SDReefer's Coral Greenhouse Project

SDReefer · Sep 12, 2017

Hello everyone, I'd like to show all of you a project that I've been working on for the last few months. I set up a greenhouse in my backyard in the hopes of experimenting with growing coral under natural lighting. It is a 6ft x 8ft greenhouse and I'm using a 110 gallon stock tank. It's been set up since July and it is finally done cycling.

I haven't finalized what I'm going to do as far as filtration, but I currently have a 528 GPH internal filter with ChemiPure, Purigen, and Matrix. The filter has two "returns" - one goes directly back into the tank and the other one pumps water into a DIY overhead refugium with Chaeto and Dragon's Breath. I'm running a Lee Counter Current Protein Skimmer as I'm still looking for the right skimmer for my setup. I also have a pump that moves all of the water in a circular motion.

Currently this is my stocking list:
Around 15 Mollies (impossible to count the number of fry)
2 Clownfish
1 Yellow Tang (bought the last one at my LFS following the Hawaii news)
1 Yellowtail Damselfish
Unknown number of snails and hermits
Various softie, LPS, and SPS frags.

My setup relies on the sun as the primary light source for optimal coral growth and coloration. I have a cheap LED that hangs over the tank, but it is just for night viewing.

Pictures:
The tank - you can see the skimmer on the left-hand side and the return pump's tubing going over the live rock.

The DIY Refugium - complete with Chaeto, Dragon's Breath, and a little Mangrove

Close up of the frag rack.

The temperature of the stock tank usually fluctuates between 71 and 74 degrees, but on a really hot day it can go up to 76. Something interesting that I've found is that the tank seems to get murkier as the day progresses. Every morning it looks like the pictures above, but during the evening and nighttime it looks like this:

Full Tank

The Refugium

Frag Rack

Whole Setup

I suspect that perhaps either algae or bacteria blooms during the day and then goes dormant at night. The tank does not get progressively murkier - it always resets to its original clarity in the morning. Any insight as to what is happening would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my greenhouse!

-SDReefer

saltyfilmfolks · Sep 12, 2017

So this in your yard? Would it be rude to ask for the outside pic? And how wide can you get if the door looking in? S we can see the layout of the room? It sounds TOTALLY cool!!

Yes, you're getting algal blooms. Your own phytoplankton. You might want to look into a large UV unit to plumb into the system.

Did I miss how you're controlling temp?

I'm very jealous. I always wondered if I could do it in a California room.

SDReefer · Sep 12, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
So this in your yard? Would it be rude to ask for the outside pic? And how wide can you get if the door looking in? S we can see the layout of the room? It sounds TOTALLY cool!!

Yes, you're getting algal blooms. Your own phytoplankton. You might want to look into a large UV unit to plumb into the system.

Did I miss how you're controlling temp?

I'm very jealous. I always wondered if I could do it in a California room.

Thanks for the reply! The greenhouse is actually in my side-yard where it gets much less sun than it would in the backyard. I'll try to take outside and inside pics tomorrow. The greenhouse is 6 feet wide and the tank is around 4 feet wide pushed to the back. That is the only tank in there now but I'm planning to perhaps put some 55 gallon tanks along the sides. Currently my only method of temperature control is opening the windows to the greenhouse. I previously had a fan but the motor rusted and it stopped working. I'm looking for a better way to cool things down but may not have to implement anything since fall is coming soon. I wonder if the algal blooms are not such a bad thing after all and may actually help with coral health since the algae will feed both the coral and plankton?

-SDReefer

saltyfilmfolks · Sep 12, 2017

I'd think you want to remove as much as possible eventually to stop putting nutrients back into the tank. That's probably the other thing fueling it. Not that either of those are bad things or hard to deal with. It's a young thank. The bio filter will increase and get the nutrients down.

How much evaporation do you have ? Are you using rodi for that?

The next big one is how are you gong to do heat? Or will you have to?

SDReefer · Sep 12, 2017

Evaporation is about 5 gallons per week. I have an RODI unit and I'm going to put an aqualifter pump on a digital timer for auto top off since it's so much evaporation. I have a 300W heater in the tank and it keeps the temperature at 81 overnight. The microclimate of the greenhouse, however, is 10-20 degrees above the outside temperature. I may throw in another heater during the winter just to be safe.

SDReefer · Sep 15, 2017

Here are some more pictures! As you can see, the greenhouse fits perfectly in the side-yard except for the fact that the door that leads there can't open fully. I put two SPS frags in there two nights ago and so far one has completely bleached and the other is starting to STN. I think that the system is just too young for SPS. However, it grows softies and LPS very rapidly.

Please excuse the mess in the greenhouse as I haven't cleaned it in a couple weeks. The green tank on the rack has a betta that I couldn't find any space for in the house. Apparently, the greenhouse does a great job when it comes to growing algae.

SDReefer · Sep 21, 2017

So the greenhouse tripped the GFCI last night. Thankfully I was able to fix it before the temperature got too low. It was around 79 degrees at 11:30 at night. I think that me closing one of the windows to reduce heat loss resulted in increased humidity which tripped the power strip. All of the fish are ok and seem unaffected.

Does anyone know if there are any products that prevent power trips better than a heavy-duty power strip? Any input would be appreciated.

SDReefer · Jan 10, 2018

Seeing that I haven't updated this thread for a few months, I thought I'd post a few pics of how the tank is doing now. All the red Dragon's Breath algae seen in the first post has died back, releasing a lot of nitrate into the system. Combined with heavy feedings, my nitrate level is around 40 ppm. I am bringing it down with vinegar dosing and growing chaeto in the upper "refugium." I have also added a lot of Matrix to increase surface area for denitrifying bacteria, as well as some cherrystone clams to directly consume detritus. My stocking has changed a bit. For starters, I was able to get a longhorn cowfish at my LFS and everyone who sees the tank immediately falls in love with it. Unfortunately, the yellow tang died a few days ago. I have added a bamboo shark egg and will house it in the stock tank. Although it is only 110 gallons, the footprint is much larger than a standard glass aquarium.

As for other things in the greenhouse, I have some smaller totes in which I am breeding freshwater fish such as guppies and goldfish to hopefully offset the cost of maintaining a large system. I have also added some hibiscus and jasmine plants to create a "tropical" atmosphere.

Thank you for your time!

SDReefer · Jan 15, 2018

Just wanted to share this new update. I added some frags from my nano since I was able to cut the nitrates in the stock tank down from 40 ppm to around 15 ppm with carbon dosing, macroalgae growth, filter media change, and clam filtration. All elements are in check:

Salinity - 34 ppm
Ca - 520 ppm
Alk - 11.0 dKH
Mg - 1320 ppm
NO3 - 15 ppm

So far, I've added some Monipora cap, Montipora digitata, GSP, Photosynthetic Gorgonians, Toadstools, and Scroll Coral frags. We'll see how they adjust to the spectrum.

The Tank

The Refugium

The Whole Setup

Tahoe61 · Mar 29, 2018

Would love an update please.

SDReefer · Mar 29, 2018

Sure! The greenhouse has had its ups and downs over the last few months. One of the clams died in the refugium, which caused a green hair algae infestation. Also, I accidentally let the salinity drop down to 30 ppm for a few days, which I believe caused the cyanobacteria bloom. However, chemistry is pretty stable now:

Salinity - 35 ppt
Nitrate - 10 ppm
Calcium - 510 ppm
Alk - 11.3 dKH
Mag - 1320 ppm

I added 3 white balloon mollies, and their shortened bodies swimming are really cute to watch. I tried to add a Camel Cowfish, but sadly it wouldn't eat in QT and died. Therefore, I'm trying to keep more colors of mollies since they're hardy and cheap.

I went out and bought 30 mangrove propagules. I'm using rubber wire to hold them in place. Hopefully in a few years they'll have really nice root structures.

Currently my "ATO" is a BRS 1.1 mL dosing pump running 24/7. It's not optimal but it gets the job done. I still have to add around 1.5 gallons per week in RO water.

I am vinegar dosing at 60 mL per day.

For those who are interested in the freshwater tanks in the greenhouse, I haven't had much luck with breeding guppies; the females have one spawn and then die. I'm thinking about breeding other livebearers such as platies, swordtails, or mollies, or even trying angelfish.

Power consumption has now started to become an issue. There is only one power outlet supplying the greenhouse. All three freshwater tanks run off one air pump, and the same air pump also supplies the skimmer. However, I can't add any additional powerheads or reactors or pump-driven skimmers because of a lack of outlets and I don't want to have more than one power strip in fear of tripping the GFCI.

Here are some pictures!

vikinglord13 · Apr 7, 2018

This is pretty cool! Tidal Gardens grows primarily in a greenhouse, at least before the expansion.

SDReefer · Apr 27, 2018

So in addition to the green hair algae outbreak, the greenhouse has experienced a huge phytoplankton bloom. I'm hoping that perhaps adding more clams to the refugium or using a really fine net will help solve it.

ArowanaLover1902 · Apr 29, 2018

Man this is awesome, following

vikinglord13 · May 3, 2018

We should get an SDMA tour of your tank when it's all said and done!

SDReefer · May 3, 2018

vikinglord13 said:
We should get an SDMA tour of your tank when it's all said and done!

You can all take home your own phyto culture while you're at it! I've added a UV sterilizer so hopefully it will be gone in a week's time.

SDReefer · May 15, 2018

Just wanted to add another update. Sadly, "Clyde" the cowfish passed away last Wednesday, and that was the first time I've cried over a fish's death in a very long time. The sheer amount of personality that cowfish possess is truly awesome and I am so glad to have had him for the last year.

With that being said, I tested my aquarium's water and performed a 30% water change. Here are my current parameters:

Salinity - 24 ppm
pH - 8.0
Temperature - Between 77.5 and 81 degrees, depending on time of day
Nitrate - <5 ppm
Alk - 11.3 dkh
Calcium - 520 ppm
Magnesium - 1350 ppm

I've decided to not buy another cowfish for the foreseeable future. Instead, my LFS recently had a Cortez Stingray in stock, and I decided to go ahead and buy it. For the last few days, the stingray has been doing great and is eating frozen silversides and squid, as well as freeze-dried shrimp. Everything has been going good lately and hopefully I'll be able to add some more corals this summer to see how they do.

vikinglord13 · May 17, 2018

Sorry to hear of the cowfish. I've always wanted a stingray.

SDReefer · Jul 20, 2018

Just wanted to give a little update. I got back from a 3-week vacation and the stingray was able to survive off a diet of freeze-dried shrimp and live mollies. I added a frag rack to grow out some frags from my inside tank. I'm planning to add more Nassarius snails, Turbo/Trochus Snails as well as a few more Yellowtail Damsels.

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