Green House in Chicago
 

Question: Is it possible to set up a coral propagation system in a green house in the Chicago land area with no EXTRA lighting, besides natural sun light?

Just wondering if anyone has tried it and if they have had any success.

Thanks!

If you can control temperatures, then its possible.

The major issue would be trying to keep the temp's stable.

Here is what I have brewing:

I work for a School District in the Chicago land area and in the High School Building they have a green house for the horticulture class. I was talking to the horticulture teacher the other day about corals and asking her if she had ever considered offering an aquaculture class or section. I then told her about my interest in corals and reef tanks and she was very interested in continuing to discuss the idea of trying something like that in her class room. I offered to help her, but neither of us have any first had experience with growing coral in a green house with natural lighting and we are wondering if it will even work. We can get a lot of cloudy dark days here in Chicago during the winter and it seems like this would make it hard to grow coral in those conditions.

JaredWaites: The green house is temperature controlled, but is it more involved than that?

Any pointers, ideas, suggestions?

Look around in this forum. There is a user named REDOX that has a greenhouse setup in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. He has has his ups and downs but the results are great from reading through the many pages of his thread.

here is a link to the thread

[url]http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1049850[/url]

Looks like an interesting read.....thanks

Steven Pro has a greenhouse and he lives in PA someplace. He seems to have success with his.

It is absolutely possible--even with cloud cover you'll get more than enough sun. Most people, even in cloudy and rainy areas, end up using shade cloths to cut down the PAR so they don't overilluminate the corals.

A lot of people don't use shade cloths, even in states that have virtually no ozone layer though.

I don't believe in over-illuminating corals with natural sun light unless they are a deep water species.

Sounds like this might be a feasible. Now I need to think about how we can pay for the equipment to get started. Might look into a grant. Anyone have experience with that?

i know of 2 high schools here in CT that use green houses for coral prop. go for it!

Do a search for steven pro greenhouse build. He has a good thread on another site.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11293860#post11293860 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JaredWaites [/i]
[B]A lot of people don't use shade cloths, even in states that have virtually no ozone layer though.

I don't believe in over-illuminating corals with natural sun light unless they are a deep water species. [/B][/QUOTE]


You better believe in over-illumating. At most corals in a aquarium get 500 par, in my green house I have had light reading over 2000 par. Most corals go in to photo-inhabation at 500 par or less. Some corals grow faster in lower light. I use shade cloths ranging form 0-75%

Philip Root

I think its ironic that people think that corals only grow best at a certian PAR. In nature, they are getting light that is alot more direct and intense than anywhere in the Chicago area for a much longer time, and in very shallow water. Im not saying that you dont get faster growth with a lower PAR level, but faster growth doesnt always mean a healthier coral either. I know that for coral farmers and the like that fastest growth is best, just saying ...

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11286973#post11286973 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tikireefer [/i]
[B]
Any pointers, ideas, suggestions? [/B][/QUOTE]
go to Tropicorium in Detroit and see how they run their coral greenhouse

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11316597#post11316597 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by icy1155 [/i]
[B] In nature, they are getting light that is alot more direct and intense than anywhere in the Chicago area for a much longer time, and in very shallow water. [/B][/QUOTE]

Not all of them...

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11316706#post11316706 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gary Majchrzak [/i]
[B]go to Tropicorium in Detroit and see how they run their coral greenhouse [/B][/QUOTE]

I finally got to go there for the first time this weekend.

Yes, they do use supplemental lighting if people are wondering. Not all the time but it is used.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11316597#post11316597 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by icy1155 [/i]
[B]I think its ironic that people think that corals only grow best at a certian PAR. In nature, they are getting light that is alot more direct and intense than anywhere in the Chicago area for a much longer time, and in very shallow water. Im not saying that you dont get faster growth with a lower PAR level, but faster growth doesnt always mean a healthier coral either. I know that for coral farmers and the like that fastest growth is best, just saying ... [/B][/QUOTE]

Not true.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11319281#post11319281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by samtheman [/i]
[B]Not true. [/B][/QUOTE]

How so... many of them are from areas right on the equator or only a little ways off, so they get the most intense and direct light on the planet. Are you saying that the sunlight in chicago is more intense than that found naturally in Fiji?

Most of or a lot of the corals that are collected for the trade are at least 4-5 meters deep. That amount of water blocks a a large amount of light, specificaly in certain spectrums. Which the light in Chicago doesn't have this happen. Hence, a stronger light / different light in the Chicago area. That the coral may not be able to handle.

I seem to recall Walt Smith saying at one of the MACNA's that his propagated corals are grown at 10 meters deep.

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11319646#post11319646 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by icy1155 [/i]
[B]How so... many of them are from areas right on the equator or only a little ways off, so they get the most intense and direct light on the planet. Are you saying that the sunlight in chicago is more intense than that found naturally in Fiji? [/B][/QUOTE]
No, I am saying the intensity of sunlight deminishes by about 1/2 for every foot of water it passes through. So two foot down in Fiji is 1/4 the intensity of the surface. One foot of water in Pittsburg, even in the winter can have more light intensity than 2-4 ft deep areas in the ocean, even in Fiji.

How many corals live in less than 12 inches of water in the ocean. Not very many.

I always liked the idea about the greenhouse, But for some reason I thought us folks way to the north May have problems with lighting period length? Right now were only getting 8-9 hours of decent light....

Plus the snow may play a roll in the intensity also....

Anthony Calfo used a greenhouse in Pittsburgh. Pittsburg has more cloud cover than most cities in the US. I compared it to Seattle and it got 2% more per year. 45% for Seattle and 47% for Pittsburg percent of possible sunshine. The sun is intense enough, that if you get good light from 9:00 am to 3:pm you will satisfy most corals. The problem in the northern states is not the amount of light available, but how you heat the greenhouse in the winter. It can be very expensive, if you just use a regular greenhouse. Solar greenhouses are popular in Canada, and would keep your heating costs to a minimum.

If you want to go with no artificial light, you're probably going to be limited in the corals you can keep.

I live in Ohio and I am not able to grow some of the more light demanding corals like Acropora. In the summer, there is a lot of light to the point I have to use shade cloth extensively, but 8 months out of the year, the light really diminishes and those corals really struggle. Most turn brown immediately and only start to color up in mid summer. In essence, they only look good for about 1.5 months then it's back to brown.

LPS, some soft corals, and mushrooms have done well for me provided that they get enough shade in the summer. In the winter, they actually look much more comfortable and expand really well.