my nano nursery...

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

i finally got around to setting up a nursery for the banggai.

 

i had a few problems/challanges to overcome.

 

heres what i did, and why i did it.

 

first and foremost i needed a stable enviroment for the fish. with it being such a last minute decision to care for the banggai, i didnt have an aquarium ready for the new additions. for this reason i connected the 2.5 to my 75g macro/horse/pipe tank.

 

drilled the aquarium and added a diy bulkhead (pvc fittings and a garden hose gaskett)

 

the water itself is syphened from my display via the 1/8" airline hose in the left of the pic.

 

its a low tech syphen. the hose is held just below the surface of the water in my display (drilled the trim and forced the hose into the hole) if the power breaks, my display lowers exposing the hose to the air and breaking the syphen. it does however have to be mannually started back up again. (no overflow)

 

the 2.5 is constantly overflowing from my display to the 2.5g, down to the sump via my diy bulkhead. its the only form of circulation in the aquarium. i fed the hose into a 2"piece of pvc (1.5" dia.) and this allows me dirrect the current in the aquarium (i have it pointed straight up to help with surface skimming.

 

i need to have freshly hatched brine everyday, so i set up a 2 bottle feeding system.

i used my dremel (diamond burr-round) to drill 2 holes in each of the glass bottles. one hole is for the airline, the other for my feeding/drip tube.

 

the brine take 12-24hours to hatch (package says 24-36) i fill a bottle with eggs and water every evening. the next day i use the second bottle to feed, filling it with water and brine eggs at the end of the day. this gives me a bottle of freshly hatched brine every morning without fail. bbs lose thier nutrition fast (approx 8 hours till they completey eat the eggsack)

 

i added airline valves to make the job easier. it allows me to control the airflow, but also the food flow. the brine can be dripped slowly into the aquarium over the course of the day, or the valve can be opened wide for mass feedings.

 

you might ask why i have placed the 6500k phillips daylight 27watt bulb behind the aquarium instead of above it, and i have a few good answers for you.

 

1. the light is actually keeping my brine cultures warm. (recomended temp80*-82*)

2. brine swim to the light. when the light was above the aquarium, the brine would swim to the surface getting sucked into the sponge covering the overflow. with the light behind the aquarium, the brine swim down to the fish.

3. makes it easier to see just how saturated the aquarium is with brine.

 

i'm not sure how many of you need a nano breeding set up, but i thought the brine hatchery might inspire others with finicky fish like mandarin and horses to set up a live feeding station. brine eggs are cheap.

 

the little guys are still loving thier artificial urchin. approx 10 days old, these guys are growing fast!

 

 

as an added perk, all the extra brine is being delivered to my horses/pipe via the overflow to my sump. (along with whatevers left in the bottle at the end of the day.)

[travisurfer]

very nice icy. this brings you up to 4 tanks? hows the 50 seahorse tank doing?

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

rockin out large! just got a new caulerpa for it.

[travisurfer]

nice i finally have everything setup on the 2.5g. it only needs sand and chaeto. did you every start the large surfboard?

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

picked up the wood last weekend. myself and a friend ty are gonna start sometime after xmas (need to get in some boarding this month) shouldnt be long before the snow starts fallin.

[clifford513]

That's ingenious Icy. I am thinking about setting up my old 18g tall as a dwarf seahorse and gulf pipe fish tank. I have been researching and looks like it will be a chore. Your brine hatchery setup seems ideal. That is one thing I was trying to figure out. I want sand, cheato, and caulerpa also but everything I have read seems to say that sand would be a more of a problem that a benefit. Any suggestions?

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

my pipe tank has sand, and the horses love surfing the bottom picking at the live food. the sand is also very benificial when it comes to keeping the macro's put. the real problem is keeping the sand clean. with the horses likeing low flow, things tend to settle.

 

rock placement is key. keep that water flowing. i actually have a 301 powerhead beside my overflow (far right) its pointed to the far left (along the back wall) the current deflects of the left side glass and down to the bottom of the aquarium. this helps kick up debrit, put maitains a lower flow system (except at the back wall which my horses tend to avoid) keeps all the horse up front and visible they go to the back, but always below the current. by the time the debrit reaches the right side of the aquarium, it heads up and to the overflow.

 

you might have to play around with rock and powerhead placement, but as long as the horses have a large enough area of calm water, they will tend to stay there.

 

spray bars can also help. you can control flow with the amount/size of holes in the bar.

 

i have a 4 hole (1/4" holes) spray bar pointed across the surface of the water. by the time the current deflects off the front glass, and down to the bottom of the aquarium, its just strong enough to keep the debrit from settling, but preventing the horses from being blown around.

 

 

the way the currents set up, the macro's tend to sway back and forth like they would with the aid of a wave maker.

[clifford513]

That tank has always been an inspiration to me. I love its natural look. Thanks for the info

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

my girl hates it, she calls it the ugly tank.

 

myself, i love how easy it is to maintain.

[clifford513]

Well, I love it and it has been my favorite tank for awhile now. Have you looked at this thread? Some neat stuff!

[Ryan_H]

if you want your bbs to keep some of their nutrition, add a TINY amount of Marc Weiss Black powder to the tank. brine actually absorb it and it's a great way to gut load them. i use it on our live brine tank at work, and 2 days later their bodies are solid black and all appendages are BRIGHT orange.

 

it's also great to add to your display and refugium, as it feeds corals, sponges, tunicates, feather dusters, and gut loads all your pods, which would be very beneficial to your seahorses.

[adinsxq]

cute

[travisurfer]

i wish i could get my macro to grow like that i may end up going with feather caulerpa or something like that. the seagrapes just dont grow fast enough for my tastes. right now everything exept the C. serrulata is in my display. i may have to get some taxiflora to make it even more maintenance free. i need some extra time for my 2.5g.

[clifford513]

if you want your bbs to keep some of their nutrition, add a TINY amount of Marc Weiss Black powder to the tank. brine actually absorb it and it's a great way to gut load them. i use it on our live brine tank at work, and 2 days later their bodies are solid black and all appendages are BRIGHT orange.

 

it's also great to add to your display and refugium, as it feeds corals, sponges, tunicates, feather dusters, and gut loads all your pods, which would be very beneficial to your seahorses.

I will check into that. I need something for filter feeders that doesn't foul the tank.

[DementedLullaby]

Nice to see them doing well Icy. Do you use de-shelled brine shrimp?

 

Best of luck!

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

i turn off the air pump 5 min's before feeding. all the eggs float to the top of the water, and the brine swim down to the light.

 

a few shells make it into the aquarium, but not many at all.

[supahtim]

is the brine setup really that easy? everytime i read into it, all the instructions make it seem so complicated. lol

 

looks really awesome btw! i've always liked banggai cardinals... care to sell one or two when they're ready?

 

Tim

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

it really is that easy.

 

the instructions say to start in fresh water. i dont ever.

 

get a bottle with an airhose, add water from your aquarium. add eggs, bubble for 12-36 hours keeping the water warm (80-82)

 

when your ready, turn off the pump and allow the eggs to float to the top of the bottle. you can also use a light to get the brine to swim to the bottom. get rid of the egg shells and your ready to feed.

 

i dont have enough room to keep all eight, i'd like a breeding pair, but the rest will probably go to another home. im in canada though.

[non-photosynt]

add eggs, bubble for 12-36 hours keeping the water warm (80-82)

How - like setting a next new tank with heater?

Thanks.

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

check out the pic's at the beginning of the post. my hatchery consists of 2 pop bottles above a light with an air pump

[supahtim]

i'm in Toronto. let me know if/when you sell!

 

Tim

[formerly icyuodd/icyoud2]

should be ready to go in 6 weeks from today. i'll probably advertize them on aquarium pros. but i'll drop you an email first (how many you after?)

 

depending on size, i'll probably sell them for $25 (canadian) a pair

[supahtim]

that's awesome!! i'll definetly take a pair. thanks!

 

Tim

[SaVeThEeELs]

DIY shrimpery

 

glass pop bottles??? didnt thnk of that one.......im a spagetti jar fan....

 

you can grow pods and mysis this way too....lil harder & takes more time, bigger jars...just a matter of getting your flow right....

 

now can you raise your brine to adult hood?

[kinetic]

i'll take a pair when they're ready! =)) looks awesome!!!