The aquarium trade currently results in significant damage to the reefs from harvesting specimens, rock and sand. We strive to provide an alternative to harvesting from the reef by farming and selling aquarium raised corals and invertebrates, macro algae, live sand and live rock. The vast majority of our products are NOT taken from the reef, and the small percentage of our product that originated from the reef are recycled from other people's tanks and never taken directly from the reef. Our live rocks and sands are made up of a mixture of locally sourced crushed shell sand, crushed oyster shells and Portland cement. Plus we can teach you how to build a very stable and very simple natural filter for your aquarium that is both low cost to run and cheap to setup. We strive to replicate nature in our aquariums and live by the KISS (keep it Simple) approach. Our success to date shows that our system works. E-mail me and let me know what you think or if you just want to come buy and check out my system: travis@greenconversion.net
Testimonials:
"I wanted to wait a while before I told my story mainly to wait and see the overall health of the coral frags. First I'd like to say that the corals are doing very well in my tank and the colors are beautiful. Now let's talk cost... Wow what a deal Travis gave me, he's certainly not in it for the money, I even got a freebie zoa frag. Travis' tank is very nice but it's the equipment/sump room that impressed me. It's a very well thought out sump/fuge set up that has more life than the display tank. I would do business again, and look forward to doing that soon. Justin, Sedro Woolley"
"Being new to Reef Aquariums I spent a lot of time researching what I needed to make my tank beautiful and functional. I thought the live rock at the local LFS' looked a little barren. When I saw Travis' "reefless live rock" I knew that's what I needed to bring my reef to life. The price was only the first pleasant surprise. When I got the rock home and in my tank, I thought I'd struck gold. The life was amazing: worms, shrimp, snails, brittle stars...and I discover new creatures every day. With the money I saved on live rock, I was also able to get some nice coral frags, and the time spent with Travis provided me with a wealth of information. It's obvious from his own tank that he knows what he's talking about! Doug - Sudden Valley"
"Before I met Travis I never thought I could be a successful reefer, but he proved me wrong. He helped me pick out just which corals would be right for my setup and gave me all the information I needed in a way I could understand. Travis' macroalgae is absolutely loaded with copepods and even snails and brittle stars. His frags are also high quality for such a reasonable price and the best part is knowing they're tank grown and not collected from the wild. -Sami, Bellingham"
"As a new aquarist with a 250 gallon tank I felt lost. After 2 months I had a killer hair algae problem and had no clue as to what to do. I purchased Travis' refugium package and within a few weeks saw a dramatic difference in my tank. The refugium is now filled with life and the benefits to my tank are self-evident. The algae is retreating and my water is becoming clearer each day. Beautiful purple Coriline algae is starting to take hold. My anemones, puffer, rabbitfish and soft corals are thriving. I would recommend that everyone could benefit from the addition of his refugium kit. Jill, Bellingham"
"Travis - Thank you for the amazing live sand. You are not kidding about the life! Worms, copepods, sea stars, and other detritovores are everywhere. I can't wait get some of your coraline encrusted rock as well, way better than any I've seen at the LFS (and cheaper!). I was also really impressed with the variety and quality of your frags. I'll be back for more - Charlie, Bellingham"
"I met Travis in April through a posting for free coral and reasonably priced coral on Craigslist. He offered to leave the coral in a bag for me to pick up from his wife, but he had posted a link to his website and I just had to go look at his tanks. I setup a time so that my kids and I could come over and see his setup. His website doesn’t do justice to how beautiful his show tank is. He is very knowledgeable and environmentally conscious. He roughly has seven tanks downstairs which he has macro-algae, another tank with just hard coral starts that he is using oyster shells as the bed for the corals to grow on. All of his tanks all plumbed together with a release valve that allows r/o water to fill into the refugium when the water level decreases. He does a great job growing his own phytoplankton and believes that all creatures have a place in the reef system. This is evident by the various worms and bugs he has growing in one of his other tanks. To top it all off his system is less than 6mos old and he has tons of purple coralline all over his rocks and growing on the glass of his tanks that he chooses to let it grow on. My girls and I truly enjoyed getting to meet Travis and appreciated his eagerness to share his knowledge. He has a true passion and understanding of what it takes to be a successful, earth friendly reefer. Michele, Bellingham"
"we recently purchased some coral frags, and were very impressed with the not only the quality and quantity, but also the prices. Travis is doing great things to save the reefs by propagating his own coral. i will definitely recommend that any marine enthusiast check him out. -matt, Maple Falls"
“Very helpful and knowledgeable, will definitely buy from again. Lots of corals to choose from! ED, Everson”
Downstairs 100 gallon coral and phytoplankton farm.
I have 6 tanks housed in my unheated, dirt floor basement (that is why everything is covered with blue foam - for insulation). These tanks include ~10 gallon pre-refugium with deep sand bed on the wall, a 25 gallon grow-out and Macro algae tank with deep sand bed, a 25 gallon main refugium with another deep sand bed, a 30 gallon sump with algae growing and yet another deep sand bed and a ~10 gallon shallow coral farming tank with a 400 watt metal halide provide more than enough light to grow frags like crazy (plus at 8" deep lots of surface area). These tanks are all connected in series to my 100 gallon display tank upstairs. A very stable and healthy system with NO mechanical filtration (which would only filter out the pods and life) and minimal water changes (5% per month).
5 tanks all fed from upstairs 100 gallon overflow. Most lighting is using low cost fluorescent flood lights.
Simple high flow U-tube siphon constructed out of 2" PVC.
Prefuge:
Refugiums are loaded with life, including mysis shrimp, tunicates, sponges, worms, brittle stars, algae, etc.
Main Fuge (refugium)
Deep sand beds - loaded with life
worms galore!
Algae Growing Tanks
Growing green, red and brown macro algaes
Sump with DSB and Live Rock
Sump has a locally sourced crushed shell deep sand bed and is growing macro algae too.
One undersized skimmer for all 200 gallons does fine with my "natural" filter.
Home Made Live Rock
Look close at all the worms living in this rock.
Large piece of home made live rock
Shallow coral farm tank
My shallow (8" deep) farming tank has an industrial 400 watt metal halide light to provide nice lighting and lots of surface area (24" x 36") for growing coral frags (fragments).
100 Gallon Display Tank / Grow Out Tank
1000 Watts of Metal Halide and Power Compacts
UPDATE - MAY 2009
This tank was setup only in Janurary 2009 and already growing coraline algae and stable because it is all tied into my 100 gallons of natural filter in the basement.
