Fishtal's Breeding Room

Thanks Matt. I still need to tweak it a bit so that the box is level but it's working.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

I did the first cleaning of the scrubber on 12-1 and this is what it looked like: 

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"Making captive breeding easier."

I did a little more reading and found that cutting slots in the ATS tube that holds the screen is no longer recommended. I also wanted to make it a little wider to use the whole length of the acrylic box so I decided to upgrade.  





Another thing I wanted to do is increase the sump size so I picked up a 40G oval Tuff-Tub from Tractor Supply. I wasn't really happy with the 20L tank that I was using and the tub will give me a little more room for things. Might even toss in some Banggai.  

I'm doing both projects at the same time so I'll take pics as I go. Although it doesn't look like it in the pic, it will actually fit.  

   

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"Making captive breeding easier."

Took a little work but I got everything in place. I'll be getting more plastic to cover the top to keep evaporation down. 

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"Making captive breeding easier."

A quick question, Tal: If you don't cut into the PVC then how does water flow over your screen? It sounds like a dumb question to me, but I don't see how it works.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

I had the same question.  It looks like there is a cap on one end of the ATS tube and that the screen has a slit cut in it and fed into said tube  and it relies on the water flowing out of the tube and down the screen?  Just guessing here.

 

Tal should be along shortly to chime in.

 

 

Ok, so on the previous version I cut a very narrow slot along the length of the pipe so that it would pinch the screen in place. It was pretty tight so the slots let the water go through.

 

In the new version, the main slot is wider and the screen is held in place by shower bar rings. As you can see in the pics. There is enough water pressure to keep the water flowing smoothly over the screen. It's actually quieter too.

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

Thanks for the explanation. I need to get busy.
 
By the way, I hope it's not just friction that's keeping that light fixture from falling into your sump....

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Yes, I took the pic before I was finished. The cord is attached underneath the tubs so even if the clamp slipped the light cant fall in the water.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

This weeks ATS cleaning. Getting more green algae now, thicker growth too.



 

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"Making captive breeding easier."

did you use air in your tanks? if so what air pump do you use?
Thanks Russ

I use air for the rotifer and brine shrimp (when I have them) cultures and for the hatching tanks. I also used it when I was culturing live phyto.
 
I just used the simple air pumps that you can find in any LFS. I looked inot getting a LUFT pump but never did. The cheap ones work just fine on the scale I'm working with and they are silent.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

LUFT all the way if you ask me.  Worth the extra money for the relatively massive capacity you get.

If I was using it (air) for more applications I would get a LUFT pump. What I'm using works just fine for my small needs.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

I bought a Super Luft a couple years ago.  I love that thing.  I'm only running about six sponge filters
and several 1/4" tubes for O. marina, rotifers, and Apocyclops on it and still have capacity to run air stones for
hatching eggs, BBS hatcheries, and more

I've been brainstorming tonight on ways to better utilize my space and increase production. Still working things out but I should have some ideas planned out this week.  Stay tuned!

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"Making captive breeding easier."

i own 3, and only one crapped out on me, but it was fixable.
 

cryptic...
 
 
excited, can't wait

Tal's space solution is to move to Duluth where we have basements....at least that's my guess.

Or, he could move to Colorado. We have basements like Duluth does, but we also see sunshine occasionally in the winter.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

We do have basements here. I'd just have to move a little way away from the lake. My neighbor has a basement but it floods a lot.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

Depending how close you are to the water table, there might be a solution: The lowest part of my basement is only a couple feet above the water table. During the remodel my contractor basically surrounded that part with a moat. There's perforated PVC at the bottom in a gravel bed that leads to a deeper pit with a sump pump. You obviously don't want to go there if you are totally under the water table because the pump will run constantly but for only occasional flooding it works fine.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

My parents are a rare case in Cali, they have a basement.  It flooded every year.  We did what Andy did and installed a sump pump and new sump area.  Works like a charm

I did that too in my old house and solved all of the leaking problems.  

A basement is NOT an option.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

Ok... "storm cellar"

I think anything that you do in there will involve cleaning out a closet

Yup! That starts tomorrow. After that is done I can see if the desk can be maneuvered in there. 

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"Making captive breeding easier."

Yup! 

What size is the growout tank that you have out back? You should be able to get a really good deal on bulk salt!

Matt beat me to it but I was thinking cathedral ceilings will let you add at least another layer of tanks.

My grow out tanks are 20G. Not sure which ones you're referring to.
 
Here's what I'm working with...

This closet can be emptied and the doors removed, shelves installed.
 

This desk is 2" too wide to fit in the closet, unless I can maneuver it in when the closet is empty or cut off 1" on each end.
 

This cedar chest must stay in the room too. 
 
One plan would to be to put the entire desk in the closet and keep the chest in the same spot. This would allow access to the desk but get it out of the way.
 
The second plan would be to put the chest in the closet first (It is only used twice a year for seasonal clothes) and put the desk in front of that. This option would free up the most area, I think...
 
Either option would free up the left side of the room from the closet to the far wall with the window, next to the BRT station.
 
I'm also planning on altering my hatching station:

 
If I lower this level by 1' I can add two levels above it. Probably make a wooden stand for this instead of the milk crates.

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"Making captive breeding easier."

Or a Lazy susan with a bunch of tanks on it

Did I mention that I have a limited budget?

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"Making captive breeding easier."

I think you need to go with a 3 acre greenhouse complex.
 
Or, hey, the people down the block from me put their entire house up on blocks and dug a full-sized basement out from under it. I'm sure that was fairly inexpensive.

--Andy, the bucket man.
"Not to know the mandolin is to argue oneself unknown...." --Clara Lanza, 1886

Tal - I was just thinking you add on a growout saltwater lake. Think of the possibilities. Sustainable fishing and fish collection, tourism, world famous!

For that trunk you could build shelves over it. Then just plumb them to your other sump.

Tal, I'm assuming you've seen the stands that Kathy built (and I used the same method).  I cut and painted two more units and will have them assembled in the morning.  Now that I'm comfortable with the technique, I doubt that I'll ever seriously consider buying shelves again...the DIY wood is so uber simple if you have the tools and comfort level (it really did take Frank helping me with the first set to really have me feeling better about doing it, and he also really gave me some great pointers on painting).  Go check out that video at TedsFishroom - DIY wood = 100% customized to maximize your space.

Care to share Franks pointers?
I'm building another one next week.

I have to disagree with him and that design. I have built NUMEROUS stands using lap joints and carriage bolts with out ever a single failure. In fact my fathers entire pet store's stands were made out of that design without even a hint of failure. 
If you have the time, or are looking for the aquarium stand to be more aesthetically pleasing than you can take the time to dado everything out. It is certainly not necessary as he implies in that video.

Mike Meadows
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thecoralshoppe
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoralShoppe?feature=mhee
 

Well, I got some work done today. I got the closet emptied out and the cedar chest is now in there.

I'll be adding some shelves at some point.
 
Now I have 6' of wall space. Should be enough to have two levels of 5-6, 20 tall tanks. That will almost triple my growout space. After some thought I think I'm going to use the current GO system for broodstock and the new system for GO only.
 

http://www.fishtalpropagations.com/#!home/mainPage
"Making captive breeding easier."

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=319477-1281-7224PRBWWD3&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3172913&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
 
Built and ready in 30 minutes... and its adjustable!