Plumbing a breeder setup to main system

[SharkBait_Mtl]

I am in the process of renovating my basement to accommodate my 180g in-wall reef. you can follow my build by clicking the red house.

This will be my first attempt to breed fish so any books, links, advice or tips would be appreciated. I have 1-2 pairs of banggai cardinals, and a pair of percula clowns.

I have these books on breeding & health:

Breeder's Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes - Matthiew L. Wittenrich
Clownfishes - Joyce D. Wilkerson
Health & Feeding Handbook - Bob Goemans and Lance Ichinotsubo
(Have many other aquaria books as well)

I will have a dedicated fish room (9' x 8') for filtration of the 180g. In the Profilux controlled fish room I will have:

60g sump (2 skimmers ASM G1X and G3)
45g sump/refugium
65g species/breeder/coral propagation
29g breeder
29g QT/hospital
3-4 10g for fry
food-culture station

I have 250-300 lbs. of liverock that will be spread throughout the
180, 65, and the sump.

125g bin for new SW for auto waterchange (20g/day)

work-sink
work table
fridge/freezer



Now my questions....

the 45g oceanic sump came with a bioball compartment. I would prefer not to use bioballs as I have heard that they are nitrate traps. Do I have enough biological filtration with my liverock(250-300) to sustain my water column? would the excess overfeeding and overstocking the breeder tanks affect the 180g reef?

would plumbing a breeder setup to my main system be a bad idea?

any suggestion of fish that would be an easy start?

 

[Zooid]

Those first two books listed are excellent.

I would suggest NOT putting the breeders onto your main system because you are going to be feeding feeding feeding and possibly increasing the temperature to well above the temp of a reef. A LOT of breeders use bioballs, they don't become a nitrate factory if you keep some filter floss on top and change it out regularly.

Bangaiis, Perculas, and Ocellaris are the "easy" fish. Clowns will consume a lot of time because you have to grow rotifers and maybe phytoplankton and they need to be fed often. After you get your fish past metamorphosis though, you'll feel that it was time well spent. It's a great feeling of accomplishment.

Good luck

 

[SharkBait_Mtl]

Zooid...

thanks for the input.

I read the section on bioballs last night in the breeders book... I have learned so much out of that book. Out of all the book I have read on aquaria I think the breeders handbook explains filtration the best.

I have not read the part about raising the temperature but am sure I will get there soon. What is the reasoning behind raising the temperature? do you think if I put in-line heaters on the breeder return line to have that tank warmer than the system would work? the 180 will have a CL with a chiller on it so I dont think that the DT temp should be an issue.

The way I was planning on linking the breeder to the system is as follows.

the 180 will drain into both sumps. the breeders will drain into the 45g which will also be the refugium. both sumps will be at the same level and will be linked with 2x 1.5" tubing. the returns will come from the sump that has the skimmers.

In theory what I am trying to accomplish by linking it this way will be that all the excess nitrates will be consumed by the refugium as it will have super low flow going though it.

I will have an auto water change controlled by the profilux changing out 10g twice daily. or 20g once a day. not sure yet I could always up it if the nitrates get out if control.

a little off topic but worth mentioning....

The fish health book is not a breeders handbook, but it has a wealth of information regarding fish health and feeding. If you do not have this book I highly recommend it.

I do service and maintenance of many aquariums and one of my clients had a really bad ich breakout in his 1200g system. When looking for alternate ways of treating ich I came across a section in the book regarding using chloroquinne phosphate to treat ich.

I tried it on his system and and not only did it kill 99% of the ich within 10 days it also eradicated ALL the cyanobacteris he had in his tank. IME I think that chloroquinne will be my 1st course of action to treat ich.

 

[Zooid]

That's interesting about the chloroquinne phosphate. I'll have to read up on that, I haven't had ich for a couple years but I have cyano constantly.
I'd try to run the breeders as you said. If you notice the nitrates rising on the main tank, then you could always separate the systems.
Raising the temp sometimes helps to spur the fish into spawning and it will also decrease the time that the eggs take to maturation.

 

[SharkBait_Mtl]

Cool thanks for the info.

An important note on the chloroquinne. It is NOT reef safe or safe for inverts. However there is a food recipe that could be made to treat an infected fish, so it could be a little safer for a reef but have not had the courage to try it. However this would not help the cyano.

What really helped me with cyano is a 3-day light out on the ffected tank followed by a 50% WC. I do this on my tank whenever I see the cyano getting a little out of control.