5K gallon plywood grow-out tank in a greenhouse.

[Subsea]

I have been operating 150 gallon Rubbermaid tanks outdoors with natural sunlight for three years here in the Texas Hill Country. These tanks were countersunk into the groud for geothermal cooling/heating. I planned on growing an ediable macro algae, red ogo. Growth was very robust with most of the challenge being keepng it cool in the heat of Texas Hill Country summers, Il fait chaud.

 

In my quest to become a farmer of macro algae, I have also picked up another disignation as a live rock farmer. I purchase aquacultured rock from the Gulf of Mexico, after a 60 day quaranteen with much manicuring, I sell double aqucultured live rock. In the process of manicuring this rock, I also cultivate six variety of macro. My present operating system consists of 1400 gallons in my semi outside propagation system consisting of screened in south porch with tanks getting indirect sunlght all day, supplemented by three 1000W MH fixtures at 6500 kevin. I use MH in winter for heating growout space.

 

I have enlarged my operations to include a 20' by 40' greenhouse with a 12' by 20' plywood tank at 4' high. The operating volum of this system is 5000 gallons. Full to the rim at 7000 gallons. It will be easy to maintain reef parameters during the summer. In addittion to evaporative cooling, I us a 60% shade cloth.

The winter time temperatures require heaters. It would be expensive to maintain 75 degree temperature in this large system during the winter. At present, my 1400 gallon system that is outdoors has cost me about $300 a month for heating during a very mild winter.

 

After analyzing GOM farmed rock mineral content, I see little difference between Bimini weatherd limestone and Edwards Plateau limestone that is abundant in the Texas Hill Country. I had already been using Edwards Plateau weathered limestone in my personnel tanks and was very pleased with it. To that end, I have decided to farm coraline rock during the winter temperatures. My experience with coraline is that it will suvive much lower temperatures. More importantly, the GOM rock lives in an enviroment that changes temperatures with the seasons. It already is acclimated to cooler temperatures. I will use my large growout system to cure coraline rock at an econominal price. It is my goal to bring my 5K tank on line at the ed of April, when the weather has warmed up. I will operate it during the summer with shade cloth only to maximize evaporative coolijng. After October, I will winterize the greenhouse and calculate my cost to maintain temperatures using the greenhouse as a solar collector with supplemental heating as required.

 

I will begin advertising on this forum as a sponsor during thiis next week. My website is active, however we have not initited sales. My computer people tell me one more week. In the meantime look at what I do have in place: AquacultureRanch.com

 

La bonne temps roulee,

Patrick

[temper76]

Pictures

[Belac]

How are you heating all this? Just curious.

[muttley000]

Cool, looking more to hearing and seeing more!

[Powerboat]

Welcome to Nano Reefs! Sounds very interesting. Look forward to seeing more info and pictures. Best of luck to you.

[gulfsurfer101]

I visit up there around garner state park every spring or summer. Maybe one day I'll be able to stop by and see that impressive beast of a growout tank.

[scribbles]

subscribed, PICS!!!!!

[Formula462]

I might want to talk to you about your LR. selling Texas made rock sounds interesting to me.

[Subsea]

Pictures to post will be supplied at a later time, when I locate my lost iPad I use ten 300W resistive heaters on my exterior porch. While I have not had to use it this winter, I also have a 40 gallon residential heater rigged up to run hot water thru a thermoplastick hose as a heat exchanger. This is resistive heat also.

 

In the greenhouse with the large tank, I hope to use the greenhouse as a solor collectore with the water in the 5K tank as thermal storage/stability. If possible, I WILL NOT HEAT THIS MUCH WATER WITH ELECTR4ICITY.

[Subsea]

http://www.aquacultureranch.com/

 

I will have pictures of 5K tank posted to my website.

[Subsea]

I visit up there around garner state park every spring or summer. Maybe one day I'll be able to stop by and see that impressive beast of a growout tank.

 

You are close to me in Corpus. Come visit anytime. I will show you southern hospitality, Cajun style.

Patrick

[gulfsurfer101]

Sounds awesome, my wife's from lousianna and we try to make it back there at least once a year to keep up with her family. Nothing but good times in both them places!

[Subsea]

Sounds awesome, my wife's from lousianna and we try to make it back there at least once a year to keep up with her family. Nothing but good times in both them places!

What part of Louisiana? I was raised in Lafayette.

[gulfsurfer101]

She's from laffeyatte also. Her last name is Duhon, pronounced du yon! Crazy small world.

[Subsea]

She's from laffeyatte also. Her last name is Duhon, pronounced du yon! Crazy small world.

Duhon fills several pages. Castille fills several other pages. I graduated from Cathedral in 1966. My father was president of Guaranty BAnk for many years before being assimilated by Premiere Bank.

[Subsea]

I have been asked to expound on operation of 5K growout. It was built during the month of November 2012. Only R & D at this time.

 

I have used vertical loop currents in all of my lagoon tanks. It is associated with a rising current of water on one end with a flow across the top and a returen current at the bottom. Most macro growers call this tumble culture. Thru the influence of my friend, Timfish, I was introuced to what Tropicorium does with a vertical loop current generated by air bubbles to grow coral abundantly in Michigan. For those that do not know, this is one of the oldest growers of coral using a greenhouse in a very cold winter climate. Initially, 100% natural light, but it is now heavily lighted with 5K MH. Two pvc tables were assembled, each with polycarbonate roofing used as a divider between the upper and lower current and also as a table to grow rock on. The two tables are seperated in the middle by less than 6". This small seperation prevents eddie currents and create a chimny affect accelerating water briskly above each table surface. going to each end, 12' wide of the 20' long tank. The tank is 4' at its deepest and rises to 31" on the oppossite diagonal. The source of air is a 1/2 HP regenative blower. I split my air delivery betwwen 500G in ground system with 5K gallon plywood tank with 30mil liner under the greenhouse. For biological filtration, I planned on using macroalgae almost exclusively. I have never considered live rock a candidate for biological filtration, I choose live rock for biodiversity. I choose uncured live rock from GOM for maximum biodiversity. I like the use of using air for moving water. No electricity in the water is a good thing. I assure you, that air moves far more volumn of water per KW/Hr than any other mover. With a 1/2 HP regenative blower I can maintain in excess of 5K gallons of maraculture. For me, adequate is not good enough. I promised Tim that we would have a Carson Surge set up on this system and we will. At present, I have a couple of 55G barrels. I think that this surge may only be seasonal during the warm weather. I planned on using a 500G tank on the outside of greenhouse on stilts. In my opinion, water circulatin is the least talked about parameter that is the single most important parameter for success with maraculture. Coupled to the 5K tank is 150G Rubbermaid tanks that are all independant and can be isolated and maintained that way. Each tank is mono specific. Individual macroalgae cultures, pod refugiums, Peppermint Shrimp and Emerald Crabs as manicurers of live rock, I have room for 12-15 of these 150G cultivation tanks.

At present, the greenhouse has no shade cloth and no plastic. It was removed a week ago to allow me to burn a large bonfire of cleared trees. The tank is at operating level of 34". In addittion to an air uplift which increases evaporation and gas exchange, I also have a 1/2HP 50GPM pump pull water from dual surface skimmers that adjust to 6" change in water levels. The discharge from these pumps go into two high-end counter-flow degassing columns. I am maximizing air water interface to maximize gas exchange and to help control pH and alkalinity using carbon dioxide gas exchange. These degassing columns were designed for high stocking densities used in aquaculture. I will use them to maximize evaporative cooling by removing film which decreases surface tension allowing more exchange at the surface air interface.

In this last paragrapy, I explained summer operations. Il fait chaud.

More later.

 

La bonne temps roulee,

Patrick

[Subsea]

After reading two seperate threads, I now know how I will maintain alkalinity. At present, I am circulating 4000 GPHr through two degassor columns. I will use 1000 GPHr thru 55G drum filled with coarse arroggonite. During the hottest weather, I will maximize flow thru degassar columns. It will be easy to rig up a carson suge with the 55G drums that I already have thanks to the home beer brewery business. If I enhance pod populations biotheme in each drum, this would be an excellant zooplankton generator to feed coral and inverts in the big tank.

 

La bonne temps roulee,

Patrick

[Subsea]

I was also asked to talk about the process to manicure double aquacultured live rock. I will use a seperate thread on another subforum.

[--chris--]

You have been a busy boy. Sounds like you have some big plans!

[Subsea]

I am receiving 200 lbs of uncured live rock a month. Nothing is sold unti a 60 day isolation. I now have 400 lbs thru this cycle with 200 more at 30 day and 200 put in two days ago. To secure a contract for the best of the best required me to commit to six months at 200 lbs a month. At present capacity, I can hold another 200 lbs before I am maxed out of holding room. Time to sell rock.

 

I retired from offshore drilling three years ago. Maraculture has been my dream for 30 years. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Yes, my choices in life keep me busy.

Patrick

[--chris--]

Congrats patrick!

 

I have a friend who has 6 years in on & off shore, he loves the work. Hope your body is holding up better than his so you can enjoy your new passion.

 

Any plans or ever think of extending this venture into coral?

[Subsea]

Congrats patrick!

 

I have a friend who has 6 years in on & off shore, he loves the work. Hope your body is holding up better than his so you can enjoy your new passion.

 

Any plans or ever think of extending this venture into coral?

Not likely to do coral. Everyone frags. I can not compete with that labor pool.

[ajayjack]

Good luck Patrick! I dont know if you remember me, but I visited your house this past summer to pick up some of the red tang heaven! I was driving the black bmw z4 convertible.

 

To the nano-reefers, Patrick has an awesome setup! I loved being in his backyard and someday hope to have that kind of land, time and money to 'play', ahem... run a business!

[--chris--]

Good point. Macro's seem to be really catching on as well.

[Subsea]

Thank you for the kind words. Since you were here last, after building the greenhouse in July, I have expanded big time with the completion of the tank. Because of sloping limestone shelf. the structual completion got complicated. Every time, I filled the tank with 5K gallons, I would find a different problem to be addressed. The completed product is a sight for tired eyes. Timnfish has some pictures with me "walking the plank" over the water. Since he took the tank/greenhouse pictures, I emptied the 5K gallons twice. My wildflower lawn is now very green. April 7 crawfish boil will not be the only highlight this Spring. I will have a premier display again this year.