The "Breeding Barn Build"

Woohoo, looks like fun!!!

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Love how it's coming together Mike!!!

Thanks all for the comments

Here is the latest update.  
 
I was able to finish the drains from all of the tanks into the rubbermaid sump.   The tanks were plumbed with 1/2" drains so I decided to use them.  The tanks had 3/4" bulkhead that were reduced to 1/2".  They were threaded and I tried taking them apart but they wouldn't come .. so  I decided to leave things as they were.  Here is a pic of the backside plumbing.
 

 
I also was able to install standpipes in most of tanks.  (5 of them were threaded so I get those done tomorrow when I get male fittings.
 

 
 

Gosh, Mike, I would be concerned that 1/2 piping would not be big enough for drains.  If they don't drain fast enough, you could easily have overflow of water on the floor.  
 
Usually we use 3/4 inch for returns and 1 inch for standpipes that drain into 2 or 2 1/2 inch pipes located below the standpipes.  One long pipe can drain several tanks and get the water to the sump.
 
Another reason to use larger pipes is that you need to allow air to enter the drains, or they will not drain well.  Hard to explain why…. Anyone else want to try?

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

This looks awesome Mike! Great job!

-Adam

Today was moving day for the breeding barn.  In general, I will say that I went pretty well.  Here is how it went.
 
The Set up
 
I decided yesterday that carrying 5 gallon buckets from the basement out to the barn was for the birds.  So here is how I got the water from the house out to the barn.
 
I had a Mag 18 set up in the sump of the breeding set up.
 

 
Through the basement window.  (One of which I accidentally broke)
 

 
The hose didn't make all the way to the barn so I filled up a 100G rubbermaid tub.

 
Then I hooked another pump to another hose and then filled the tanks and sump.  I did add 55G of fresh salt water to mix.  So basically it was the same water with a 55G water change.
 
Here is final result
 
Front

 
Back with return lines attached.  I still need to get the skimmer installed but I will do that tomorrow.

 
Although I didn't loose any fish, my Mag drive pump died which was kind of frustrating.  Other than that thing went pretty well.

Very nice thread Congrats!
 

Michelle  
 

Thanks!

Congrats on getting some flow going!  That always feels good!
 

 
This concerns me too.  It's not any more difficult to re-drill holes bigger than it is to drill them in the first place.  I hope you don't regret making the drains so small since it would be a lot more work to fix them now the tanks are full.


 
Small drains with no air entering them could create an air lock from the fine bubbles collecting in elbows and such.  Is that what you mean?  I have "Herbie" drains on my reef tanks which don't have any air in them at all making them deadly silent, but they are bigger.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Finally got some lights up.  Although one doesn't work.
 

Why not some LED strips?.Just to be trendy..

I might get one LED strip for not sure yet.

I might get one LED strip for it not sure yet.

Scott Tomko told me about some LED strips that are a little pricey(~$75), but they work great, take up no space at all, and use only 32 watts for the whole thing, 16 feet! One other thing, they are water resistant!
 
http://www.usledsupply.co...-white-flex-strip.html
 
One needs also the power supply and barrel plug thingy.
Choose: Pre-soldered Barrel Plug and 48w Power Supply (plug and play) +$25.00
 
You can cut them to fit the space you have, as long as you can solder wires.
 
I like them very much.  They are unobtrusive, and you don't need to worry about them breaking, or water hitting them, or replacing burned out bulbs. They are so light in mass, that you can stick them to the bottom of a shelf with the double stick tape on the back.
 
 

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

Cool,
 
Thanks for the link Kathy

I use this http://dled.com.ar/category/index/LEDs-5060/?id_category=88
and plan to replace all my lights with them,as the bulbs burn out.
These are more powerful,60 LEDs / meter,and can be cut every 5cm (2").They cost $20 /m.Compare with bulbs,water proof end cups and ballast.And they operate with 12V,no electrical hazard with salt creeping and splashing.You can fix it under the tank cover,shining directly on the water

Luis, those look like a very similar thing, and the conversion of ARG$ to US$, they cost similarly as well.  I love them.
 
I wonder if they are brighter than the ones i have, and how does one find out about that?

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

Kathy,open the acrobat link at the lower left for specifics.
5060,60 LED/m is strong,3600 lumen.600 arg$=100 usd the 5m strip.

Just a quick update.  I have been mostly working on taking down the old fish room and moving things into the barn as I need them.
 
I have managed to move the fridge into the barn which has made feeding a lot easier. 
 
Also, I have started to build the 20G High Stand out of block and a wood top that I already made for a prior system build.  Below is pic.
 

for leds i just bought a strip that plugs right into a standard t8 fixture minus the ballast.  the leds are incased in plastic and a 8 foot run burns 32w.  they are just as bright if not brighter than my normal florescent 8 foot bulbs and should last three times as look and uses half the energy.

Today was a good test for the insulation on the barn.  The temp outside right now is 100F,  the barn air temp is around 90F and the water temperature is 83F.   Not bad, considering that I have not insulated the ceiling yet, which will come around labor day as the weather here turns colder.

You're doing better than I am. My tanks are at 82.5° but have gotten up to ~86° recently. I'm using fans and ice to keep it this cool.

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

Insulating the ceiling will help a ton.  After just doing my garage doors, my temps were still getting into the 90s with a window AC.  Did the ceiling and all was good.  I'm able to keep a steady 80 - 82 even when its 104 outside.   And in the winter, my de-humidifer works good down to about 50 outside, and I have an oil filled radiator heater to add,  for when its colder.  NEVER USE A SPACE HEATER.. the kind with the heater coils and a blower fan.   I lucked out and was in the garage each time when the first one caught fire, and the second one started smoking.    Both were "industrial grade"  shop heaters.  Bad news. 
The build is looking good.  I have a 12x30 shed I was thinking of using, but the added cost of insulating all 6 sides keeps deterring me.  
 
Miles

Thanks Miles,  I was going to use one of the oil filled radiator type heaters.  They seem to have a lot of saftety features (like anti-tip) in order to eliminate fires and other hazards.

Good job Mike, the barn is progressing nicely.

like Jish said... deposit... NO refunds  -thejrc

Love this thread Mike :-)

Thanks guys for the comments ... I started getting the second set of racks built (really mostly relocating the second set of racks from the basement) and adding some additional racking at the end to hold 5 more tanks.   This is rack for the bigger tanks (40G breeders and 29s).  It located directly across from the 20G High tanks that are currently running 
 
Front Section

 
Back Section showing the sump location for this bank of tanks.
 

 
 

Decided to do a video  (Sorry for the length, about 9 mins).  Detailing a lot of facts about the room.
 
http://www.youtube.com/wa...U&feature=youtu.be
 
 


 

Nice video!

I added another rack to barn.   I decided a rack of 10g for broodstock would be a good addition.   The 20G L are ok but I would rather use them for growout. Below is pic.
 

Looking good Mike!

-Adam

Well unfortunately this thread has a not so happy ending.  I got an electric bill today that was significantly more than I would like to spend on this.  Therefore, I am going to be moving the fish back into the original space in the house during the next couple weeks.  I working up plans and will be doing this shortlyl

Insulate next, so you can move back.

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

The problem isn't insulation, it's the heat source.   I need to run a natural gas line out there which isn't in the cards right now.

Wood pellet stove?
 

Good suggestion.  Investigating now

Jim,  i just did some reading.  I think I owe you a beer or two at the next MBI workshop
 
 

Glad I could be helpful! 

I am hoping to use one of the outdoor wood boiler systems to heat a building and greenhouse. I had heard of the wood pellets but didn't realize there is basically no ash or smoke output. Pretty cool for an application like this.