DIY Grow Out Setup - Day By Day

I always trust you Ed! When I've spent a few years under Bill Addison's wing, I might try to disagree with you, but for now, I just listen carefully :) And as always, thanks for the advice! I aslo second Steve in asking exactly what that filter pad roll is, I looked around the site that the pic belonged to, and can't locate it in a roll.

Steve, I could swear that Home Depot had the pricing in the opposite order, but I could be wrong.
 
LOL I knew you would not know,

In the early years of reef keeping ( called mini reefs) that is what we used for biological filtration, bio balls or skimmer only tanks came during the 90's, 10 years later.

The DLS ( Double Layer Spiral) has more surface area than bio balls, you will need less space/smaller filter. I got mine from that site 6 months ago , give them a call if interested.

Ed
 
You gotta love Ed, always poking fun at the newbies. See how he sets us up for failure, and then laughs at us... :D

Ed, I talked to the manufacturer of the bio-balls, he said they supply the aquarium trade too, and that the ones we used at work were the exact same plastic, just clear/white instead of blue. He claims they are ran from the same sets of molds, and the functionality would be exactly the same. I will try to see if I can get them to order an extra box, and let me pay for it. I believe we get them from HighTech Furnace Corp.
 
Just thought I would jump in here and let you know you have another RC pilot/ Clown breeder on the site...

I fly Glow Sport, scale, and 3D
 
Funny, I really am going to start a thread called Breeders who Fly RC so we can all share pics and hangar contents!

I hear you Ed, on the money thing, I'm going to sell my Heli (that I was just bragging about) to pay for a return pump and get some tanks drilled :D Anyone want a cheap Shogun II w/ Brushless motor and 3 cell lipoly, RTF - PM me!
 
Ok,

Looks like it is time to come clean. I used to fly RC Glow too. Do not do it any more because of the time that is needed and travel commitments of work.

Steve
 
A nice foamy works wonders as a learning tool, gets you outdoors, gets you flying, easy to learn, easy on the wallet and very forgiving you can litterally slam them into the ground and they bounce.

something to remember a denitrator is only designed to reduce or remove nitrate(based on its sizing), there are a lot of other nasties that come with dumping pounds of food into heavily populated tanks. the goal of a denitrator on a breeding setup should be to reduce the need for waterchanges due to nitrate, they are not a replacement for mechanical, chemical and aerobic bio filtration. they are for the most part uneffected by mechanical, chemical, aerobic bio filtration. and also have little effects on them.

now, IF you decide to build one or more of these consider using the output for non phyto cultures and larva, things where higher starting water quality is more important. and remember to degass before use these areas where O2 consumption is high require water higher in O2, the output of your denitrator will not be high in O2.
 
Good points rsman, and exactly correct on the foamie trainer. I just taught a buddy to fly on one of these http://www.hobby-lobby.com/easystar.htm Good flying little plane, we basically bought the combo package, but upgraded the radio to a nicer 2 stick 6 channel and got a lithium polymer capable charger.

Here is what I plan for my setup, I do have facilities to take care of the ammonia and nitrite, but would love to hear any recommendations.

The overflows will be plumb together into a single line, which will drain into a 10g bio-ball trickle filter. This will exit into the second chamber of the sump (refugium), and split a small amount of water through the denitrifier coil. The coil and the refugium will exit into the skimmer section, which will output into the return area.

The returns will go to the growout tanks only, I will always have 4 fry tanks which will use water from the main system, but will not be plumbed in line. I will simply syphon the debris off the bottom of the tanks into a bucket, and then open a valve from the main systems return to replenish the water.

Right now, I plan to just use several Tuff Box style plastic containers for the different sections of the sump, and plumb those together with bulkheads and small PVC connectors. All total, the sump system should be about 80 gallons, and there will initially be 12 ten gallons (with about 8 gallons a peice in them) plus the 4 fry tanks.

I'm off to the local hardware stores to get some stuff so I can piece some more of this together today, I'll post pics of the progress. Any thoughts on what vessel to use for the trickle? I'm thinking maybe BIG diameter PVC, but not sure at this point.
 
I forgot to mention in that last post, that i would be running a Magnum 350 Deluxe (with the dual bio-wheel attachment) in the sump as well. It will probably go into the same chamber as the ptorein skimmer in between the refugium and return areas.
 
Hi,
Your setup sounds really great!
I have those Home Despot shelves and I have to warn you about a few things. One, they rust. When they start to rust the paint comes off in sheets and can land in the tanks. I do use it, only am going to be more careful about keeping lids on HOT filters and avoiding leaving tanks uncovered. Any salt spray, even that which you can't see, apparently somehow corrodes.
Number 2: The shelves bend like crazy. I put kritter keepers and gallon jars of cultures on them and they bowed. Getting humidity on them from tanks on the next shelf down exascerbates the problem. Having 10 gallon tanks in the wrong way so they hang off the ends is great, having boxes inside resting solely on the particle board not good. (:
Since your system is saltwater you definitely will need to keep on top of all drips and leaks. Where my rack meets the floor it is one pile of rust colored particles, kind of scary. I have been using it for under 3 years.
Personally I would rather put everything holding saltwater on wood 2X4 racks and use these shelves for drygoods. Or freshwater, ha ha! My fishroom is mostly freshwater, yours probably not... I breed killifish. I also use chrome racks made like the "metro racks" sold for restaurant kitchens, they rust too but maintain structural integrity longer. Costco sells them in widths suitable for 2 10 gallon tanks placed the "right" way per shelf.
Kate
 
Thanks for the details! I'm looking for a small rack solution that doesn't look like total crap, since I don't have a fishroom and it will be going in my living room. I can't afford having someone build me a custom wood rack, although I'd like that. I could build it myself, but I live in a condo and have nowhere to work.

Actually, I'd like to have two small racks, one in the living room and one in the kitchen. The kitchen can be cultures, the living room fish (since the temp in the living room is more stable.) I took one look at that particle board and crossed the HD racks off my list...
 
I almost did, but I'm not using the top shelf for anything except hanging drip systems from, so I doubled up the particle board on the tank shelf, and then put some mylar backed styrofoam sheets down so that water can't seep through (and to equalize the load of the tanks when the shelves bow).

I doubt if they will be a long term solution, but they are working for now. Someday, I plan to build a good sturdy shelving unit, but these will give me a better idea of what I want until the time comes, and they will make great storage when they are replaced.

Sure wish i had a workshop with a table saw, and all the other stuff I'll need, I probably could have built them myself for the same amount of money if I already had the tools.
 
Great thread and good luck Jnowell. Just tagging along really as i have a simular project planned for later in the year.

Are you going to put any UV units in your design at all? I have considered these for larval tanks, but aint sure!
Is this system just going to be for your clowns? You mentioned a pair of R.Grammas earlier, are they too be included?
Sounds good so far. Keep it up.

Mark
 
Mark, So far just the clowns, but I plan to get a group of Bangai Cardinals some day, and if my Grammas ever spawn, they'll go in the system too. I had considered a UV unit, and may still add one. Just don't have an extra laying around right now, and all my money is going to more crucial components right now.

On a good note, I have successfully drilled 4 tanks now, with no errors, and my home-made bulkheads ($2 a peice) are working perfectly! Here's the process....

First, I traced the outside diameter of the part that must pass through the tank onto the glass with a Sharpie permanent marker. I bought these Dremel bits at WalMart - $5.50 for the package of two. I use the one that has a small ball on the end to drill a small hole, and then traced the circle out with the cone shaped bit. The pack is Dremel #7150 - Diamond Point Set. If you can't find them locally, Home Depot type places carry the #7144 (cone shaped one) or equiivelent 7134. I haven't found the ball type one anywhere singly, but it's a #7103. The two pack from Walmart costs less than one single bit at HD though.

I set the tank on a towel on my patio, turned the water hose on to a trickle, and kept water running over the whole area while I drilled. The initial hole takes about 1 minute to drill. Then you push the cone shaped bit through the hole, and cut your way around the marker line. The cone shaped bit has diamond stuff from the tip to about 1/2" up, so it cuts the entire thinkness of the glass in one pass, no multiple tracings required. The hole takes about 3 minutes to trace.

bits.jpg


The bulkhead uses two PVC parts, and two O-rings. The bulkhead consist of 1 P/N 34275 (3/4"X1/2" Bushing) and 1 P/N 30405 (1/2" MIP Adapter (SXMIP)). Both are Genova part numbers, and can probably be cross-referenced by your local shop.

The O-Rings are made by Danco, and are listed as a #15 (1" O.D. x 3/4" I.D.) Pack of ten for 2 dollars in the kitchen sink section of HD.

parts.jpg


rings.jpg


Here's a pic of the hole, it's not perfect, but the O-Rings seal it up tight.

hole.jpg


And the assembled unit, a 3/4" PVC elbow fits perfectly on the outflow, which will connect to 3/4" pipe back to the sump. The I.D. of the peice inside the tank is 1/2", so I found some 1/2" O.D. drain covers (replacement parts for Maxi-Jet 900).

mounted.jpg


mounted3.jpg


The installtion goes - put one o-ring on the part that goes through the tank, slide it through from the inside, add another o-ring from the outside, and screw the second part onto the first. Simple, cheap, and leak proof!
 
Last edited:
jnowell & NicoleC,

I used the HD racks with particle board shelves, but I covered the particle board with contact paper first. It works great for keeping the water off the "wood", and looks a lot better too.

Jon
 
one thing that i noticed is that you put a 90 degree elbow on the output of the drilled hole. the only problem i see coming from that is a loud gargling sound. i had the same problem and then fixed it by drilling a hole in the top of the the 90 and adding a small piece of tubing to let air into the down tube and to break the syphone. if you need a pic to show you what im talking about then i can post one. just ask

looks good though IMO.

Mark
 
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