will this greenhouse work?

[hamburglar]

I'm in NC about 45 minutes from the cost to give you an idea of the sunlight I get. I ended up using 1 layer of 30% shade cloth in the spring/fall and 2 layers of the same in the summer.

Raaden, who is close to me in central NC uses blue shade cloth with good results, but I'm not sure what % it is. He is not on this forum much anymore, but I think there are links in his thread to a blog or something with more current information. From what I hear, he has pretty much nailed the growth that he wanted to get out of his system now. It is a much larger setup.

I was doing mainly softies like mushrooms and xenia.


For reference...

My old thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=609669

Raaden's Old Thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1065896

 

[Mr..Tang]

Hammy

Look over those threads.. Good stuff. The question I have is if was to make my greenhouse, round shape,where does one get the plastic to cover it? You can't use regular plastic can you? I could go to Lowes and get a roll of plastic.... Please explain more on this...

 

[hamburglar]

Someone else may need to chime in here. I do not know the best place to get the plastic.

Tell you one thing.....if I was to do a round greenhouse i'd be tempted to find a non-metallic framed swimming pool to drop the greenhouse over

 

[Mr..Tang]

Why did you stop the greenhouse experiment??

 

[coral acquisition]

Just taking the backyard apart right now so i can have room for everything.
Cuz i want to put a compost bin n plant stuff to maybe grow some veggie to
teach my daughter how to plant too.

i guess the green house would make the temp too hot. The main purpose of
that was to keep animals away n debis but i saw garretts acropolis and his is just
opened with top cover, plexiglass i think. So thinking if that would work also in my area.

He's closer to the beach so cooler for him. As of now im just gathering more ideas on how to keep the water stable.

I have a bin w no water circulation n filter n have chaeto growing in it like crazy!
Its just outside in the sun! Sometimes the saltwater evaporates to half n i just dump
my old sw there or if i remember put hose water in it. Im amazed that
it didnt die yet cuz the specific gravity must be off the roof! Lol

so i know that now i can use chaeto as a filtration device. Im thinking if a bin full of sand out help too or cause more problems with the filtration. (those grey bins that most lfs use)

im also looking in craigslist for something free to use as the frag tank. A lot of people are giving away those fiberglass spas but i dont know if thats size would be pleasing to the eyes in what im planning to do. I can patch it up since i kkow how to workw fiberglass.

 

[sayn3ver]

not that i have any experience, but it seems like a better idea and cheaper to build a shed (depending on your area you may opt for a slab or just footings).

This way you have the ability to insulate.

then i would opt to use those solar tubes or those larger solar skylights.

a window ac and a small heater and it should fair rather well.

hell, at this point throw in some plumbing too, run a full panel and do it up right.

And if i were you and were married, i would install a cheap stall shower and a toilet for those nights she'll have you sleeping out there.

this way to me makes more sense. the mess is out of the house, you end up using sunlight for growth which is the main goal. heat and cooling can be controlled as well if not better than a house depending on design and materials. if anything so happens to leak no worries of your house being destroyed. it allows you to be less careful with water changes and general maintence(no worries of splashing).

no issues of moisture in the house (unless you designed a room during construction purposely for a big bunch of saltwater).

this is my dream one day.

 

[coral acquisition]

a shed would be a better idea. I'll look into that soon. Thanks

 

[Mr..Tang]

and I like the idea of solar tubes!!!

 

[coral acquisition]

If i can build a shed, why solar tubes instead of plexiglass?
Thats why i was thinking a green house cuz solar tubes would
cost and extra $600 or so for two installed.

 

[Mr..Tang]

For reason, I never thought about that... I think they may be OK.. I am somewhat concerned with getting enough light though

Any thoughts