Anybody have a Coral Farm in their Garage?

MileHighFish · 02/12/2009, 04:40 PM

Just something Im thinking about doing.. Nothing is set in stone, but I think you could make some $$ doing this. Im trying to get ideas of how one would set this up.. The LFS in my area are pretty sad as far as their livestock choices go, but always have people buying. I think I could sell to them and also via the Internet. I wold love to open a LSF but getting a biz loan right now for a store front might be tough. I'm already paying the mortgage so if I can supplement some income this way that would be great. I know several owners of nice LFS in So-Cal and they have offered up their wholesalers. So if I start slow it might turn into a LFS. This is all just a pipe dream right now. If anyone has pic's of a garage set up that would be great. Ideas or comments are welcome.. Thanks

xJake · 02/12/2009, 05:10 PM

You may have already seen this thread, but it's a good read either way:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1215102

The biggest way to cut costs would be to use the sun as a main source of lighting. This could be in the form of anything from Solatubes, to ceiling windows ("skylights"), to a small greenhouse extension on your house; no matter what you choose, it would definitely pay-off quickly to have a free source of light.

MileHighFish · 02/12/2009, 05:38 PM

xJake I totally agree with you, I think Solatubes is the way to go. I was planning on using them for my DT in my home. Here in NM it does get cold but the sun shines like 325 days a year. I would need to factor in heating and cooling, but if I insulate the garage and add and evaporated cooler (cheap to run) I think it could be managed.

MileHighFish · 02/12/2009, 05:42 PM

Good thread.. Thanks

str8salt · 02/12/2009, 11:07 PM

sounds interesting. i have often thought the same things.

xJake · 02/12/2009, 11:32 PM

The New Mexico sunshine definitely isn't something to be wasted. They're actually building plankton-reactor farms in NM as a source for creating plant-matter for alternative fuels; the massive amounts of consistent sunlight being the main reason for using NM as a location. With that kind of power, I doubt you'd even need supplemental lighting...

MileHighFish · 02/13/2009, 01:14 AM

After reading that thread Im astonished by the T5's in that set up. . If I could avoid using mhs and keep with the tubes this might actually be profitable. I wonder how the coral would react going from the sun light back to a tank with artificial light? This might be a tough transition, but if I had one tank lit by a MH and over a week or two re acclimate before the frags were sold/traded this might lessen the chance of a problem.

02/12/2009, 04:40 PM	#1
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	Anybody have a Coral Farm in their Garage? Just something Im thinking about doing.. Nothing is set in stone, but I think you could make some $$ doing this. Im trying to get ideas of how one would set this up.. The LFS in my area are pretty sad as far as their livestock choices go, but always have people buying. I think I could sell to them and also via the Internet. I wold love to open a LSF but getting a biz loan right now for a store front might be tough. I'm already paying the mortgage so if I can supplement some income this way that would be great. I know several owners of nice LFS in So-Cal and they have offered up their wholesalers. So if I start slow it might turn into a LFS. This is all just a pipe dream right now. If anyone has pic's of a garage set up that would be great. Ideas or comments are welcome.. Thanks __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

02/12/2009, 05:10 PM	#2
xJake Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,385	You may have already seen this thread, but it's a good read either way: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1215102 The biggest way to cut costs would be to use the sun as a main source of lighting. This could be in the form of anything from Solatubes, to ceiling windows ("skylights"), to a small greenhouse extension on your house; no matter what you choose, it would definitely pay-off quickly to have a free source of light. Last edited by xJake; 02/12/2009 at 05:18 PM.

02/12/2009, 05:38 PM	#3
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	xJake I totally agree with you, I think Solatubes is the way to go. I was planning on using them for my DT in my home. Here in NM it does get cold but the sun shines like 325 days a year. I would need to factor in heating and cooling, but if I insulate the garage and add and evaporated cooler (cheap to run) I think it could be managed. __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

02/12/2009, 05:42 PM	#4
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	Good thread.. Thanks __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

02/13/2009, 01:14 AM	#7
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	After reading that thread Im astonished by the T5's in that set up. . If I could avoid using mhs and keep with the tubes this might actually be profitable. I wonder how the coral would react going from the sun light back to a tank with artificial light? This might be a tough transition, but if I had one tank lit by a MH and over a week or two re acclimate before the frags were sold/traded this might lessen the chance of a problem. __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

02/12/2009, 11:07 PM	#5
str8salt Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 60	sounds interesting. i have often thought the same things.

02/12/2009, 11:32 PM	#6
xJake Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,385	The New Mexico sunshine definitely isn't something to be wasted. They're actually building plankton-reactor farms in NM as a source for creating plant-matter for alternative fuels; the massive amounts of consistent sunlight being the main reason for using NM as a location. With that kind of power, I doubt you'd even need supplemental lighting...