Greenhouse build advice

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operationtidalwave

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Ok so I've been selling coral for a year or so and I've done pretty well. Problem is I'm running out of room in my basement and I need to find more space. I'm leaning towards building a greenhouse since I live in the middle of no where and a store front would be impractical. I've read every build thread and article I can find on the web about other peoples setups and I think I've got a pretty good idea what I'm wanting to do.

I'm looking at doing a 30x48' greenhouse and I've got land to put it on. I'm thinking of doing a concrete slab with radiant heating to help stabilize the temps in the winter (I'm in Iowa). Is this a good idea? Waste of money/energy?

Also I'm having trouble finding much info on what type of tanks to use. The only somewhat affordable tanks I've found around long 300 gallon stock tanks for around $200 each. Is there a better option for tanks that is reasonably affordable?

I'm unsure how to plumb the system. Would it be better to keep them all completely separate or should I plump say 3 together and use a common skimmer and other equipment? Obviously I'd like to keep the systems pretty species specific but I was wondering if I would be better off with say 12 skimmers or 4 skimmers if I had 12 tanks? I guess with independent tanks there would be no return pump needed.

As for water flow - are airlifts the way to go or should I use something more controllable like a Tunze or cheapo Jebao?

I understand there will need for supplemental lighting and shade cloths for the various seasons so that is not a concern.

My goal would be to continue selling online and possible eventually move into wholesale if I could provide the volume needed.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
AS
Than from Tidal Gardens did a video on their youtube channel talking about their greenhouse set up. Might be worth checking out.
 
Tidal Gardens
Yeah I've watched all of his videos a dozen times I think lol. Thats where I got the idea for the radiant floor heat from. I know from what I've seen in the videos he has multiple tanks plumbed together into a system as well. But a lot of other builds I've seen have said to just keep all of the tanks seperate. I guess it could depend on what is in the system.
 
Nutramar Foods
Pocono Coral Farm (I believe now out of business) built a cascading system made out of dimensional lumber that was (I believe) coated with epoxy paint. I originally had pictures of their set-up, but I can't find them. The only thing I found was this side-ways video of the cascading system surging. You can get the idea.


Pocono coral farm tanks surging - YouTube



I'll continue to look for the pictures.
 
Orphek OR3 reef aquarium LED bar
I would think on a farming level; building shallow tanks from lumber and glassing them and a layer of epoxy paint would be ideal as far as cost and you can make them to fit any needs or constraints you may have. You can make them shallow and long or wide and it would maximize useable space vs volume of water.
 
I've seen 10ft feed troughs from tractor supply, they run a little over $100, not sure how many gallons but 10 feet long fits a lot of frags.
 
BRS
Deltec
What about using plastic kiddie pools? I always wondered if they would make good frag tanks.
 
I've seen a few setups that used kiddie pools. only problem I can see is reaching the middle could be difficult. I'm really digging the feed bunk idea. I found just the liner for $71 online. If I used those and built a painted wood frame I think it would work well for frag tanks. Maybe use some deeper stock tanks for sumps. I'd like to keep energy costs down as much as possible. What about return pumps? Does anyone have any experience with DC pumps? Would they work for that. I see some are rated at 3000 gph or so.
 
It says that the liner on the feed bunks are held in place by rivets, so I'm assuming that the liner is fastened to the steel frame. If that is the case I doubt it would hold water.
 
Tidal Gardens
Couple ideas for you based on something I saw back in the 90's.

My LFS owner did his own live rock and coral farming in an old fallout bunker. Now he used 4x4 posts, bricks and pond liners for his setup with a pool/hot tub filter system. I never saw the inside of the filters but I remember him saying that the heater in there worked best for what he was doing over so much water. I seem to recall the setup being 3 of the post high with the liner being held in place by a 4th on each pool. He had them in 4x8 foot sections, with PVC supplying the flow and returns. He used a simple long piece across each one the he had drilled holes in every few inches. The return-to-pump line was in the front of the pool with the return-to-pool line in the back. Now those feed bunkers look about the same as his idea probably with less headaches. I could also see getting a formed pond line to set up a filter system. Either that or several 5 gallon buckets connected with PVC depending on how much ingenuity you have in mind. I imagine it would take a 5 gallon skimmer alone to handle it all, plus another 10-15 gallons of top off.
One thing to consider since you live in Iowa would be looking at going with an in ground setup. Between the winds and weather, being in the ground may be the best protection you can get. Would keep flying debris from hitting your house and that would also regulate the temperature more since the ground would act as insulation and the house wouldn't have direct wind contact during the winter.
Hope some of this was of help to your plan and I wish you much luck! Please keep us updated with photos on your progress. Great idea you got there bud.

**Final thought...you building a greenhouse, using them bright lights and all that water and equipment may set off a few alarms with the local law. Seems to resemble a pot house growing adventure as well! LOL! Just remember, tomatoes to the front!
 
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