventually joined WAMAS. I have been out of the hobby for a wail now and I am trying to startup a new aquarium and am learning a lot on the forums. I find what you are doing fascinating and vital for the growth of the hobby. Do you have any recent pictures of how everything is doing? Did you ever get 1000 rose anemones? Anyway, just wanted to say thanks.

 

Adam

Edited August 5, 2011 by AcePuck35

[ctenophore]

Hi Adam

 

Glad my GH landed us a new WAMAS member

 

It's actually a bit of a mess right now, but I'm getting ready for a major redo. I haven't had time to spend propagating rose anemones to those numbers since starting Avast, Dan & my equipment mfg company.

 

I'll be posting some really interesting pictures in probably 4-6 months or so. Stay tuned

 

Justin

[Dakota]

I have been working in the ornamental fish industry full-time for over a decade now. And, I have always dreamed about building a coral propagation greenhouse since the first day I stepped foot into Anthony Calfo's greenhouse. The impetus for doing it now was that almost two years ago a natural gas exploration company approached us about the family farm and last summer they drilled an oil and gas well. While that well produces a substantial amount of natural gas and actually even a little bit of oil and sends a nice monthly check, the big thing for me is that it produces free natural gas for use for the greenhouse. I cannot emphasize this enough, this is a tremendous cost savings! (Is there a smiley for cha-ching? ) Additionally, the rest of the utilities in my area are quite reasonable. Electric is just under $0.07 per kilowatt-hour, water is dirt cheap, and there is no sewage. So, my overall utility costs are going to be very low.

[Fishie]

WOW...i had never seen this thread...PICS plz...this looks fantastic

 

can i come snorkel ?

[linkfalcon]

any thing new going on with this project

[Mattiejay6]

Any updates?

[ctenophore]

Not really, I took all the coral tubs out to focus on Avast.  Now there are a bunch of tropical plants out there, with a couch and a hammock  My banana plant has grown baby bananas though!

 

 

 

I am thinking (again) of building a large glass and steel display tank out there.  I have room for a 10'x5.5'x5'.  Maybe it will happen this spring or summer?

[Coral Hind]

Looks pretty nice! I fear if you add the large tank out there you are looking at big humidity and maybe mold issues with the nice things you've already placed in the room.

[YHSublime]

That's awesome you've got some bananas growing!