Greenhouse project
- Thread starter dendronepthya
- Start date
TacoKing
New member
dendronepthya, all I can say is wow. And I thought my fishroom and 700 gallons of water volume was big. I heard rumors about you starting up this greenhouse project, but never came across the thread until just recently. I'm glad George did you well. From now on, when I buy reef stuff, it's from George and George only. Maybe once you get the greenhouse all finished you could have a gathering for the semi local folks? I'd sure like to see it.
-TK
-TK
dendronepthya
Premium Member
robwsup,
Humidity was a concern of mine until we actually started using the greenhouse. The exhaust fan basically makes the whole greenhouse a wind tunnel and there isn't a lot of humidity. We actually spray water around the whole greenhouse to cool it down (evaporative cooling), and within 30 min. the greenhouse is dry again. I'm not terribly concerned with condensation and the like because of the volume of water we spray around on a daily basis.
TacoKing,
One of these days, I might host a frag swap or a meeting of some kind. I'm sure a lot of locals would be interested in seeing it firsthand once it is fnished.
Humidity was a concern of mine until we actually started using the greenhouse. The exhaust fan basically makes the whole greenhouse a wind tunnel and there isn't a lot of humidity. We actually spray water around the whole greenhouse to cool it down (evaporative cooling), and within 30 min. the greenhouse is dry again. I'm not terribly concerned with condensation and the like because of the volume of water we spray around on a daily basis.
TacoKing,
One of these days, I might host a frag swap or a meeting of some kind. I'm sure a lot of locals would be interested in seeing it firsthand once it is fnished.
dendronepthya
Premium Member
Since the greenhouse was fully built, we have not had a winter. From everything I've heard, the winters are generally drier than the summers. It really doesn't make much difference to me whether it is humid in the greenhouse or not. If anything, the humidity would help the orchids my parents are growing.
What issues do you think humidity would raise? If the humidity was around 90-100% year round, what would your chief concern be?
What issues do you think humidity would raise? If the humidity was around 90-100% year round, what would your chief concern be?
robwsup
Premium Member
In my shop, tank evaporation keeps the shop at >100%, so I get a lot of condensation, especially on windows, any cold extrerior wall, etc. If you wipe your hands off on a towel, the towel is still wet the next day. Papers are damp, etc. All of this dampness, combined with warmth, makes mold thrive like Xenia in sewage. I have controlled it so far with a small dehumidifier, which costs $$$$ to run all the time.
Wow, and I thought my lean-to greehouse was going to be a decent size. Mine is just for a garden, approx 6' x 10' x maybe 10-12' high. Too cold in the winter for a tank
I ahd a bad problem with my house humidity at my old place, but I think that was more because of the house itself being older than snot.
Question about you movie...Pretty cool. I think I finally under stand it. The motion is created by the water filling the bucket after the air escapes, right?
Question about you movie...Pretty cool. I think I finally under stand it. The motion is created by the water filling the bucket after the air escapes, right?
dendronepthya
Premium Member
robwsup,
I'll keep an eye out for humidity in the winter. Much of the problems that someone would have in a retail store or a home aren't problems in a greenhouse though. For example, if there was condensation on the walls of a greenhouse, it's not a big deal because they get wet anyway when we water the plants. I can see how it would be an annoyance if you had lots of paper around or had sensitive electrical equipment, like a computer, but we don't have too many non-industrial items that would be exposed.
minfinger,
Yes, the surge is created by the water re-entering the bucket. The larger the bucket and faster the air leaves, the more powerful the surge.
There isn't a whole lot new at the greenhouse. Well, there was the mosquito infestation...
After a few days, the tanks were full of every kind of insect larvae known to NE Ohio. I decided it was a good time to empty the tanks before I would be responsible for single handedly infecting the whole area with the West Nile virus.
Other than that, I am just curing some concrete cinder blocks, and I hooked up the skimmer just to get some water movement in the middle tank. Hopefully more water movement = less larvae. I'm not worried about it once I have saltwater in the tanks because even if the insect larvae could hatch in salt water, they would have to make it past all the fish to survive. Anyhow, here is a pic of the system with the skimmer and cinder blocks curing:
I am still waiting for some stuff to be delivered. I plan on completely re-working the air system to make it more elegant and get more power out of the air pumps. On my little test setup, the air pump is sitting right by the tanks. Clearly, it would be safer if it was out of the way. I decided to have all the air pumps sit in a corner of the greenhouse and I would run 1.5" pipe from the pumps under the gravel to the various tanks. This would do a couple things for me:
1. The larger diameter pipe would be much less friction than the 1/2" pipe I cam currently using. Less friction = more output.
2. By burying the pipe, I don't have to worry about people stepping on it.
3. There is also an aesthetic benefit as well. I like having the air lines pop up only in the locations where they are needed rather than running all over the floor.
I'll be sure to take pictures when all that is set up.
I'll keep an eye out for humidity in the winter. Much of the problems that someone would have in a retail store or a home aren't problems in a greenhouse though. For example, if there was condensation on the walls of a greenhouse, it's not a big deal because they get wet anyway when we water the plants. I can see how it would be an annoyance if you had lots of paper around or had sensitive electrical equipment, like a computer, but we don't have too many non-industrial items that would be exposed.
minfinger,
Yes, the surge is created by the water re-entering the bucket. The larger the bucket and faster the air leaves, the more powerful the surge.
There isn't a whole lot new at the greenhouse. Well, there was the mosquito infestation...
After a few days, the tanks were full of every kind of insect larvae known to NE Ohio. I decided it was a good time to empty the tanks before I would be responsible for single handedly infecting the whole area with the West Nile virus.
Other than that, I am just curing some concrete cinder blocks, and I hooked up the skimmer just to get some water movement in the middle tank. Hopefully more water movement = less larvae. I'm not worried about it once I have saltwater in the tanks because even if the insect larvae could hatch in salt water, they would have to make it past all the fish to survive. Anyhow, here is a pic of the system with the skimmer and cinder blocks curing:
I am still waiting for some stuff to be delivered. I plan on completely re-working the air system to make it more elegant and get more power out of the air pumps. On my little test setup, the air pump is sitting right by the tanks. Clearly, it would be safer if it was out of the way. I decided to have all the air pumps sit in a corner of the greenhouse and I would run 1.5" pipe from the pumps under the gravel to the various tanks. This would do a couple things for me:
1. The larger diameter pipe would be much less friction than the 1/2" pipe I cam currently using. Less friction = more output.
2. By burying the pipe, I don't have to worry about people stepping on it.
3. There is also an aesthetic benefit as well. I like having the air lines pop up only in the locations where they are needed rather than running all over the floor.
I'll be sure to take pictures when all that is set up.
Algae Blenny
New member
I'm no insect expert but I highly doubt mosquitos would be able to hatch in SW. The greenhouse looks great, BTW.
dendronepthya said:
Im still having a hard time understanding this. What exactly determines the threshold causing the air to escape? Do you possibly have any pictures of the inside of the surge device? I read the petsforum article but i still dont understand the mechanism for firing the surge. Is there an U pipe inside the device that sets the bottom most water level? Is there also a refill pipe extending under the devide?
dendronepthya
Premium Member
fishbowlz,
There is a J-shaped tube inside the bucket that is connected to the exhaust you see on the top of the unit. There is a little bit of water in that J-tube. As the bucket fills with air, there is more and more pressure building up. Eventually, that little bit of water sealing the air in will give way and get blown out of the exhaust along with most of the air in the bucket. Right after the air exits the exhaust, water fills the tube and seals the chamber again. The water comes into both the J-tube and the exhaust to break the siphon. Hopefully that helps clear things up. The next time I drain the tanks, I'll be sure to take a few pics of the inside of the surge device.
There is a J-shaped tube inside the bucket that is connected to the exhaust you see on the top of the unit. There is a little bit of water in that J-tube. As the bucket fills with air, there is more and more pressure building up. Eventually, that little bit of water sealing the air in will give way and get blown out of the exhaust along with most of the air in the bucket. Right after the air exits the exhaust, water fills the tube and seals the chamber again. The water comes into both the J-tube and the exhaust to break the siphon. Hopefully that helps clear things up. The next time I drain the tanks, I'll be sure to take a few pics of the inside of the surge device.
dendronepthya
Premium Member
Yesterday, I spent some time re-working the airline system. Like I was saying before, I planned on burying the airline and set the pumps in their own corner away from everything.
Here is what the tanks looked like with the old airline system. It was all done in 1/2" pipe, and the air pump was right next to the tank.
The setup now looks like this:
The pumps are off in their own little corner:
You can see how the pump's output goes right into the ground (the other pump isn't set up yet):
Here is a detail of the airline as it comes up right by each tank. I am happy with how much more streamlined the systems are:
Here is what the tanks looked like with the old airline system. It was all done in 1/2" pipe, and the air pump was right next to the tank.
The setup now looks like this:
The pumps are off in their own little corner:
You can see how the pump's output goes right into the ground (the other pump isn't set up yet):
Here is a detail of the airline as it comes up right by each tank. I am happy with how much more streamlined the systems are:
Mr Limpett
New member
very slick. Great job
Nice work & setup
BigBird
New member
Than:
Have you cycled the system yet? I know you've exhaustively measured the lighting & are satisfied that it's adequate for sustaining corals, but the following concerns keep popping into my head about your reliance on natural sunlight . . .
The prevalance of cloudy & rainy days here in NE Ohio,
The limited hours of sunlight during the winter months, and
The fact that (keeping in mind that I've never seen it in person) your system does not appear as bright as a system lit with halides.
I was wondering if you'd already placed corals in your system & how they were faring under the natural light. Have you considered lighting a tub or two for sps propagation?
Have you cycled the system yet? I know you've exhaustively measured the lighting & are satisfied that it's adequate for sustaining corals, but the following concerns keep popping into my head about your reliance on natural sunlight . . .
The prevalance of cloudy & rainy days here in NE Ohio,
The limited hours of sunlight during the winter months, and
The fact that (keeping in mind that I've never seen it in person) your system does not appear as bright as a system lit with halides.
I was wondering if you'd already placed corals in your system & how they were faring under the natural light. Have you considered lighting a tub or two for sps propagation?
