300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank greenhouse

geddavis

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I am currently building a green house to make a mini jungle. It is 30’ by 25’ by 15’. It will be made pretty substantially as it is being built into a hill. I really want to make it feel like a tropical island on the inside. I’m going to plant palms ferns kiwi and a few tropical fruits. I am thinking about adding a 300 gallon tank, to be set into the floor. Around the back I’m going to put a 200 gallon ATO and a 250 gallon awc. It will be urigstes and have electricity. For pumps I have a few power heads and a vectra S1. I will also have a 20g quarantine as I know pest in such a Lage system is a huge pain. I don’t really care about having it be packed stoking wise just some rock sand a few corals and 4-5 yellow tangs. I will then grow some sea lettuce in a 50 gallon Refugium for feeding. My hope is to make it very easy simple and low maintenance. Here is what I’ve done so far.
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What do you think about that plan?
 

andrewey

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Make sure you've worked out your cooling- it's manageable, but I wouldn't necessarily call temperature control in a green house "low maintenance" unless you're willing to install some coolers and spend some money. Cheapest option is usually industrial fans/evaporative coolers, but you'll have to play around with timers as the season progresses and temperatures change.

Any reason you're using a Vectra S1? Is that because it's laying around? In builds like these, I usually suggest no frills pumps where humidity or exposure won't impact any sensitive electronics- plus you don't have to ensure the pump is silent.

Just make sure you place your plants far enough from the tanks that any debris/leaves don't pollute your tanks.
 
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geddavis

geddavis

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Im using the s1 because it’s an extra, however I will also get some other pumps; not sure wich ones yet. Cooling is an issue. I’m going to make a controller for the building with a temperier probe to turn on the cooler when needed. I was thinking a fan in the structure and a swamp cooler on the exterior. I also want it to be naturally lit and have a par meter on the ground. When the par goes to high I’ll have a mesh on a rail to cover it so as to regulate light levels. Thanks for mentioning the proximity of plants to it as I could see that being a big problem. I’ll put a patch of sand between the plants and the tank. I also plan to add some mangroves to the tank anyways.
 

andrewey

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I like the par meter idea, but you might be surprised just how well corals do in direct sun in greenhouses. I've visited a few and the shading wasn't for par- it was for heat! The only downside to corals grown in greenhouses is "browning out" of many corals. They'll grow like wildfire, but you'll loose a lot of the colors you might be accustomed to in normal indoor aquariums.
 

andrewey

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Also, where are you located? It might be worth visiting some of the coral growing greenhouses if you are close by to pull their ear on what works/doesn't work for a reef tank in a greenhouse. The first ones that come to mind are pacific east aquaculture, tidal gardens, the reef farm, but there are plenty more. Additionally, you could contact @SDReefer as he had a similar project going for a while.
 
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geddavis

geddavis

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I’m not to worried about Coloration I just want something natural and nice. i’ve kept and will keep some pretty nicely colored corals; however the more neutral greens and browns are just fine to me. I dive a fair bit and enjoy the natural corals just as much. I have been following Than for a while however I am quite a ways away as I am in Northern California, but thank you for the suggestions I’ll see if I can talk to any of them. I know some corals do better color wise in natural lights then others so I’ll have to look into which ones those are.
 

Cory

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How did it go?
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 66 37.3%
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  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.1%
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