How many anemonae can be fit in a certain area?  when cutting monthly i understand they are on small side, but I can't see fitting more than a couple hundred in a 50 gallon stock tank, altho they can be on the sides as well....

do you use dividers in the tank to seperate recently cut from new (say if you are staggering the process over a  month as your numbers get higher)

thanks for any input ( and would love to see pics of a crowded bta tank to get a feel for it)



Peace...

Dan

Happy reading, most of your questions will be answered or at least in general terms. I still have a few lingering questions but as I research the list becomes shorter.

By the way nice web page. Looks like you are ahead of the curve on fragging. 

I will give you a run down on what i am doing and would appreciate any consstructive criticism...

I using 3 x 50 gallon stock tanks, which are wide and shallow, 80 watts of t-10 lights directly overhead each tank, with available space to expand with more tanks if needed... Lots of the info out there says just using a 75 or 55 gallon tank  but it seems, with the anemonae at least you can quickly run out of room, depending on how many you are planning on shipping out monthy...

I have a fairly good business plan (it's my first, but using palo alto software and just paper to plan ahead with cost projections) that is flexible, have looked at the costs and what i want to make, keeping good records, and once i actually in am in production phase will start contacting wholesalers as per Anthony's recommendation get up and going before contacting them...

I plan on having Sarcophyton, (figure on fragging into multiples every several months rather than monthly) , Xenia (normal pom pom variety) and a BTA anemonae to start with...

with frags of the corals, i know how much i can fit on plugs/disks on the egg crate , the the BTA's although small seem will quickly over-run the tank, and may require heavier duty water maintenance due to the heavier feeding

I am using air pumps (tetratec) to drive airlifts for water motion and large sponge filters in each, - just need to play to see what size pvc will max my water flow.

I am using my basement that stays a steady 60F, and have built a well insulated room and will be experimenting on a heated room vs. water heaters to see which is more energy efficient.

I will be doing weekly water changes - probably 50% and skimming as well

I figure in a year (or a little less depending on how much i will produce) i can start selling.

I am looking to not get rich but supplement the income to pay for my reef habit, do some good with supplying captive animals, and have some fun.  If i am lucky, i may even have this small operation grow, which is a pipedream...but ya gotta dream



Peace...

Dan

I have 8, 50 gal rubbermaids on one of my systems. Figuring out how many frags fit in there sounds nice when you write it down, but the number really drops when you add the plumbing, build around the ledges in the tank and realize that its hard to efficiently light the far sides. Room for mother colonies is another story. Unless you are just going to chop up colonies entirely into frags you will have to consider the room it takes to maintain a sustainable broodstock. Larger frags will also need to be placed farther apart to avoid overcrowding. One 50 gal is barely enough for me to hold only the mother colonies of xenia. You will need one or 2 more tanks for the frags. If you are only going to use 3 tanks i think it may be best to concentrate on a single species. You may quickly run out of room otherwise.

Building platforms out of eggcrate on the sides greatly increases the ammount of frags you can oput in there and raises the frags frathest from the light a bit closer to the surface.

aquatic ecosystems actually has a nice 96x24 x15 raceway tank that might do nicely.  maybe eventually 1 stock tank and raceway for each species would work well, but that is for future

I figure as i get the tanks setup and running and the colonies settled in i can be setting up and slowly adding, when i need them.

I want to do it right, and figure i have time to get the hang of the setup.

Alti would you mind sharing pics /info of your setup (or by email if you prefer)... My brain has a hard time sometimes



Peace...

Dan

Airlifts are going to be tough in these tanks. The lower rim of that tank will force you to put the lifts a few inches into the tank. It will really take away from your growing area. You cant fill the tank all the way so in reality there is only a good 6"-8" of water hieght for the air lift. I didnt get very good results with such a short tube.

Stacking them 2 or 3 high and gravity feeding one to another may be more efficient.

Those long raceway type tanks from AES look nice. I debated using them on my second system, but decided that plywood was a better fit for my application. 3 metal halides would probably be enough to light 2 or maybe 3 of those tanks placed side by side depending on type of crop.

using the tetratec pumps for sponge filter and airlifts is ok, but i have decided to spend a little more money up front and get some of the small tunze pumps so will still have very little electricity use but better water movement.

the airlift experimenting is generating roughly 50-100gph flow depending on size of pvc i use.

If any are interested i can post some pics of my room (insulated in my basement-steady temp of 60 empty but nearing 70 with lights on) - i am heating each 50 gallon stock tank with a 100w heater, which seems to not turn on too frequently now that they are running , probably more on at night.



Peace...

Dan

When i decided to go with pond liner Calfo told me that folding it can be a bit rough sometimes. That was an understatement GEtting over corners and connecting walls can be really tough. Make sure you think about this before you start cutting and screwing anything.

Make sure you take the humidity factor into account in the basement. You will need good ventilation in there unless you want water dripping from the ceiling.

i have a dehumidifier ready if needed, so figured may be an issue, but have my tanks covered with 1/8" acrylic sheets (cheap at lowes) to cut down on the evaporation factor

Aquatic eco will pre sew/fit rectangular boxes with liner and i figure it will be worth the cost vs pia factor to do this, just send them the order for the size i need



Peace...

Dan

A window fan may be more economic than running the dehumidifier, but that onyl works if u have a window near by.

It may be a pain to keep those acrylic tops clean. I bet it will also block a ton of light. May be better to fight the humidity and evaporation than to make more work for yourself and block the light.

Heres what i mean when i say you will run out of room quickly