# How to start-up an aquatic plant business



## neontetras4me (Sep 5, 2011)

I was wondering if anybody knew how to setup a small aquatic plant business. Like what lighting methods, co2, ferts, plants (probably easier ones, less demanding), substrate, etc. right now I have a 29 gallon community, that maybe I could use for some bigger plants if I get better lighting, a 10 gallon betta tank(sand, lowtech, 2wpg), and three spare ten gallon tanks. I was looking for the cheapest/best (the best combination of both, equaled out I guess) way to go into the business. INformation would be awesome, pics of your setups or setups you've seen would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance:biggrin:


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

Take money, throw in garbage, walk away.


But seriously, just focus on growing plants and getting good at it. Expecting to MAKE a PROFIT just getting into this is a long shot. 

Just grow some stuff you like and sell the clippings. Gonna get rich? Nope


If you want a business, large grow tubs, lighting, central filter, etc.


----------



## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

OverStocked said:


> Take money, throw in garbage, walk away.
> 
> 
> But seriously, just focus on growing plants and getting good at it. Expecting to MAKE a PROFIT just getting into this is a long shot.
> ...


You mean I can't get rich right off the back? :help:


----------



## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

At least, you have to be so good at it that you have plants thriving, no algae, and no nutrient deficiency. I would assume you must have couple of years of experiences with setting up planted tanks. FYI, no vendors mentioned it, do not try to sell plants by ordering them from a large distributor, and you as the middle man. This will lead to shipment delay to the customers. Second, increase more stress on the plants by being in delivery (in transit) more than necessary.


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

*follow that yellow brick road *

sorry but couldn't help it, good luck OP that's a tough biz to break even in.
swapping for tank use yes absolutely! 
business = for profit and government regulated (not this little indian) 
I posted all my research looking into it awhile back then forgot about it. 
Church (site member) PM'd me about it awhile back and I sent him the links to the information I had on doing it. He might still have it.

good luck


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

One thing that is really essential is a co2 system for all plants. A big chunk of commercially farmed plants are done so emersed so that means high humidity racks. 

Like I said, focusing on growing plants well and getting into it more will be the key to any real chance at success. 

Most of the businesses you see out there are simply resellers of plants from places like florida aquatic nurseries. Aquariumplants.com(local to me) is an example of this.


----------



## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

OverStocked said:


> One thing that is really essential is a co2 system for all plants. A big chunk of commercially farmed plants are done so emersed so that means high humidity racks.
> 
> Like I said, focusing on growing plants well and getting into it more will be the key to any real chance at success.
> 
> Most of the businesses you see out there are simply resellers of plants from places like florida aquatic nurseries. Aquariumplants.com(local to me) is an example of this.



I thought they have their own nurseries, at least big enough with enough plant stocks to accommodate the demands?


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

tetra73 said:


> I thought they have their own nurseries, at least big enough with enough plant stocks to accommodate the demands?


Just holding tanks. It is a metal warehouse by a rural airport in a town of 2000 people in the middle of south dakota.


----------



## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

OverStocked said:


> Just holding tanks. It is a metal warehouse by a rural airport in a town of 2000 people in the middle of south dakota.



I look at their photo gallery of their warehouse. Is PRETTY BIG.  Nothing like something you can run in your basement with couple of tanks.


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

Like I said, it is a metal building in the middle of nowhere. I've been there a few dozen times. 

They are not a nursery and do not propegate any plants. Only resellers of plants from other much larger nurseries. 

Compare:
FAN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJ-anRrOxY

















AP:








That is ALL of their tanks. They are all submersed tanks, but hold plants that are emersed grown. This is a view from the roof in their building. 



Nobody said they were a basement operation. But they are a reseller. Like all of the placed you can buy plants from. Even guys like Gordon in the powerseller section are reselling plants. This isn't a "bad" thing at all. It is just the reality of the scale required to grow plants to make a profit.


----------



## neontetras4me (Sep 5, 2011)

ok, well I wasn't really trying to get to in depth with it, just a little extra money for other things, upkeeping other tanks n such, but not a lot of profit, i'm only in highschool so it really isn't a life endeavor


----------



## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

I just watched them trimming some. Stem plants seem simple, just cut and sell the tops. What about none stem plants though? Do they just pick like a quarter or half of them and then wait for it to fill back in?


----------



## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

neontetras4me said:


> ok, well I wasn't really trying to get to in depth with it, just a little extra money for other things, upkeeping other tanks n such, but not a lot of profit, i'm only in highschool so it really isn't a life endeavor


The swapnshop is great for making a little extra to keep tanks going.


----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

neontetras4me said:


> ok, well I wasn't really trying to get to in depth with it, just a little extra money for other things, upkeeping other tanks n such, but not a lot of profit, i'm only in highschool so it really isn't a life endeavor


Then just focus on growing good plants and sell what you don't need. Think of it as "growing plants" and not a business. 

The second you call it a business you'll get to pay to be a sponsor here, like me! 

There is a rather intense amount to it when you are trying to make a profit.


----------



## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

neontetras4me said:


> I was wondering if anybody knew how to setup a small aquatic plant business.


If welcome to the website. Most of us are pretty friendly & helpful...though sometime you might not believe it.

In any small business you need a business plan...before you do anything.

Who is your market?
Who is your competitor?
How much do you have to invest? (both time & money)
How much work are are you willing to do and NOT do?
How long can you run your business before you make a profit?
How much overhead can you handle?

Many successful small business find a small nitch and fill it. They become an expert in that little part of their industry. That said don't try to sell every type of plant pick some thing you like do it & do it well. Become the "moss" guy, or the "Java" guy or the "sword" guy. 

Next is your customer service reputation. You can have the best ANYTHING, but if you have reputation for not following-up emails, your late on orders, your stuff is weak...your dead. Don't get on a website and be a jerk. Doesn't matter if you are right....if you're a jerk, people remember. 

I know you want a nuts & bolts answer. Really, you're better off reading all the specific threads here from Lights down to DIY. Look at your answers to the lists above, be honest with yourself. Look at the space you have to work with. You might be able to have a nice little business with two 4' ranks that go floor to ceiling with 4' shop fixture and old restaurant buss pans, were you could grow a dozen types of moss and carpet plants.


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

DogFish said:


> welcome to the website. Most of us are pretty friendly & helpful...though sometime you might not believe it.
> 
> In any small business you need a business plan...before you do anything.


aww come on dog, I wasn't harsh, just posted it wasn't for me.

did include a lead on somebody sitting on about a weeks worth of research on what was involved in the current drama of a start up in aquaculture.


----------



## neontetras4me (Sep 5, 2011)

okay, so like three ten galls lined up and some big clear tubs with one or two light fixtures for all of them, gotta figure out how to make one myself on the cheap, lol
one of the tanks being floating plants (java moss, water sprite, red root floater, frogbit, etc)
another being stem plants such as swords, jave fern, etc.
and another being carpet plants, dwarf hairgrass, crypts, etc.
of course only having two maybe three types per tub/tank, I will probably start out with plants that I already have which are: amazon sword, java fern, crypt parva, dwarf hairgrass, java moss, echinodorus vesuvius, micro sword narrow leaf, crypt wendtii, lotus, and a very weak pogostemon erectus, probably buying two more kinds, floating probably
that would work right?
now I need to know how to make a good light fixture, like 3-6 wpg or so, make the growing a lil faster with co2 (idk if I should do excel or diy, excel sounds easier) 
btw, what is swap n shop?


----------



## neontetras4me (Sep 5, 2011)

wkndracer said:


> aww come on dog, I wasn't harsh, just posted it wasn't for me.
> 
> did include a lead on somebody sitting on about a weeks worth of research on what was involved in the current drama of a start up in aquaculture.


 I didn't think you were too rough, do you have a link to that thread?


----------



## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

Mike - Now you know I won't flame on a Frat Brother :hihi:


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

If you're completely new to aquatic plants, grow them emersed. You don't have to worry about CO2 & ferts & algae. Grow them in dirt but keep things moist.

Choose plants that are in high demand and you can propagate them easily emersed.
No point in growing common, cheap plants you can get at petco.


----------



## neontetras4me (Sep 5, 2011)

mistergreen said:


> If you're completely new to aquatic plants, grow them emersed. You don't have to worry about CO2 & ferts & algae. Grow them in dirt but keep things moist.
> 
> Choose plants that are in high demand and you can propagate them easily emersed.
> No point in growing common, cheap plants you can get at petco.


ok, I'm somewhat new to super heavily planted tanks, but I have had tanks with many different kinds of plants in them, how would I go about doing an emersed setup?


----------



## karatekid14 (Jan 16, 2011)

If I was going to set one up I would get a rack with hydroponic humidity domes. I would plant in the little pots and also buy two 4ft t5 54w single tubes and have it over the domes. That would be my basic setup.


----------



## neontetras4me (Sep 5, 2011)

/\ /\ /\ /\ /\me confuzzled


----------



## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Emmersed setups are generally still in tanks or some kind of tub, covered tightly to keep humidity in, with bright lighting. You'll still need some fertilizer source (even if it's just potting soil).

A huge stumbling block when setting up a handful of (submerged) heavily planted tanks for resale will be algae. It will very likely take a while (months. Maybe years) for you to tweak things to the point where you have minimal algae, and until then, you won't have much that you can sell in good conscience.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

neontetras4me said:


> ok, I'm somewhat new to super heavily planted tanks, but I have had tanks with many different kinds of plants in them, how would I go about doing an emersed setup?


Do a search on emersed setups. There are a few here that does it.
Look in the swap and shop to see what plants are popular and selling. Those are the plants you'd want to grow.


----------



## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

kevmo911 said:


> Emmersed setups are generally still in tanks or some kind of tub, covered tightly to keep humidity in, with bright lighting. You'll still need some fertilizer source (even if it's just potting soil).
> 
> A huge stumbling block when setting up a handful of (submerged) heavily planted tanks for resale will be algae. It will very likely take a while (months. Maybe years) for you to tweak things to the point where you have minimal algae, and until then, you won't have much that you can sell in good conscience.



However, not all plants will do well with the transition from emmersed to submerged. Could you imagine that if I bought some plants from the OP and they didn't do well in the transition?


----------



## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

tetra73 said:


> However, not all plants will do well with the transition from emmersed to submerged. Could you imagine that if I bought some plants from the OP and they didn't do well in the transition?


That is were the sales/marketing comes in. The seller needs to educate the buyer. Sometime to the point of talking them out of a sale. Crypts are a classic example. I look at they as buying a healthy root...not so much the plant.


----------



## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

This is a noble endeavor but maybe it's best if you just try growing some plants for yourself for a year or so?

Many here have given great advice, obviously, but this isn't exactly something to jump into without a bit of real plant experience. Spent a few months reading this forum and other sites so you have a more balanced understanding (knowing what a dry start is, for example) and that will allow you to determine whether or not this is something you want to try your hand at.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

If I were to try to make money growing (legal) plants under lights I would produce miniature orchids and similar stuff for dart frog enthusiasts and other people keeping plants in terrarium-type setups.

Many of those plants take up very little room and it seems that those hobbyists are willing to pay quite a bit more for plants that planted aquarium hobbyists. You could grow thousand and thousands of dollars of material with just a few racks.

There are already hundreds of plants in the dart frog hobby, but orchids and other groups of small tropical plants are so diverse that if you had some good sources you could constantly bring in the next "new & exciting" plants.

If you keep everything nice and clean terrarium plants generally have very little trouble with pests and diseases.


----------



## kuni (May 7, 2010)

Terrarium plants or coral frags are more likely to make you money than plants. Not so many planted tank folks out there, so there isn't much of a market.


----------



## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

bump


----------



## pmcarbrey (Jan 19, 2013)

BettaBettas said:


> bump


reviving the dead are we?


----------



## BettaBettas (Aug 21, 2016)

pmcarbrey said:


> reviving the dead are we?


>


----------



## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

Keep in mind if you (anybody) wants to start a legit business for profit you're going to need to get a business license. Depending on what state you're in you might need permits to ship plants across state (or country) lines. Of course you CAN do things under the radar but if you get caught you could be in deep doo-doo. 

On the other hand, if you just grow your plants for your pleasure, as a hobby, and sell trimmings or extra plants occasionally, you don't need a business license. The plant permit thing seems to vary and you should look it up for your state/country. Just grow as healthy of plants as you can, which should be a goal anyways. Sell the surplus.


----------



## pmcarbrey (Jan 19, 2013)

geisterwald said:


> Keep in mind if you (anybody) wants to start a legit business for profit you're going to need to get a business license. Depending on what state you're in you might need permits to ship plants across state (or country) lines. Of course you CAN do things under the radar but if you get caught you could be in deep doo-doo.
> 
> On the other hand, if you just grow your plants for your pleasure, as a hobby, and sell trimmings or extra plants occasionally, you don't need a business license. The plant permit thing seems to vary and you should look it up for your state/country. Just grow as healthy of plants as you can, which should be a goal anyways. Sell the surplus.


This post is six years old, and the user who started it has been inactive for 3 years.


----------



## geisterwald (Jul 18, 2016)

pmcarbrey said:


> This post is six years old, and the user who started it has been inactive for 3 years.


Yeah I know but somebody else awakened it today presumably because they had the same question. The info I provided wasn't mentioned anywhere so like... Why not?


----------



## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I saw someone on this forum growing plants in coke bottles on a rack. The caps were not on tight. If the plants don't get air they use of the Co2 in the container.

From local aquarium auction I have seen that the money is in fish breeding. For since plants are easy to propagate there is not a big market for plants.

Another fish related business is tank maintenance (cleaning etc.). So many start these big tanks and then don't have time to maintain them.


----------

