I havent really put building cost and BTU's to paper but i daydream about a design using large diameter cement pipes under my (future) greenhouse to use as a sump, to catch/store rainwater and attempt to provide more stable temperatures in my greenhouse system. I would use large amounts of water and the ground to store heat, which should help keep the water a little cooler during hot texas summers and warm enough during our relatively mild winters.

Obviously i would need to seel the pipes from leeching with something that is probably expensive. Hopefully i would only need to do this once.

My idea would end up being a lot more water to fish/grow bed than typically used in most systems. I expect the nutrients to be very diluted at first, but figure it will catch up over time. Once the nutrient levels of the water catch up, I will just need to keep the fish, bacteria and plants balanced.


thoughts?

brian