My Diy Larvae Snagger

[EMBRYOGUY]

What do you guys think of this? Do you think it will work? Please open to ALL remarks. my future babies depend on it

Made it from a Cpr In-Tank Refugium. i cut out an opening at the top. used a rio 50 and simply inverted the pump to push out. cut to fit a piece of foam around pump. than i took a fish net and glued it to a grid around the entire pump. i also cut out a piece of black plastic infront of the opening to hide the light and siliconed the rim of the opening to smooth over the edges. additionally i installed a blue Led moonlight . i hope its strong enough to attract the larvae.

be honest, what do you guys think of this? can it work?

 

[aomont]

I no really nothing but I liked it !
Don´t think you need the black thing inside but your sponge should fit more to the sides of the box, I think. In your snagger the larva can be trapped between the "black thing" and the sponge after they pass through the the slits.
Anyway, I like it !
Anderson.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

i have a mesh covering the slits. i actually tried to make a clear plastic barrier with holes, but it cracked so i had this laying around and used that instead. yeah im hoping the slits with the mesh will prevent the babies from getting stuck. also im hoping the sponge will really slow up the flow. ill test it after the silicon dries a bit.

thank you for your thoughts anderson your concerns are my own also. i guess i wont know until the real test run occurs

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

anderson, do you think the moonlight is enough to attract the larvae?

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

i did a test run with water and floating pellets. the pellets did not rush to get in but when they were at the front of the opening they moved thru. than i droped some pellets on the inside of the snagger and they fell straight down. did not swirl around or more importantly towards the pump/grid. so im hopeful

there is noticeable current at the surface, so i was initially concerned it pump was too strong, but after testing with the sinking pellets im hopeful.

the moonlight appears ok. shines directly at the opening but i just do not know if its enough to attract the larvae.

 

[aomont]

Just now I saw the whit thing was not the sponge but the mesh !!! Regarding the flow, I don´t know if slower = better or = worse. Hope you try it for us to see the results.
As for the moonlight, I have no idea also... but supect a lot !
Anderson.

 

[mwp]

I think the sponge is too coarse and the slits will increase flow that the fish can't escape. Afterall, if the total "surface area" of the slits is less than the opening that the larvae enter, the flow will be greater through those slits.

All the snaggers I've seen seem to focus on having the largest possible area with the smallest possible mesh in order to diffuse the flow from the larval chamber to the pump chamber.

Just my $0.02, it's not like my snagger works either, yet...

Matt

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

no i appreciate your thoughts matt

thats my concern also. at this point its either this or my little tuperware to catch them

i should switch to a more dense foam. that should be easy to do. hopefully that will reduce the flow more.

you cant see in the pics, but i do have a mesh behind the slits. so im hoping that slows things also. i also tried some flakes in there and they seem to have no movement below the surface.

i also can put a return nozzle on the output and reduce flow that way i think.

 

[mwp]

What kind of pump? Minijet 404's, with their adjustable flows, really seem like they're ideal...granted if you used what you had on hand, there ya go!

My $0.02, I don't remember, but is this your first hatch? Personally, I wouldn't risk batch #1 to an untested snagger...it's heartaching if it doesn't work as hoped! Go with the bowl for the first hatch!

Matt

 

[mwp]

Ah, forget that comment on the pump, I see what kind

BTW, I think the moonlight may very well be strong enough, especially if it is the ONLY lightsource in an otherwise pitch black room. I tried one of my hatches with a LED flashlight shining through the ventilation slits in the hood of my Nanocube 24...that was more than enough light to attract them to the back right corner of the tank!

Matt

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

thanks for advise matt !

i just found a control nozzle from my rio parts. now i can regulate the flow of the pump

matt do you think the blue led moonlight will be enough to attract the larvae?

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

that fact that your getting all these things to breed in a 24 is just amazing to me

thank you for your thoughts

 

[mwp]

For the record, I have 3 24's...it's not like I have 40 fish in ONE 24

I've seen the broodstock tanks used at RPI, for ALL species they are LESS than 10 gallons. Something to think about...

Matt

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

oh i know you have more than one 24, its still impressive though.

are there systems(10 gallons) connected?

 

[mwp]

Yeah, keeping 100 standalone 10 gallon tanks would be a NIGHTMARE

Let us all know how the snagger fares when you try it out!

Matt

 

[David M]

I don't see any purpose for the foam. All you need is a mesh barrier dividing the collection area from the pump. Larvae are attracted to the light from both directions you know If the flow thru the inlet is not strong enough as many will swim out as swim in I had to make adjustment for that, trust me. Honestly the whole thing looks way too small to me but maybe it's just the pic. My concern is that the collection area is so small they will all be hovering at the light and moving in and out of the snagger.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

yeah i agree, it is small.
i wish it was bigger.

i dont think they can swim out , the flow is pretty good on the surface into the snagger. that was without any control. after matts idea of putting a regulator on the outlet of the pump. i can make adjustments.

yes, i have the foam just to slow up the flow. ill try without it also.
thanks for your thoughts.

im realy not good at diy stuff. i was hoping there was a commercial product available.

 

[EMBRYOGUY]

david, do you think the moonlight is ok?

 

[Dman]

Figures,
I just shot a pile of pics of my snagger for a thread on my local board, but the pics are too big to post/upload here.

 

[David M]

Dman, it's not hard to resize the pics, even an old dummy like me can do it. Also if you pay the ~$10 for "premium" membership posting pics gets a whole lot easier.

Embryo- a moonlight is all I ever used, white not blue though. They are surprisingly strong swimmers, I think you will have some darting out of the box. Just be on hand with a small bowl or cup and collect as many as you can at the entrance.

FWIW I know that Kathy and a few others keep their pairs in reef/ community tanks and collect larvae. I started that way too but for me in the long run it was just waaaay too much work and I am not a late night guy Moving that pair to a dedicated breeder tank and pulling the nests was the best thing I ever did