broodstock room

thewetdog · #1 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 10:04 PM

I have some time, so for the public record I'll post some pics of the broodstock room I set up in April. Comments and suggestions are encouraged. The waiting is the hardest part!
The pics are arranged from the left wall to far wall where the sump is to the right wall where the sink is.

thewetdog · #2 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 10:09 PM

Here's the bigger of the two skimmers I have in the system. I thought I'd show you this, 'cause it really does a nice job. with about 30 gals./wk water change in this 400 gal. system, nitrates remain at about 15 ppm.

thewetdog · #3 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 10:17 PM

Here's George W.. He helps me keep those skimmers in tip top shape. His concience will not let him stand still for a nasty, evil fractionator smelling up the place. When ol' George is done with them, all I can say is "Mission accomplished"!

thewetdog · #4 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 10:33 PM

The water enters the sump through a filter sock. I have four of them that I rotate into service every 2-3 days or so. There's a 29 gal. tank right of the sump that I use for supplimental filtering (carbon) and heating, as well as water changes. I just unplug the pump that feeds that tank from the sump, empty it into the sink with a power head, and refill it with premixed water from the garbage can next to it. The water from the sump is then pumped up to a header tank, which in turn feeds the broodstock tanks. I used a header tank because in case of a power failure I can use a "Basement Watchdog" battery powered back up sump pump to keep water moving until the power comes back on. I don't have that pump installed yet, but I have it. Here's the header tank.

thewetdog · #5 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 10:39 PM

Here's some of the residents. If you have any recommendations or comments, please chime in. Thanks...

Mark · #6 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 10:39 PM

Thanks for the thread, can you please tell us, what size tanks you are using and how was the drilling process. ETC.

thewetdog · #7 (**permalink**) 11-23-2008, 11:09 PM

There are 4 -40 breeder and 11 -20 highs in the system for housing broodstock, as well as the header tank and the aforementioned 29 gal..

As far as drilling the tanks is concerned, I hadn't done it before and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I bought the hole saw on Ebay. I built a circular dam with plumber's putty around the spot I wanted to drill, and filled the dam with water. I used a battery drill, took it very easy and drilled. I lightly rolled the drill as I drilled, and the water started leaking through to the inside of the tank when I was about to break through.

In the process I lost two 20 gal. tanks. It was probably because some of those tanks were old and brittle, not because of my drilling technique (hahahahahahahaha)! Sad, but not too bad for a guy who never did it before.

Mark · #8 (**permalink**) 11-25-2008, 08:48 AM

thewetdog,

What kind of skimmer, heater, pumps, tank paras etc.

Nemo · #9 (**permalink**) 11-27-2008, 03:00 AM

Nice set up..... George has a crap job

thewetdog · #10 (**permalink**) 11-29-2008, 01:07 AM

Happy Thanksgiving! Well, Mark, as far as the skimmer goes, that's a good question. I bought it on Ebay new from someone who got a deal on it because it came with no info or paperwork. I spent a little time looking, but I can't find it. I'll post a better pic at the bottom of this. Maybe if someone knows they can help me out and let me know. It came with a 1000 gph pump that wasn't powerful enough. I hooked it up to a Quiet One 6000 (1500 gph, no head) and it works great, in fact I'm going to have to rig up a collection receptacle with a carbon filter 'cause it's stinking up the basement. It has a Beckett injector, and generates lots of foam.

The heating system is hodge-podge at the moment. I got an Aqua Medic monitor and controller, which handles up to 1000 watts, and a 250 watt heating element. I ordered another 250 watter and a 500 watter and I waited weeks before I canceled the order. What's up with Aqua Medic? I want to get these heating elements when I get around to trying again, but for now I have an Aquaclear 200 watter, a Catalina 500 watter and a Visitherm 200 watter between the sump and the header tank, in addition to the Aqua Medic 250 watter. They're set at 82, which keeps the water in the tanks between 80-81 degrees.

The pump that pumps water from the sump to the header tank is a Mag Drive 36. It pumps more than is necessary, and the excess falls into a 1" stand pipe and runs back into the sump.

Biological filtration is handled by a Lifeguard fluidized bed filter. I forget the model, but I remember that it is speced to handle systems of 900 gals.. Ammonia and nitrite are undetectable and nitrate, as I said, remains at about 15 mg/l or so, thus far.