5 year old Greenhouse Update

@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.
 
Thanks, I think I'll start with that book. Do you know of any gh setups in the Southeast region?
 
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
 
@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.
 
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.
 
If you're interested, you might want to start with clownfish - they're apparently among the easier to raise.
 
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