Building a coral shop / aquaculture facility

[ourcoralreef]

Im so happy to be part of this build

Today i helped with plumbing one of the coral raceways 400+ gallons with three “tubs” and one xxl custom glass sump
Plumbing is two 1” drains and a 3/4” return each they are connected through the sump so any of the “tubs” can be closed off and used separately without the sump
Pump is just for cycling and will be upgraded to a proper sized pump once it’s all running
The cycle might start in a bin or in these tubs it will consist of Dr Tims and bio blocks (not sure what type)
Oversized skimmer (not sure yet what type)
Led and t5 lighting
Some type of wave maker for flow
Some type of rack to hold frags and colonies
They will continue selling at shows and start selling online

I can’t wait until all the eye candy shows up

i am in no way Affiliated i am friends with most of the reefing community so saying they are friends of mine isn’t saying much

Once they are up and running they will become vendors here (so no names until then)

They are already actively selling at shows but they are extending in to another location to expand online

So far It is 4 coral systems they are known for selling high end name brand coral with some stunning and rare sps so can’t wait until these tanks are full

Ill try to update with pictures of the build as i go to visit

 

[Peace River]

Awesome! Are those Botanicare 115g tanks? Thanks for sharing!

 

[Reef AquaCult]

Looking good

 

[ourcoralreef]

Awesome! Are those Botanicare 115g tanks? Thanks for sharing!

Yes they are

 

[foxt]

Interesting. What kind of tubs are those?

 

[Dana Riddle]

WOW! That's a lot of work. One of the first rules of aquaculture: Maintain separate biological systems. Hope they are doing that.

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

The Botanicare 115g flood tables is what we used as well. There work really well.

 

[foxt]

Interesting. What kind of tubs are those?

Nvrmind, I see someone already asked ...

 

[ourcoralreef]

WOW! That's a lot of work. One of the first rules of aquaculture: Maintain separate biological systems. Hope they are doing that.

Yes they are setting up a total of 4 separate systems two raceways one lagoon style and the other not really sure yet they are also adding some separate quarantine systems

 

[ourcoralreef]

The Botanicare 115g flood tables is what we used as well. There work really well.

What did you do for flow i thought the support “beams” block flow
The guys that own the place said they are thinking of side to side flow
Maybe a gyre the long way

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

Im so happy to be part of this build

Today i helped with plumbing one of the coral raceways 400+ gallons with three “tubs” and one xxl custom glass sump
Plumbing is two 1” drains and a 3/4” return each they are connected through the sump so any of the “tubs” can be closed off and used separately without the sump
Pump is just for cycling and will be upgraded to a proper sized pump once it’s all running
The cycle might start in a bin or in these tubs it will consist of Dr Tims and bio blocks (not sure what type)
Oversized skimmer (not sure yet what type)
Led and t5 lighting
Some type of wave maker for flow
Some type of rack to hold frags and colonies
They will continue selling at shows and start selling online

I can’t wait until all the eye candy shows up

i am in no way Affiliated i am friends with most of the reefing community so saying they are friends of mine isn’t saying much

Once they are up and running they will become vendors here (so no names until then)

They are already actively selling at shows but they are extending in to another location to expand online

So far It is 4 coral systems they are known for selling high end name brand coral with some stunning and rare sps so can’t wait until these tanks are full

Ill try to update with pictures of the build as i go to visit

WOW!!!! Thanks for sharing, comrade

 

[Doctorgori]

Best of luck! and seal that wood

 

[ourcoralreef]

Best of luck! and seal that wood

Thanks ill let them know

 

[CMO]

WOW! That's a lot of work. One of the first rules of aquaculture: Maintain separate biological systems. Hope they are doing that.

Could you elaborate on this a bit please as I've always wondered how large facilities operate (or should perhaps). When you say biological systems are you saying that each system should be totally independent with its own filtration etc. or just that each system should only house a certain type of coral? If the former, the cost and maintenance would be exponential so curious how many actually do that.

 

[ourcoralreef]

Could you elaborate on this a bit please as I've always wondered how large facilities operate (or should perhaps). When you say biological systems are you saying that each system should be totally independent with its own filtration etc. or just that each system should only house a certain type of coral?

In my opinion and i think dana was saying the same thing it’s to have separate systems that are totally independent of each other So a mistake in one wont crash everything just that one system
You should also have separate systems for certain coral that have different needs
Flow, nutrient levels etc.
So to answer your question i would say both

 

[Peace River]

What did you do for flow i thought the support “beams” block flow
The guys that own the place said they are thinking of side to side flow
Maybe a gyre the long way

One approach is to have gyres from the sides and alternating strong power heads from the ends. Another approach is just MP40s from the sides - this gives you the benefit of having an extra one per system and switching out the wet side for cleaning. Part of this will depend on if the corals are suspended of the bottom and by how much.

 

[Dana Riddle]

Could you elaborate on this a bit please as I've always wondered how large facilities operate (or should perhaps). When you say biological systems are you saying that each system should be totally independent with its own filtration etc. or just that each system should only house a certain type of coral? If the former, the cost and maintenance would be exponential so curious how many actually do that.

When I was at Aquatic Wildlife, their were at least four separate biological systems, each with independent algae scrubbers and protein skimmers. One was for curing live rock, one for fish quarantine, and two for corals. And it was a lot of work!

 

[Peace River]

When I was at Aquatic Wildlife, their were at least four separate biological systems, each with independent algae scrubbers and protein skimmers. One was for curing live rock, one for fish quarantine, and two for corals. And it was a lot of work!

+1

Additionally, consider nets, containers, and supplies for each system and rinse hands when moving between systems. It is a good idea to formalize the risk management system.

 

[ourcoralreef]

One approach is to have gyres from the sides and alternating strong power heads from the ends. Another approach is just MP40s from the sides - this gives you the benefit of having an extra one per system and switching out the wet side for cleaning. Part of this will depend on if the corals are suspended of the bottom and by how much.

I think wwc did the mp40s from the sides
They told me they will be using racks so im guessing they will be suspended a good 5-7 inches a good size to have power heads fit under the racks

 

[Peace River]

I think wwc did the mp40s from the sides
They told me they will be using racks so im guessing they will be suspended a good 5-7 inches a good size to have power heads fit under the racks

Yes, WWC is using power heads from the sides and I think Battle Corals is using the gyres on the sides and power heads on the ends under the racks. You may also want to look at OSI who is also using the Botanicare trays. I also think that when the #reefoctopus Blade comes out soon it may also be an interesting option in this application especially when paired with the Hydros Wave Engine.