chazman113
Active Member
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2025
- Messages
- 115
- Reaction score
- 103
- Location
- Georgetown, DE
- What state or country do you live in
- Delaware
Hey all. New reef2reef member. Have reefed on and off for decades. My kids are getting older and I suddenly have some free time. I've always wanted to see if I could turn a profit on Aquaculture. When I was in high school and college I made money selling macro aglae and snails on eBay, it was the the most proud of making money I ever was. It was independent, unique, and I set my own schedule. Fast forward an IT career, kids, family, all the hobby aspects took a backseat. Anyway, I built my first 8*2 plywood tank frag system. I tried to source parts as cheaply as possible. That included a lot of Facebook marketplace and Amazon knock off products. I have a business license and domain (coralshopper.com) at the moment and I've ordered frags from various sources to understand how they ship. Overall, the profit prospects look pretty slim unless I scale but I want to try to get back the $4k I put in over the next few years. I won't starve either way. Everything is in my garage that is insulated and has a mini split system in it. I also have a solar battery backup system. Not enough to be sustainable for weeks, but days definitely. Posting some pics. I definitely need to get something to take pictures of frags so they look good.
Some fun equipment Im experimenting with:
Apex A3 - bought this new, I want to be able to take vacations and not worry. It's sick, and my IT background made programming it the way I want very easy
Some Amazon skimmer I got on Facebook MP - actually ain't bad. Skims like any other skimmer, easy to adjust
Plywood tank with pond shield - no leaks knock on wood. Really cool product. I really regret not putting viewing windows in but I was being cheap and impatient
Cheap Amazon par meter - I just couldn't sink $300 into a pro one. This was about $100 and at the very least tells me the profile of where to put different frags
Kalk system - starting with softies and few lps so I'm starting off very very low. Never have done kalk. So cheap! Just a brs doser tied to the apex.
Amazon ATO - realized if it hits sun it will stay on! Almost disaster. Now I have the extra sensor on the apex programmed to shut it off if it goes haywire. Right now my RO has a second mechanical float switch that keeps the reservoir topped off, I turn the value I bugged off my water heater off if Im leaving for more than a day.
Cheapo Amazon lights - got these on FB marketplace as part of a deal. They are ok, just have mechanical dials and one mode. Definitely don't make the coral look as good as the high end lights, but hopefully they have photons that make with the photosynthesis all the same. I honestly don't know.
Link to album, updating photos as I add them:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fCVQ8RrguN3EBgdu9
Some fun equipment Im experimenting with:
Apex A3 - bought this new, I want to be able to take vacations and not worry. It's sick, and my IT background made programming it the way I want very easy
Some Amazon skimmer I got on Facebook MP - actually ain't bad. Skims like any other skimmer, easy to adjust
Plywood tank with pond shield - no leaks knock on wood. Really cool product. I really regret not putting viewing windows in but I was being cheap and impatient
Cheap Amazon par meter - I just couldn't sink $300 into a pro one. This was about $100 and at the very least tells me the profile of where to put different frags
Kalk system - starting with softies and few lps so I'm starting off very very low. Never have done kalk. So cheap! Just a brs doser tied to the apex.
Amazon ATO - realized if it hits sun it will stay on! Almost disaster. Now I have the extra sensor on the apex programmed to shut it off if it goes haywire. Right now my RO has a second mechanical float switch that keeps the reservoir topped off, I turn the value I bugged off my water heater off if Im leaving for more than a day.
Cheapo Amazon lights - got these on FB marketplace as part of a deal. They are ok, just have mechanical dials and one mode. Definitely don't make the coral look as good as the high end lights, but hopefully they have photons that make with the photosynthesis all the same. I honestly don't know.
Link to album, updating photos as I add them:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fCVQ8RrguN3EBgdu9
