Greenhouse project
- Thread starter dendronepthya
- Start date
dendronepthya
Premium Member
I would totally step on a frog by accident in the greenhouse and feel terrible.
dendronepthya
Premium Member
I wanted to share this somewhat unfortunate image of a brain coral in the greenhouse. The first image is the day I placed it into the system. It's a little stressed, but you can get an idea of how it looked originally.
A couple days later, this is what it looked like. You can clearly see bubbles forming inside the flesh of the coral. I believe these to be an adverse reaction to light overexposure. I know that mushroom polyps develop these oxide radicals in their flesh. Anyway, I placed the coral in a lower level with a shade cloth, so hopefully it will recover soon.
It is pretty clear to me that there is a whole lot of sunlight here in Ohio late into August. There is enough light to bleach SPS and damage some soft corals and LPS. I hope that in the winter merely removing the shade cloths will allow sufficient light to reach the corals.
A couple days later, this is what it looked like. You can clearly see bubbles forming inside the flesh of the coral. I believe these to be an adverse reaction to light overexposure. I know that mushroom polyps develop these oxide radicals in their flesh. Anyway, I placed the coral in a lower level with a shade cloth, so hopefully it will recover soon.
It is pretty clear to me that there is a whole lot of sunlight here in Ohio late into August. There is enough light to bleach SPS and damage some soft corals and LPS. I hope that in the winter merely removing the shade cloths will allow sufficient light to reach the corals.
Who knew? I would never have thunk it. Seems like the challenge may striking a balance between too much sun in the summer and not enough in the winter. It will be interesting to see how the winter months fair.
Thanks for the update and much props on an awesome project :thumbsup:
Aquariareview
New member
great post
i am in the planning stages of a greenhouse myself. you had some great info
i am in the planning stages of a greenhouse myself. you had some great info
Lunchbucket
Premium Member
this is a sweet thread can't wait for more updates and PICS!!
Lunchbucket
Lunchbucket
Algae Blenny
New member
Anoles & Frogs
Anoles & Frogs
I like the idea of using natural things, such as: anoles, frogs, and praying mantises. It seems a bit risky to use pesticides and chemicals near your tank. You could put netting in between your section of the greenhouse and your parent's to prevent lizards and frogs using your tanks as swimming pools and toilets and minimizing the risk of crushing. Just a suggestion.
Anoles & Frogs
I like the idea of using natural things, such as: anoles, frogs, and praying mantises. It seems a bit risky to use pesticides and chemicals near your tank. You could put netting in between your section of the greenhouse and your parent's to prevent lizards and frogs using your tanks as swimming pools and toilets and minimizing the risk of crushing. Just a suggestion.
dendronepthya
Premium Member
One last word about using natural pest control. There is some natural pest control in the form of toads and spiders (lots and lots of them), but I think actually adding them would be a waste of time. The greenhouse is open much of the time, and critters are pretty much free to go. There is a good chance that anything I added would be gone by nightfall. The other thing is I think the pest feeding on my dad's orchids are slugs, and I'm not aware of anything that eats them readily.
This weekend, I managed to put a couple shade cloths together. The design came about as a bit of circular thinking. In the beginning, I was planning on making them with legs like a table. I then thought it would be cool to hang them from the ceiling. Well, once I actually tried to do it, it was a major pain in the butt, and now we are back to the four legs design. Here is the frame of the shade cloth and what it looks like with relation to the tank:
The shade cloth we used was a 50% blocker, and when I tested it with the light meter, it blocked about that much:
I wanted to be able to raise and lower the shade cloth as well as remove it entirely if I wanted to. We decided to go with a telescoping leg that allows us to use a peg to set the height of the shade cloth. This is what it looks like all the way down.
This weekend, I managed to put a couple shade cloths together. The design came about as a bit of circular thinking. In the beginning, I was planning on making them with legs like a table. I then thought it would be cool to hang them from the ceiling. Well, once I actually tried to do it, it was a major pain in the butt, and now we are back to the four legs design. Here is the frame of the shade cloth and what it looks like with relation to the tank:
The shade cloth we used was a 50% blocker, and when I tested it with the light meter, it blocked about that much:
I wanted to be able to raise and lower the shade cloth as well as remove it entirely if I wanted to. We decided to go with a telescoping leg that allows us to use a peg to set the height of the shade cloth. This is what it looks like all the way down.
dendronepthya
Premium Member
Just for fun, we added a couple fish this weekend. I was going to start feeding the corals anyhow, and I wanted some fish in the tank to clean up the scraps. I picked up an Indonesian yellow tang (different genus than the Hawaiian), and this guy:
I've always wanted to own one of these guys, and now I do.
I figured it would take a few days for this fish to get comfortable in the new tank, but it became really social once I started tossing in the food. Within an hour, I could practically hand feed him.
I've always wanted to own one of these guys, and now I do.
I figured it would take a few days for this fish to get comfortable in the new tank, but it became really social once I started tossing in the food. Within an hour, I could practically hand feed him.
NuclearReefs
Active member
Nice Harliquine,,, they love to chew on stuff,,, Watch your fingers.....
they love to chew on stuff,,, Watch your fingers..... 
NewSchool04
New member
hey, why does that first pic look like a sewage treetment center?
dendronepthya
Premium Member
The shade cloth was bought in a great big roll. We cut out a 64" x 64" square and folded the sides to get a nice 60" square. Attaching it to the frame was done with cable ties as you suspected.
A big portion of it IS a sewage treatment center!
I just found this thread from another board! 
Rhodophyta
New member
My son used to raise orchids when he lived at home, and he used house geckos and Florida anoles to control insects. They did so well at the job that he had to supplement their diet with raising crickets. The anoles would lay eggs in the orchid pots and there were always baby anoles everywhere. We had to put aluminum window screening behind the heat vents to prevent them crawling through into the furnace.
I would suggest that a semi-geothermal method for your tanks is simply to dig them into the ground a bit. You could also use pond liner to make a deep sump, even under some of the tanks or the walkway, and the ground would moderate the temperature of the tanks connected to the sump, and even the ambient temperature of the entire greenhouse.
I would suggest that a semi-geothermal method for your tanks is simply to dig them into the ground a bit. You could also use pond liner to make a deep sump, even under some of the tanks or the walkway, and the ground would moderate the temperature of the tanks connected to the sump, and even the ambient temperature of the entire greenhouse.
