Help with Coral Farming DIY

[ramsey]

It gets cold down here, but not that cold, I think the coldest I ever seen was about 55 degrees, other than the year that it snowed here. I am taking the cold into consideration, however the heat and algae are my main concern. If I do an out door setup here at this house I am looking into heater with an upfront chiller that is used for pools.

Are you talking about San Antonio? If so, it gets a lot colder than 55 degrees during the winter. I can't remember a time when it didn't freeze overnight for a least a few days during winter. Maybe not far below freezing, but you get the point.

[jrossjr79]

Are you talking about San Antonio? If so, it gets a lot colder than 55 degrees during the winter. I can't remember a time when it didn't freeze overnight for a least a few days during winter. Maybe not far below freezing, but you get the point.

You know what your right, just this past winter we had 3 or 4 days that dropped below freezing.


UPDATE:
Well apparently I dont have room inside my house after all. The only place I had room for the 50 - 75 gallon tank was in the kitchen right next to a sliding glass door. Which both as it seems is a no no for salt water tanks. :( I really need to get a bigger house. Oh well I need to start getting more work so I can get that house quicker.

Oh and if anyone can point me in some other directions to read up on more in this hobby.

Thanks

[justahobby]

Making house plans around your reef tank.... you are already a true reefer . We have some good books in our library available to charter members. There is a plethora of info on here if you use the search function. I've learned that using reef forum search features yield better results than googling. Reef Central is a fantastic place for info. Getting an answer to questions can be more difficult though since they have such high volume.

[Richard]

Three reasons, one to spend alot of extra cash,

I went ahead and fixed the first reason for you .

Seriously, put the idea of making money growing corals out of your head.

[jrossjr79]

I went ahead and fixed the first reason for you .

Seriously, put the idea of making money growing corals out of your head.

To be fair, I said it would be starting out as a hobby, I know I would be putting alot of money up front, and only see a fraction of a small return back for a good long time. It would be just to put an extra 20 - 80 dollars a month or two months in my pocket. Which in turn would be spent more in this hobby as well as my scuba as well.

Making house plans around your reef tank.... you are already a true reefer . We have some good books in our library available to charter members. There is a plethora of info on here if you use the search function. I've learned that using reef forum search features yield better results than googling. Reef Central is a fantastic place for info. Getting an answer to questions can be more difficult though since they have such high volume.

Thanks for the compliment and the information

[ramsey]

You know what your right, just this past winter we had 3 or 4 days that dropped below freezing.

Yeah, it's usually just overnight though sometimes it's during the day as well. Either way, it's something to be mindful of if you're doing the outdoor thing. I do think what you're trying to do is awesome! I've thought about doing an outdoor coral grow room but I never had the stones to actually do it. Very cool though!

[BSJF]

It would be just to put an extra 20 - 80 dollars a month or two months in my pocket.

I really don't mean to be negative because I can see you are really excited about this concept. And although what you have in this thread is an interesting concept (with plenty more to research), with the initial upfront cost and the ongoing monthly utility/maintenance costs, I don't see how you would ever achieve a profit. But, maybe I'm wrong. All I'm saying is don't do it if that is your expectation (even in the long term). You are already talking about getting into a larger home at somepoint, so you have a short term timeline to make your profit, not long term. And doing all of this will not add to the resale value (could even devalue) of your existing property.

Then, there are the fountains that freeze here, inground pools get 90 degrees, utilities...

As far as research, I'd search for some island that gets hot/cold like here (if you can find one), then see how they aquaculture stuff there.

Have you considered having all of it inground? (Viewable only from the top?)

[jrossjr79]

I really don't mean to be negative because I can see you are really excited about this concept. And although what you have in this thread is an interesting concept (with plenty more to research), with the initial upfront cost and the ongoing monthly utility/maintenance costs, I don't see how you would ever achieve a profit. But, maybe I'm wrong. All I'm saying is don't do it if that is your expectation (even in the long term). You are already talking about getting into a larger home at somepoint, so you have a short term timeline to make your profit, not long term. And doing all of this will not add to the resale value (could even devalue) of your existing property.

Then, there are the fountains that freeze here, inground pools get 90 degrees, utilities...

As far as research, I'd search for some island that gets hot/cold like here (if you can find one), then see how they aquaculture stuff there.

Have you considered having all of it inground? (Viewable only from the top?)

Ya I have already decided that I am going to wait till I get my new house. Then I am going to start smaller. Thinking of a 150G - 250G Display Tank.

Never thought of having the tank inground, would be a little afraid to because of the 3 kids (1 yr, 8yr, and 9yr old) as well my wifes little Pug. I would also think being inground would need more cleaning and filtration because of the debris being blown around from ground level.

As far as the small amounts of cash every now and then from selling frags. Not expecting to make a profit. But why just spend spend spend, If you are propagating you are not just spending, but getting some money in. Therefore, not a profit, more of a discount on running the tanks. As well as useful for trading for other frags that I would not currently have.