My new hatchery (56k beware)
- Thread starter CaptiveMarine
- Start date
CaptiveMarine
Premium Member
There are two 100 micron filter socks in the the sump for the mechanical filtration. In these I can put some carbon when needed. There is no live rock or sand in the system.
CaptiveMarine
Premium Member
I'm running 2 fluidized bed sand filters on it. Each one is rated for 900 gallons so I should have plenty. If not I'll add a bio-tower.
CaptiveMarine
Premium Member
It's like a tall wet dry with only the dry part. I take a 4' piece of 6" pvc and fill it with bioballs. Water enter the top and flows down over the bioballs and exits the bottom.
Will it keep nitrates down? No, that's what water changes are for.
This is a very impressive hatchery!
I have a smaller system on a table top stand, but I am thinking about setting up another on shelving, so I am following your story with interest!
Show us a picture of the closed loop when you get a chance. I've always wondered about those.
I have a smaller system on a table top stand, but I am thinking about setting up another on shelving, so I am following your story with interest!
Show us a picture of the closed loop when you get a chance. I've always wondered about those.
I bet you can't guess what I breed =) Least as soon as I get another female.
Water changes? I stopped doing those long ago and everything just keeps on growing. I just had trace elements every now and then.
Are you referring to a ntirate tower?
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4912/cid/1387
Water changes? I stopped doing those long ago and everything just keeps on growing. I just had trace elements every now and then.
Are you referring to a ntirate tower?
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4912/cid/1387
ediaz
Active member
a bio tower is what he is describing, a pvc pipe full of bio balls , I used 2- 4" diameter 5' long pvc pipes, the two at the left side, not good pic but it gives an idea, sorry Kathy, putting together something soon...
It is basically a nitrate factory, but all bio filters are.
Ed
It is basically a nitrate factory, but all bio filters are.
Ed
Ammonia and nitrite are a LOT more toxic than nitrate.
Bio tower, bioballs, biowheel, all versions of wet/dry filtering convert ammonia and nitrite(poisonous) to nitrate (vitually harmless, but stimulator of algae growth).
Nitrate can be diluted/removed with water changes. Nitrate is not the primary concern in a "breeder setup".
Ammonia is. We are not growing corals, we are feeding a lot of fish.
I am not going to spend hundreds to remove nitrate, when I am changing a lot of water daily, anyway. JMO.
Cheers,
Kathy
Bio tower, bioballs, biowheel, all versions of wet/dry filtering convert ammonia and nitrite(poisonous) to nitrate (vitually harmless, but stimulator of algae growth).
Nitrate can be diluted/removed with water changes. Nitrate is not the primary concern in a "breeder setup".
Ammonia is. We are not growing corals, we are feeding a lot of fish.
I am not going to spend hundreds to remove nitrate, when I am changing a lot of water daily, anyway. JMO.
Cheers,
Kathy
JHardman
Premium Member
Kathy, while I understand your point of view, I think you are greatly under estimating nitrate and is costs.
The two biggest recurring costs in breeding SW fish are water and food. If you have to change water all the time, you are wasting money, time and effort that could be better spent elsewhere.
In the long run a breeder is making a very good investment by dealing with nitrates without having to change water.
CaptiveMarine
Premium Member
Wow, I took a couple of days off, and there are lots of questions. 
I'll try to answer them the best I can.
Kathy,
I had been following your thread and getting ideas there.
The hole saw I needed to drill holes in the closed loop pipe just got here today, so hopefully I can get to work on it this weekend, and I'll post some pictures.
chasekwe,
That I'm really not sure. It's not going to be as high as you might think. The reason I'm building this is not to mass produce fish, but more for research. I want to focus on fish that are not currently bred by companies like ORA and ProAquatixs, and hopefully help to expand the number of captive bred fish that are offered to us in the hobby.
I do plan to keep a few regular breeding pairs to hopefully help offset some of the expenses of this project (I've got four Akindynos Clowns in quarantine now), but most of the other breeding pairs will rotate in and out.
paOol,
Not nuts, I just love what I do.
BlackOnyx,
I'm sorry.
Kathy,
I'm with you. Regular partial water changes should be done, however, I am looking at ways to cut down on the size of the water changes. On my system a 10% water change in about 80 gallons and I've still got to add the growout system. Even at wholesale prices this is going to get very expensive very quick.
The way I'm setting the system up now I will control nitrate with water changes, then I'm going to start experminting with other ideas such as a large Remote Deep Sand Bed, sulphur denitrators, etc. I don't plan on doing away with regular water changes, I just want to strike a balance between water quality and expenses.
JHardman,
Care to share some tips?
I'll try to answer them the best I can. Kathy,
I had been following your thread and getting ideas there.
The hole saw I needed to drill holes in the closed loop pipe just got here today, so hopefully I can get to work on it this weekend, and I'll post some pictures.chasekwe,
That I'm really not sure. It's not going to be as high as you might think. The reason I'm building this is not to mass produce fish, but more for research. I want to focus on fish that are not currently bred by companies like ORA and ProAquatixs, and hopefully help to expand the number of captive bred fish that are offered to us in the hobby.
I do plan to keep a few regular breeding pairs to hopefully help offset some of the expenses of this project (I've got four Akindynos Clowns in quarantine now), but most of the other breeding pairs will rotate in and out.
paOol,
and i thought i was krazy using a 60 gallon to breed clowns.you are nuts mahng.
Not nuts, I just love what I do.
BlackOnyx,
I'm sorry.
Kathy,
I'm with you. Regular partial water changes should be done, however, I am looking at ways to cut down on the size of the water changes. On my system a 10% water change in about 80 gallons and I've still got to add the growout system. Even at wholesale prices this is going to get very expensive very quick.
The way I'm setting the system up now I will control nitrate with water changes, then I'm going to start experminting with other ideas such as a large Remote Deep Sand Bed, sulphur denitrators, etc. I don't plan on doing away with regular water changes, I just want to strike a balance between water quality and expenses.
JHardman,
Care to share some tips?
Sounds very smart to me to put some time into the fish that are not commonly bred. If the day comes when we can no longer pull fish from the ocean to decorate our tanks, knowing how to breed something other than clownfish will be invaluable, in more ways than monetarily.
I, too, am interested in ways to reduce nitrate. But if one doesn't take care of ammonia, one has bigger problems than nusiance algae. That was my point above.
Cheers,
Kathy
I, too, am interested in ways to reduce nitrate. But if one doesn't take care of ammonia, one has bigger problems than nusiance algae. That was my point above.
Cheers,
Kathy
CaptiveMarine
Premium Member
Oh, I know. If you don't take care of the ammonia you won't have to worry about the nitrates. My reply was really a combination of your post and JHardmans post. What I was really trying to point out was that I think water changes are important but there does need to be some research into ways to reduce the nitrate load in the water other than just by water changes.
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