My Greenhouse FARM In the making!

[scubadude]

Good lord this is gonna be fun! I will be documenting this greenhouse and displaying in this thread EVERYTHING that I do. Some of you may already know about me starting this project but those that dont know about this and do have the slightest interest in doing this, my first suggestion is to buy Anthony Calfo's book "The book of Coral Propagation" and read it 3x or more then start formulating a plan! I have built my own Tanks 2-200gal 72"x36"x18" with Eurobracing 2-holes in back middle of tank for 1.5" bulkheads and one hole in back corner with 1 hole for a 1.5" bulkhead. Here is a pic of my tanks...I will try and put more pics up soon of the tanks as they progress in plumbing etc.



and I have two Rubbermaid brute (feed containers) each of them 100gal that I will be using as a sump/refugium with mangroves.

I went and got 2 tons of SD sand (cheap too...thread search RC)



I bought a barebones 16'x32' Greenhouse (hoop-style w/3'' sidewall) from CP enterprises cost me $1600, I will be putting in my own ventilation which will consist of 2 5000-8000 CFM Fans and 2 vents at the opposing end of the Greenhouse. I will be installing possibly other cooling methods such as evaporative cooling when the humidity levels arent so bad. Here is a picture of what I paid $1600 bux for....I feel kinda stupid for paying that much for a greenhouse especially when I build tents for a living, but I priced all this stuff out and its 75% aluminum and that stuff aint cheap and I wouldnt have saved that much so what the heck. CP enterprises website is CP Enterprises of Apopka, Inc. for those interested....I think my fans will be bought from HD or some other fan source for much cheaper than a GH (greenhouse) CO. would sell them for.



I Just got done building the stands for my first 2 tanks here they are



Stay tuned for the underground cooling radiator trench job, and GH construction pics coming next!

[Sker]

Very cool Rocky! I like your two 200 gallon tanks you did a good job on putting them together. (Are you still thinking about custom building tanks for sale?) What will use to push water through your system, large commercial air pumps or large water pumps? Are you starting out with the two 200 gallon tanks or are you building more? OK that's all the questions for tonite!

[reefhead]

[ScottWV1]

Scubadude -

Very impressive - I look forward to hearing and *seeing* more!

Thx for keeping us informed!

Scott

[dattack]

WOW!

This is going to be a lot of work. Hope you have fun.

[scubadude]

Hi guys....Thanks!

Sker,

Yes I will be building custom tanks for sale eventually, but realize I will be a hobbyist helping out other hobbyist....I dont want to be looked on as a "Big Business". I havent decided for sure what Im gonna be using for pumps but Im almost positive each system will have an AM3k as the return pump and Im hoping that the only other current I will need can be supplied by a VERY large air pump with 100+ air lines operating multiple air lift tubes on each system. I will be adding some smaller tanks to the farm but these two systems will be the mainstay and the largest (for now anyway). There will be a Rotifier, Brine, Phyto culture station as well as a clam lagoon, and a large rubbermaid for LR and LS.

Joe,

Yes 99.9% of the lighting will be natural sunlight, The only lights I will be using is for me to see at night, and they will be a couple of flourescent shop lights I think. (which im planning to do VERY little night viewing)

The glazing (clear top on the GH) has maximum transmission (about 95%) and I do have shade cloth (half the GH can be covered w/ 33% block and the other half can be covered w/55% block) if need be. I will be going to the MASM meeting (www.masm.org) Mar 23 and I will be driving there, on the way I will be stopping at Inland Aquatics, Harbor Aquatics, and Tropicorium and hopefully get some good ideas from these places. Here is one of the 100gal rubbermaid sumps I will be using, and all the elbows and connctors for my underground radiator (for cooling)



Here is 600' of 4" thinwall PVC pipe for my Underground radiator cooling system

[scubadude]

Originally posted by dattack
WOW!

This is going to be a lot of work. Hope you have fun.

LOL you have no idea how much fun Im having.....I know some of you guys wish you had the chance to do this and I feel very lucky to have a chance to do it. The timing was right (financial status, passion for the hobby, and of course RL to help) There is part of me that wants to analyze every approach possible, but the other part of me also wants to jump into it headfirst cuz I know there is alot of time intensified (cycle and curing) waiting. Patience and coordination is coming into play definately The resources are easily available and at your disposal, quite effeciently too.

[scubadude]

2 - 100Gal Rubbermaid Brute tub $78.00ea.
FWIW the 300Gal stock tub is $178ea (atleast at my supplier)

700' 4" Thinwall PVC pipe (its in 10' sections w/female slip on one end)
$.39 per ft. Total cost: $278.40

10 - 4" couplings $.97 ea $9.70

30 - 4" Elbows 90 deg sweeps thinwall $1.68 ea total: $50.40

12 - Bags of quikcrete, at $3.11 ea. total: $37.32

All of this stuff was purchased (special order) through a local Franchised Ace Hardware store. The bags of quikcrete is for anchoring the post on the greenhouse.

[danmhippo]

I clicked on the CP Enterprises link, but got a software company's website. Do you have another url for them?

[scubadude]

Originally posted by danmhippo
I clicked on the CP Enterprises link, but got a software company's website. Do you have another url for them?

Sorry I goofed....its www.cpenterprise.com I fixed it above too its NOT plural :P

[RWD]

Scuba,
I know you mentioned it above but make sure that you stop at Harbor and check out their system. It's similar to what you are building and you may get some ideas. They have some huge DIY skimmers that look like they could be built for $50 in pvc. Keep the pics coming. A lot of use out here are living a dream through you

[Ltspd]

Rocky, Looking good! You've been busy.

[scubadude]

Yes good point RWD and thanx LTSPD

Someone emailed me and asked since I was gonna be in Indiana why dont I go to PA premium aquatics....which I never thought about...but I think I will swing by there....any other places maybe I forgot about?

[vtec si]

Rocky,

LOOKS GREAT! KEEP POSTING PICS! I WANT TO KNOW MORE!

LATERS,

VTEC SI

[dattack]

Can I have a cup of live sand a few months after you finish setting it up?

[DukeDog]

Hey Rocky I cant wait till you get that baby going Keep us posted and if you need any help give me a shout.
Jeff

[LiquidShaneo]

RWD:

Those "DIY skimmers" at Harbor cost a LOT more than $50 in acrylic. A guy on #reefs makes them and he does very quality work.

Scubadude:

If you want his name/nick, let me know via pvt email. He's based out of NC as well so that might work out nicely for you. If you're more into making your own DIY cc/airstone skimmers, Snailman over at ReefCentral.com has some GREAT plans on his website: http://www.hawkfish.org/snailman.htm in the DIY section. Also, an alternative to using Ampmasters on your system you may want to look up using a couple Sequence pumps on the system instead. JT at Harbor has one of these setup on their systems there and he's very happy with the pump as a whole. I think he went with this pump due to its energy efficiency and that it suffers less head loss compared to the Ampmaster. The one he as at the shop is rated somewhere around 3000-5000 gph if I remember right.

If you hit any stores on the way up, I would recommend Inland Aquatic, Harbor Aquatic, Tropicorium, and Anthony Calfo's store. I think those four places would be the best for your learning experience as I've been to all of them w/ the exception of Calfo's store. Premium Aquatics is a very nice store front. However, they are more of a reseller than a propagator and their systems are setup more for just holding than anything else. Harbor, Trop, and Calfo's (as you probably know) are all greenhouse based which is right up your alley. Inland isn't greenhouse based but he has HUGE systems. Get a tour of the back room and the larval rearing labs including the live food rearing room as they kick some serious butt. Calfo and Trop extensively use airlifts which is right up your alley too. I've got pics of a couple of my visits to Inland Aquatics and Harbor Aquatics on my website: http://www.liquidreef.com/ I've wanted to take pictures at Tropicorium but they've been somewhat leary of people taking pics of how they do stuff.

I'd love to make it up to that meeting on the 23rd to hear Calfo and Borneman speak but my wife and I just had a child this past weekend so needless to say I'm needed at home.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Shane

[mr9iron]

Thats freaking awsome. Can I come live with you and work in your green house? J/K, good luck and keep us posted.

[Reinhold]

Hi Rocky:

I am impressed by your ambition and commitment!

What temperature do you anticipate maintaining in the tanks? Is there any danger of ambient outdoor temperatures causing problems, or will the flow rates underground guarantee stability?

Keep posting the pictures. I am enjoying watching this project.

[mattcastaneda]

HOw is your cooling system going to work? I imagine the pipes would be barried but how deep.