Plant Nursery

[blinky000]

Ok, so I'm attempting a new business venture growing plants since there seems to be a decent profit margin, but in all honesty I don't know the "proper" way to set up a tank dedicated to plants. I know I'll need a CO2 unit but I can make one of those quite easily. What kind of spectrum of lighting would you recommend for things like moss and java fern but prevent algal overgrowth? And what kind of filtration would be best? I'm trying to cut some corners here so would a rubbermaid tub do the trick instead of a tank? Would a clean up crew of cherry shrimp help? So many questions, so little time

 

[StandbySetting]

Your best bet would be to grow them in an emersed set up with high humidity, it's cheaper to run. I don't think you can make a realistic profit margin personally, unless you do it on a large scale.

 

[blinky000]

Oooh, good idea. Thanks There is a specific niche I've found but I'm keeping my cards close to my chest at the moment lol.

 

[ian]

agree with SBS, most aquatic plants are grown emersed. Also it's difficult to make money out of it. You really need to be able to grow plants and understand how they work before going down this road as you can end up loosing money.

have a look at Aquadistre's nursery.

http/www.aquafleur.com/index.html

click on the 'movie'

 

[GrayScale]

That is seriously impressive. To do it successfully, even on a small scale, you'd really need a lot of research. You'd have to have some top quality plants for someone to buy them from you than from somewhere else.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Do not waste your time. You will more than likely lose money. For one, you need to be relying mostly on sun for light not something you have to pay an electric bill for.

http/www.tropica.com/about-tropica/new-production-facilities.aspx

I have had 10+ planted tanks for years. I prune a lot of stuff regularly. It is produced as a side effect of having that many tanks not as a "production facility". I now flush plants or give them away to fish buyers as there has never been an economic benefit to selling them. I can make more money using the time it takes to pack and send a box of plants by working at McDonalds. Not to mention the time and supplies etc it took to get the plants. For the most part aquarium plants come from the wild or from a few very large scale operations.

 

[SO19Firearms]

Don't consider growing them in water - it will cost a fortune - You'll have to heat the water and add CO2 + you'll waste light getting through the water....and algae will be an issue (its not the same as running a planted tank)
Growing them emmersed is a good shout, no algae, good use of light, you only need to add CO2 if you want max results and you can put that substrate heater cable back to good use
I don't know what your niche is, I can think of 2 species worth doing for beer money that I won't mention in case that's what you're going for
You could go for the full hydro setup, it's a lot of fun. My favourite way in fact.

HTH

I now flush plants

Please don't

 

[SO19Firearms]

Oh, another benefit of emmersed - you can use super cheap off the shelf garden ferts too saving cash and without worrying about Ammonia.