Modder man Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Thinking about trying to start breeding there are so many details and things to consider. I picked up two acrylic petco display tanks and was thinking about using them for pairs and growout. Both are 45gal tanks divided into 3 spots and plumbed together for a sump. I was thinking of using 30 gallon plastic barrels for sumps. As of right now that is about all of the details I have halfway worked out in my mind. NOTE: I blame this on Pickle I read his whole thread and I just cant help but want to try it. How much water can I expect to use weekly rough estimate? How much will it take to heat both of these systems? Do I want a skimmer on each system? If so how big? What do I want in the sump? was thinking a bunch of live rock. Link to comment
--chris-- Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thinking about trying to start breeding there are so many details and things to consider. I picked up two acrylic petco display tanks and was thinking about using them for pairs and growout. Both are 45gal tanks divided into 3 spots and plumbed together for a sump. I was thinking of using 30 gallon plastic barrels for sumps. As of right now that is about all of the details I have halfway worked out in my mind. NOTE: I blame this on Pickle I read his whole thread and I just cant help but want to try it. How much water can I expect to use weekly rough estimate? Use, as in top off and water change? Depends on a lot, anywhere from 3-30 gallons... How much will it take to heat both of these systems? Again, depends on a lot. Climate, location in house, air temp, humidity levels, tops for aquariums/sump... Do I want a skimmer on each system? If so how big? Its been a while since i researched/did this. I had a skimmer on my growout to keep water quality up. No skimmer on my broodstock tanks, but it was only 40 gallons total volume so i could do water changes/siphoning to keep them clean. What do I want in the sump? was thinking a bunch of live rock. Bunch of live rock, no substrate. A few powerheads to keep crap from settling down there. Heaters/chillers. See bold, thats just my $0.02, there are much more talented breeders than me around here. They will chime in. Link to comment
Modder man Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 That you much for the input. There are so many details to be worked out with this, I think I may be getting in way over my head. Link to comment
--chris-- Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Keep a notepad nearby. Jog down ideas, sketch out the plans and keep posting. If you want to do this, its not much work. The biggest obstacle for me was the minor daily chores. Feeding 2-3x a day was the big one. If you have a set scheduale it will be easier. I was working full time + going to school full time. My schedule rotated through the week. That made remembering to feed 10x harder. Link to comment
Modder man Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 What I am trying to decide now is how vital it is to have the grow out separate from the breeding pairs. My life would be much easier if I did not have to set-up two different systems, I think I will have a hard time fitting two sumps, plus storing enough water to keep this running. Link to comment
--chris-- Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Storing water is easy if you have any vertical space. http://www.usplastic.com/ That place sells MANY kinds of water storage containers. Find one that fits your space. If money is a concern, you will be limited to the 50 gallon drums...but they can be had for around $30 if you keep your eyes peeled. And if you have a basement, and its standard height you can double stack them with a little time and lumber. As far as seperating grow out, i say yes. But many people dont, and have not. I Link to comment
Modder man Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 As of right now all of this will be in my bedroom so space is at a premium. I like the sounds of your prop tank, that was my other idea for these. I am thinking that might be slightly less of a hassle. Link to comment
--chris-- Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Depending on what you paid for those acrylic petco units (remember they paid $XXXX.XX for them, super expensive new) you could probably sell them to a LFS. A friend in our local club was picking up the walmart fish units for free when they were phasing out fish in our area a few years back and selling them to LFS for $200-$300 a unit. They were extatic to pay so little and he was only paying for gas and time. If you get $300 out of both units, you could set up a pretty nice prop tank for corals. If i didnt have a basement, i would not have attempted breeding. It can be messy work keeping up on maintenance, feedings, moving things...etc. Maybe put it off for a few years down the road for when you get more space. Link to comment
Modder man Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 These would even work as decent frag tanks, make it a bit easier to separate stuff, they are long and shallow I paid $70 ea for them then spent 3 hours buffing them to get them nice and clean again. Link to comment
Modder man Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Would plumbing this all together with two 30 gallon sumps work well? I was thinking of filling one with rock and the other with cheato or something similar. The setup will likely have a large skimmer. Link to comment
Powerboat Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 How is this project going? Link to comment
Modder man Posted February 26, 2013 Author Share Posted February 26, 2013 Its going. The tanks are up and running. I picked up an MRC MR2 skimmer and a 100gal stock tank to use as a sump. So far I have about 280 lbs of live rock in the sump. Now I just need to decide what to breed or grow. I recently had been thinking about a combo of anemones and clowns in different chambers. Link to comment
Powerboat Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Let me know if you have any extra or know where to get those chambered tanks, please. Link to comment
santacreekfurrows Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Man, I'd love to get ahold of some of those Wal-Mart or LFS style setups... I have a room in the shop I could heat and make a fish room.... LOL wife would love that... At least I'd be partially using wood heat so some of the cost would just be elbow grease.... anybody know of some of these floating around the Pacific Northwest? How's the project going? Link to comment
Modder man Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 the project is going well I am actually going to retire this thread as it is not longer thinking, it is happening Link to comment
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