Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Cool Greenhouse to grow out fish!

There is no mention of growing out fish with this greenhouse but this thing gives me ideas. It's fairly economical for the quality and you can add on later if you wish. I'm thinking of using one of these to grow out fish in the winter and have it facing south for full sun warmth. It would be simple to cover the tanks with shade cloth if necessary. What do guys think? Be sure to read the questions and answers.

http://www.tropicalmist.com/details.htm#detailsAnchor

Cecil, I think it looks workable. I once built my own without a thermostatically controlled fan and killed a lot of plants. It is surprising just how hot a greenhouse can get in the winter, even on cold days. You definitely need the propane heater, preferably thermostatically controlled. They cool very rapidly when the sun goes down. It is something you have to deal with on a daily basis.

Dave,

I thought it would be a way to get some extra growing time on yoy bluegills as I don't have a building and sure don't want the tanks in my house. The garage I believe is too cold and it wouldn't be free heat.

A couple thoughts about using a green house for fish, Cecil:

You don't need all that light for fish in the Winter. You DO need to keep the water warm enough to keep their metabolism up. So, you're getting some solar heat for free (based on # of Sunny days, length of days). But how economical would this GHouse be to heat (or rather to heat water in) - what's the R-value of the walls? Didn't see that in the FAQ.

It's optimized for light for plants, not heat retention. I suspect it would be usable, but not optimum. Like wearing really good swim fins while shoveling snow. I think you would be ahead to get a nice solid yard shed (should be able to get same size for less money, IIRC) and add fiberglass/styrofoam insulation to the inside. You could get one insulated up to R-20 or R-30 pretty easy.

We will know more about keeping water thawed in a R-4 building after Bruce's YP experiment this Winter concludes. I think that his NE heating requirements would probably be worse (on average) than yours in IN - certainly much worse than a well insulated shed.

Good points Theo. What really amazes me is how hot the log home gets in the dead of winter when sun is shining through all the windows in the front. It's almost bad enough to have to open the windows.

Same with my ice shanty. If it's sunny out It really gets warm inside even if it's cold outside. And that's without any added heat. When it really gets cold outside it's amazing how cozy it can be with just a gas lantern.

But you do have a point: With no sun how much heat will it lose or how hard will it be to insulate?

However it seems considering how slow water is to lose heat, it my not be as difficult to keep warm as you think, if you have a large enough volume of warmed water in the building. Would it be more efficient to keep the water warmed with a small heaters which in turn could keep the building warm when there is no solar heat? Sounds like these air filled panels are better than most at insulating.

CB1 My neighbor uses the air filled panels on his greenhouse. If you put it on a cement slab the slab may help hold heat? You could copy Hitlerman's idea and bury water tubes in the cement floor and use a water heater to circulate warm water through the cement slab for relatively cheap heat on cloudy days and during night. Does that sound reasonable?

I'm not sure that one rubbermaid tank like Bruce's on the lower level of your house would contribute excessive moisture for the entire house. My floor tank did not cause excessive moisture problems in my heated garage during winter. I would verify winter moisture problems with a tank in your shop/house before investing in a small greenhouse. Before I moved I had the floor tank in my old house. The house air needed humidity during winter and I had no problems with the tank in the house and humidity.

Has anyone tried to keep tilapia over the winter in tubs like your describing in a heated building or green house?

James, I think Eastland did it last year but I think it was in a large aquarium. Check with him.

James,

I'm doing a lot of thinking and investigating of that also. Ed Richter is also looking into it and we are exchanging e-mails. I've thought about the greenhouse approach and think in our climate it might work. I can dig some holding tanks cheaper than buying the rubbermaid and by circulating 69 deg well water through the tanks can help reduce heating costs. I've also looked into the shed on concrete approach and have a shed that provides that option. One of the trades is how much do you save in heating with a green-house vs what heat you can retain in an insulated building. I'm trying to make that trade. We just need some brave (crazy) guys to try something and fail and then learn the best way to proceed...I'm probably brave (crazy) enough to try it and find the failure points.

Yeah, "we" collectively probably need to kill a few fish to work out the details.

Cecil, I've been thinking about the tank in the basement approach (plan to try it next Winter with some BG for fun & education). I think you could cut humidity gain in the house air by covering the tank; as that might inhibit O2 exchange with the tank water, aeration may be needed. I was planning on running an aquarium aerator/airstone, so I may try covering the tank if the basement seems too damp (don't want my machine tools, etc to rust). Or I may just run the dehumidifier more.

Anyone know if the humidity in a walk in basement would work it's way up throughout the house negating a humidfier in winter? I'm skeptical as it's aways cooler in the basement (it's a wood foundation basement btw so it's always dry) and as we know cool air does not rise.

However, if this would humidify the house vs. a humidifier that would be a selling point to the wife as she desparately needs moist air in winter.

Our humidity readings in our house were unchanged from having a 100 gallon perch tank in the basement for a couple of weeks.

Our air in Lincoln, NE is so dry during the winter that a little increased moisture in the air would have been welcome.

You can still TELL Mrs. Baird that that house will have more humidity if you put a tank in the basement. "Oh, it's making a big difference honey - your skin seems much softer to me this Winter!"

Last weekend I got tentative approval from my boss for a 100 gallon BG Po'Boy RAS in the basement next Winter (when she rolled her eyes, they didn't go all the way to the back of her head). :rolleyes:

Both of my daughters have had to have physical therapy for "repetitive eye sprain".

Apparently I've inflicted this harm upon them every time I try to be funny. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

RE; heating the water with solar
about 20 years ago, my folks went thru a "green" phase and started reading Mother Earth News. They built a hot water pre-heater that sat just outside the house on the south side. It was a plywood box, about 24" sq x 36" tall on a concrete pad. The top and front of the box were plexi-glas...the entire unit sealed closed. Inside the structure was an old pool filter, maybe 10 - 15 gallons. It was painted flat black...this is the key. Quite simply, the water supply for the 40 gal water heater ran thru this pre-heated, black filter unit, then out of the filter and to the actual water heater. On sunny days, the temp gauge they put on that stupid black filter got pretty warm/hot, tho I cannot remember the specifics.

My 2 cents: I think the way to go is to heat say 10x24x4 ft tank or pond with a green house cover. Then pump that hot water thought a say 1/2 size fish holding tank/pond under a well insulated building or cover, not far from 1st tank/pond. With temp regulator controling flow of hot water one shouldn't boil any fish on a warm sunny day. It could be a open or closed system. Any way, Many fish must be SACRIFICED to gain KNOWLEDGE

Bruce - I think teenagers get most of their excercise this way, :rolleyes: . Often this behavior carries over into adulthood, as Theo has testified about previously.

Here's another greenhouse that incorporates a nice size water tank in the design. I spent a good deal of time reading thru this website (and others on geodesic structures).

http://www.geodesic-greenhouse-kits.com/index.php

C & P from their site...Looks like they are having problems

"Company Update

The last few years have been particularly hard on our company. Broken business promises from others nearly destroyed us. But our mission is too strong to be stopped. The creator of the Tropical Mist Greenhouse and Icehut has been ill, and has temporarily returned to Washington State. We are all taking a break to catch our breath! A new factory is in the works, and soon we will be back, better than ever. In the meantime, please drop us an email, and we'll let you know the moment our products are ready.

The Tropical Mist Gang