5 year old Greenhouse Update
- Thread starter dendronepthya
- Start date
dendronepthya
Premium Member
We don't really have a single preferred supplier for plugs. In the past, I've used frag discs from Chief Reef, Boston Aquafarms, and Ocean Wonders. We go through thousands of them, so we're not that particular.
Sea Builder
New member
Hi Than. Great setup. Lots of intelligent design and hard work.
I'm thinking of getting into this business on a small scale to start. For now I would like to just be able to supplement my wifes income enough for her to stay home with the kids and work the corals.
I think this should be pretty doable. I would like to turn this into a family business in 4-5 years and do this only.
I am having problems finding information about profitability on this though. I am reading through all the books I can get my hands on and listening to any videos i can find from Anthony C. but still cant seem to put any real numbers together.
I know this is a labor of love for you and not your sole income but I also saw early in the thread that you won a business plan contest so im sure you have a great handle on this.
could you please give me an idea of what you think the per year profit could be on a setup this size if you were working it full time at it?
To make a living at it would you need to go much bigger?
Thanks for any insite you can provide, and anyone that would like to share in this regard would be most welcome as well.
I'm thinking of getting into this business on a small scale to start. For now I would like to just be able to supplement my wifes income enough for her to stay home with the kids and work the corals.
I think this should be pretty doable. I would like to turn this into a family business in 4-5 years and do this only.
I am having problems finding information about profitability on this though. I am reading through all the books I can get my hands on and listening to any videos i can find from Anthony C. but still cant seem to put any real numbers together.
I know this is a labor of love for you and not your sole income but I also saw early in the thread that you won a business plan contest so im sure you have a great handle on this.
could you please give me an idea of what you think the per year profit could be on a setup this size if you were working it full time at it?
To make a living at it would you need to go much bigger?
Thanks for any insite you can provide, and anyone that would like to share in this regard would be most welcome as well.
Trumpetytrump
New member
Absolutely amazing setup.
dendronepthya
Premium Member
@Sea Builder - Long story short, it depends. The profitability of a greenhouse aquaculture business has as much to do with the sales and marketing efforts as it does the size of the facility itself. For this reason, it is very difficult to approximate how much one could realistically make with a system in the 3,000-5,000 gallon range. I think by the most conservative of estimates it could pay for itself and a little extra, but whether it can support a family is going to depend on things other than the ability to produce a lot of corals.
My recommendation is to always start small in an indoor system and see if you can make some money out of it. Your experience with that will be an indicator of how successful your greenhouse project will be. Some folks can make a lot of money with a modest-sized basement system while there are people with large greenhouses that manage to lose money.
Fishfish0001
New member
Updates?
aquavista99
New member
Add me to the list of hobbyists who is very impressed with your greenhouse coral farm. :thumbsup:
dendronepthya
Premium Member
Thanks guys! The greenhouse has not changed a lot in the past few months, but we did add a few smaller 30-gallon tanks to the latest system. I made a short movie about the greenhouse a while back that you can see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaoDoaIgtzQ
I hope to have some more movies in the future on that channel, so do subscribe if you like it.
One thing to note in that video is all the plants on the left side of the greenhouse. We decided to move them out and put a 5th and final set of tanks there. It is about an 16' x 8' space, and I haven't decided exactly what to do there. Whatever it is, I want it to be really special. I'll post more on that once I figure something out.
@zaheda - Wow, 35 C is very hot (about 95 F). Our systems no longer exceed 29 C (84 F). We have roof top vents, a large 48" exhaust fan, and two 24" circulation fans. In addition, we run cold water through the heat exchanging pipes on the hottest days which tends to help.
We did not do this this past summer, but we could run some airlines into the tanks to move a little bit of water. The air lines help cool the water by a little bit as well. If we did all of the above techniques, I think that we could easily keep our water at 28 C (82 F) even when it is over 35 C (95 F) outside for extended periods of time. Luckily, it is rare for us here to have more than 3-4 days in a row that warm.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaoDoaIgtzQ
I hope to have some more movies in the future on that channel, so do subscribe if you like it.
One thing to note in that video is all the plants on the left side of the greenhouse. We decided to move them out and put a 5th and final set of tanks there. It is about an 16' x 8' space, and I haven't decided exactly what to do there. Whatever it is, I want it to be really special. I'll post more on that once I figure something out.
@zaheda - Wow, 35 C is very hot (about 95 F). Our systems no longer exceed 29 C (84 F). We have roof top vents, a large 48" exhaust fan, and two 24" circulation fans. In addition, we run cold water through the heat exchanging pipes on the hottest days which tends to help.
We did not do this this past summer, but we could run some airlines into the tanks to move a little bit of water. The air lines help cool the water by a little bit as well. If we did all of the above techniques, I think that we could easily keep our water at 28 C (82 F) even when it is over 35 C (95 F) outside for extended periods of time. Luckily, it is rare for us here to have more than 3-4 days in a row that warm.
dahenley
New member
do you plan on keeping plants in the greenhouse? i think its a good idea, as they might help in consuming CO2 in the greenhouse during those winter days where it stays closed up..
have you found that you have a higher PH due to less CO2 in the greenhouse, or have you not even paid attention to that?
have you found that you have a higher PH due to less CO2 in the greenhouse, or have you not even paid attention to that?
robvdv
New member
Nice video 
I have some questions:
1. What did you shoot the video with?
2. How comfortable are you with so many species in one tank? Do you feel you get allelopathy or other competition? Would you have used smaller, single species tanks if you could go back?
3. You use a lot of live rock, by the looks of things. Are you happy with this? The reason I ask is IIRC Calfo suggested against this, but I can't remember if it was with a specific species or in general.
4. The Tubastreas look very happy. What kind of growth are you getting out of them, and what kind of feeding regime do you use.
As always, thanks for sharing
I have some questions:1. What did you shoot the video with?
2. How comfortable are you with so many species in one tank? Do you feel you get allelopathy or other competition? Would you have used smaller, single species tanks if you could go back?
3. You use a lot of live rock, by the looks of things. Are you happy with this? The reason I ask is IIRC Calfo suggested against this, but I can't remember if it was with a specific species or in general.
4. The Tubastreas look very happy. What kind of growth are you getting out of them, and what kind of feeding regime do you use.
As always, thanks for sharing
dendronepthya
Premium Member
@dahenley - I do not test for pH, so I do not know what effect the plants had. The plants themselves though are doing worse and worse. I think there might be some salt in the air or something. In time I think the plants will all be moved out.
@robvdv -
1. I shoot video with two cameras, a Canon 5D mkII and a Panasonic GF-1 with an underwater housing. Both cameras have a video mode. The 5D is an incredible video-making tool.
2. The corals do fight on occasion, and sometimes they kill one another.
I would not do single species tanks if I could go back. The main reason is some corals do better in certain places, and it is difficult to figure out where that place is. Also, depending on the season, that place changes. We do have the corals organized in certain areas, but we also have a few others spread out to different tanks to see if they do better in the other location.
3. There really isn't a whole lot of rock overall. There is probably less than 100 lbs. of rock per 1000 gallons of water. The only downside I can think of with rocks is corals fall off of them easily compared to racks.
4. Our Tubastreas do really well. I wouldn't say they grow fast, but they are growing. We spot feed them daily in their own 30-gallon tank that is plumbed into a larger 1000-gallon system.
@robvdv -
1. I shoot video with two cameras, a Canon 5D mkII and a Panasonic GF-1 with an underwater housing. Both cameras have a video mode. The 5D is an incredible video-making tool.
2. The corals do fight on occasion, and sometimes they kill one another.
I would not do single species tanks if I could go back. The main reason is some corals do better in certain places, and it is difficult to figure out where that place is. Also, depending on the season, that place changes. We do have the corals organized in certain areas, but we also have a few others spread out to different tanks to see if they do better in the other location.
3. There really isn't a whole lot of rock overall. There is probably less than 100 lbs. of rock per 1000 gallons of water. The only downside I can think of with rocks is corals fall off of them easily compared to racks.
4. Our Tubastreas do really well. I wouldn't say they grow fast, but they are growing. We spot feed them daily in their own 30-gallon tank that is plumbed into a larger 1000-gallon system.
Hy,
very nice idea and set up.
I am from germany and subscribed to the thread long time ago. I tried to see the video on youtube but unfortunatly it seems, that You use some music, Sony didn´t like You to play, so the video is locked in germany! Maybe You could use any other music, how about something You sing?
Keep on posting pics and videos please.
Best regards
Jochen
very nice idea and set up.
I am from germany and subscribed to the thread long time ago. I tried to see the video on youtube but unfortunatly it seems, that You use some music, Sony didn´t like You to play, so the video is locked in germany! Maybe You could use any other music, how about something You sing?
Keep on posting pics and videos please.
Best regards
Jochen
dendronepthya
Premium Member
That particular video is also hosted on vimeo. You can see it here:
http://www.vimeo.com/12472536
http://www.vimeo.com/12472536
robvdv
New member
Thanks, Than.
Do you have a macro lens for the 5D? Tried taking any footage with it? I thought this could be a good tool for confirming coral eating. Some times it's difficult to see the slow eaters (mucus web) or small polyped (Sarcophyton) actually eat what you try to feed them. They respond, but it's hard to see whether or not they're actually ingesting what you feed them. Time lapse with would also help with the mucus web feeders.
I'm sadly stuck with my old 20D, so this isn't an option for me :-|
Do you have a macro lens for the 5D? Tried taking any footage with it? I thought this could be a good tool for confirming coral eating. Some times it's difficult to see the slow eaters (mucus web) or small polyped (Sarcophyton) actually eat what you try to feed them. They respond, but it's hard to see whether or not they're actually ingesting what you feed them. Time lapse with would also help with the mucus web feeders.
I'm sadly stuck with my old 20D, so this isn't an option for me :-|
dendronepthya
Premium Member
@robvdv - I do have a macro lens. I've played around with a bunch of different lenses over the past couple of years, and I've settled on just two in my bag; a 35mm f/1.4L and a 100mm f/2.8L IS macro. All of the non-underwater shots were done with the 5D and one of these lenses.
