mini coral farm project!! tips anyone??

[xXReefXx]

okie am running out of room for coral. am going to turn part of my garage into a mini coral farm. any tips or ideas b4 i start would be lovely!! my only biggest concern is temperature right now, especially in the winter...........

 

[MileHighFish]

Is your garage insulated? Im considering doing the same thing I would like to use solar tubes to help off set electricity cost, are you running tanks or tubs?

 

[MileHighFish]

you might have seen this but its a good read, the best prop systm Iv seen

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1215102

 

[MileHighFish]

good solar tube thread

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1457056&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

 

[xXReefXx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14436773#post14436773 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MileHighFish
you might have seen this but its a good read, the best prop systm Iv seen

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1215102

no solar tube, all metal halide plus cost is not my concern am doing it just for the obsession, love, and boredom in Albuquerque is killing me.

 

[xXReefXx]

yup that frag tank is amazing, my garage is not insulated but planning to build a small room in the corner in the garage and run my lights at night instead of day to keep the room temperature warm. so do you think this will work as for temperature???? this is just my start up, in the feature am going for a green house rather then solar tube. but will definitely use solar tube for my display tank in the feature when i upgrade it though.

 

[xXReefXx]

am going to custom my acrylic frag tank!! i already spent a lil over $1k with the acrylic itself. i cant wait till this project is completed =D......

 

[benjabba]

I have a fish room in my garage that is insulated and has a window mount AC installed. I still have to use 3 X 300 watt heaters in the winter to keep my temps acceptable. This is on a total of about 250 gallons of which 110 is plumbed through the wall into the house. In the summer if I didnt have the AC unit and a chiller there is no way I would be able to keep the tank at 79.

 

[israelnajar]

Remember to take into account if your garage door faces. West or east it will be more likely to get more sun therefore warmer and north southish it will get less sun therefore being cooler. This goes for the winter as well as the summer. Just a thought.

 

[benjabba]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14444116#post14444116 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by israelnajar
Remember to take into account if your garage door faces. West or east it will be more likely to get more sun therefore warmer and north southish it will get less sun therefore being cooler. This goes for the winter as well as the summer. Just a thought.

Very good point. And for the record my house, and garage, face north.

 

[xXReefXx]

never thought of that, good call though. tanx israelnajar!!

 

[benjabba]

One more thing I have been fighting is chronically low Ph. Not enough fresh air in the fish room is causing C02 buildup in the tanks. If you are home enough to let fresh air from outside the house into the garage it will help you alot.

HTH

 

[MileHighFish]

How about a exhaust fan say from a Hydroponics shop.. they pull down about 600 cfm and would do a good job of exchanging air, but they are noisy