How do a start a outside Prop system?

[Minhle100]

I'm thinking about starting a little prop system outside in my back yard...actually it's going to be under a covered patio.

first, is it smart to have in under the covered patio? second, do i have to enclose it?

what are some of the things that i have to worry about? and is temperture flucuations a thing that i really should worry about?

i've read most of the threads on here but they all seem to deal with the build of the system and not the problems with the system or the hassles that come with the system.

[123and456]

A couple quick thoughts on your idea

1. If it is under the covered patio will it receive enough sun light or are you going to use lighting?
2. If it is not covered and rain can reach the tank it will severely mess with your water parameters
3. Yes temp is something that will have to be monitored very closely so will be something that should be worried about.

just somethings to think about right off the top of my head

[raskal311]

TX gets really hot and really cold so I don't know if its worth having it out doors.

[Minhle100]

hey 123and456...what i was thinking of was making a total unit that was on wheels. and when it wasn't raining i was going to roll it into the light but when it was then i would have in under the patio. and yes i was going to have light on it.

raskal...as far as the temp is concerned that is also one of the things that i've been thinking about. how do you overcome the temp? i've read on here that many people have outdoor green houses that are in VA, OH, etc. those places get into the 90's during summer and snow in the winter...how do they overcome that issue. i don't really know enough about green houses so that is why i'm asking the questions now.

[Minhle100]

any other things to consider

[RedEyeElf]

keep nosey racoons out:P

not kidding, they can get into anything, not sure if you have those there, but yeah...
temp is the main thing.

[Twisted]

I was considering putting a large like 10 foot by 12 foot green house in my back yard and setting up a few tanks in there. The green houses if you get the ones you build yourself with the cell type clear panels look like they would be great for setting up a reef prop sytem.
I figure if you left one panel out and built a tower for a swamp cooler to sit on where that missing panel is, you should be able to seal it and the weight of the cooler would be on it's own frame rather then the weak green house frame. That takes care of cooling.
Not sure how much experience you have with green houses, or what your climate is like, but here, I doubt I would ever have to do much for heating, but again, a small propane type heater would probablly work just fine.
Someone told me you can actually buy solar panels and switch out like one third of the roof panels and still get tons of light, and be able to power your coolers, fans, and pumps off of the solar storage.
Still looking up informationon solar powering stuff myself, that seemed like a lot to ask from a dozen small panels.