Second Greenhouse System

I thought I would provide an update on our second system. While we have not technically started to build anything, we have been doing a lot of work preparing everything for our greenhouse expansion. This system will be slightly smaller than our current system and will go on the other side of the greenhouse.


This is where my second system is going to go. We had to level the area slightly as there is a small but noticeable incline.




The view from inside the greenhouse




4 more IBC's! I got these for a great price, $250 for 4 and that was including delivery. They previously stored nitrogen fertilizer and they have already been cleaned.




Today I made a trade on craigslist for a 240 gallon fish tank, a 50 gallon conical tank, and a biofilter. I traded away a couple of growlights, a grow tray, and a reservoir. Overall I am extremely happy with the trade both with the deal I made and the quality of the items I received.


This is the 50 gallon conical tank. I am unsure at the moment exactly what I am going to do with it but I have a number of ideas floating around. It could serve as my nursery for sick fish, I could turn it in to a swirl filter, or I can even use it as a growbed (perhaps for a berry bush or a dwarf fruit tree).



This is the biofilter. I am not sure what I am going to do with this either. I am not sure if the filter would be more effective if it was used as it was designed or whether it would be more effective as a growbed. I will have to do a little more research before I make a decision.




Here is the fish tank. It is 4'x4'x2' and holds 240 gallons. It is made of thick HDPE plastic which is food grade and it is UV stabilized. I think I want to try and grow trout in this tank and set up a third system underneath the veranda using a 4'x8' grow tray and a 4'x4' grow tray. The fish tank would double as a sump tank and hopefully the shade that the veranda provides can help keep the water temperature down. The reason I would want to build this system outside of the greenhouse, other than the fact that I have no more room, is that trout require a high level of dissolved oxygen in the water. Since dissolved oxygen dissipates from the water faster at higher temperatures, lower temperatures means more dissolved oxygen (along with other factors, but generally speaking in regards to water temperature). While the greenhouse will not be covered during the summer months, it will be over the winter and fall seasons and I am not convinced I would be able to raise trout in a covered greenhouse in our climate. Anyway, that is a project for the future.