Shred5's Invert, fish and coral propagation and aquaculture system

[shred5]

This is a continuation of my old thread on this build.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/shred5s-large-coral-propagation-frag-system.365734/

I have changed focus so much I figured it would be best too just start a new thread on this build. I had also asked them to change the name of the old thread with no answer so I decided to just start over and make it easier to get through all the garbage and changes.


It started out as a coral frag system and grew from there when we decided there was more room. I decided to shift focus to mainly inverts and fish since so many people already do coral and it is rather easy. With the added space I started out thinking mainly fish since with all the bans we need to focus on fish breeding. Well I do not have the time for a ton of fish at once and I wanted to do some other stuff also. Fish breeding can be a full-time job and I have a job already and limited time. I can do a few batches at a time. So now it is a combination of fish, inverts, algae and coral.


I want to work with fish, shrimp, starfish, different worms, sponges, cryptic sponges and inverts, algae, tunicates, anemones, snails, urchins and different live feeds etc. Since live rock is pretty much a thing of the past I want to work on stuff that can be add to a tank for different biodiversity too.


I have raised clownfish before and wanted to do something a little more challenging. I will be starting out easy with stuff like clownfish, cardinals and peppermint shrimp to get back in the swing of things. I need to learn how to raise live food again.


This will have two phases initially. Phase one will be corals, sponges etc. Phase two will be more for breeding of fish and inverts. There is room for two more phases depending on time and how far I want to take this.

 

[shred5]

Phase one

Phase one is going to have three sections and is being done now:

First section is a display/colony tank and a dedicated sump. I do not want anything getting into my other system that could possibly eat the eggs or the same things I am trying to raise. That is the reason for a dedicated sump.

Second section is a frag system with sump. Top part will be equipment and electronics, switches, power supplies etc.

Third section is two 20x20x16 aquariums and three 15 gallon aquariums tied to the sump under the frag tank. It wil also house the coral quarantine.

 

[shred5]

Phase Two

Phase two will be built over winter and ready for spring:

It will have (7) ten gallon, (6) 20 gallon aquariums and a Fish quarantine.

 

[shred5]

 

[Greaps]

Very cool, heck of a build here. I look forward to watching this come along.

 

[shred5]

Still allot of work for the rack system for phase one.
I need to build the third section and the canopy over the 120.
Lots of filling holes, sanding, priming and painting to do...

 

[NY_Caveman]

Very nice @shred5 ! Are you culturing Phytoplankton as well?

Only thought would be I believe a fish QT needs to be at least 10 feet from other tanks to avoid airborne transfer of disease.

 

[shred5]

Very nice @shred5 ! Are you culturing Phytoplankton as well?

Only thought would be I believe a fish QT needs to be at least 10 feet from other tanks to avoid airborne transfer of disease.

At first no, I will use Reeds algae paste. ... I really hate growing phyto but eventually I will when I get to more sensitive species.

Also space is a issue and phyto takes up space and time.

Some of the things I am going to try the larvae feed on phyto so I may at that point to..

I am actually building a separate rack not shown for culturing the foods.

I was breeding clowns before but that was like 20 years ago. I have raised phyto and copepods before. I also had many frag tanks over the years. Will be a learning curve..

I am defiantly looking for any suggestions.

 

[shred5]

One of my biggest issues right now is leveling these out because the floor is so uneven in the basement.
The thing can not be leveled all at once. I need to level each section separate or they will twist and crack.
So I need to level one unit then the next and attach together.
The 120 needs to be plumbed from the back.
I wanted to do the plumbing for the rest on the sides but a change in direction made that not possible for the second section.
So I need to plumb them then push it back. This makes impossible to get behind them to level and for some reason the back is lower. If it were the front there would be no issue, just weird the floor slopes towards the wall there..
I could have gone through the bottom and leveled before screwing down the bottom plywood. I will just have to plumb them and then remove the sump and plywood..

 

[Geebs19]

Cant wait to see this up and running! Going to be an impressive build.

 

[shred5]

I am using modular marine for the 1000 gph overflows on the two 20x20x16 aqauriums and the 36" frag tank.

I am using Modular marine 1600 gph overflow on the 120

For the three 15 gallons I will just drill the tanks with a stand pipe from the bottom and at this point I will make my own over flows.

 

[shred5]

I went with a RLSS R8-I for the 120.

For the second and third section of phase 1 I am going to use my existing R6-I for now.

 

[shred5]

Here are two photosynthetic sponges I have been working with.. Pic does not do them justice and they rival many corals in color. The red is much more red and the blue/purple is iridescent in spots.
They are fraged easily and do well with being exposed to air. They grow pretty fast too.
I have gotten several colonies of the blue so far.


I am trying to get sponges that are easier grow and can handle being taken out of the water and being exposed to air for short periods. So many sponges will die if exposed to air and sometimes even for second of being exposed to air. Air gets trapped in them and usually means death. Some actually look nice.

I have a few others too that are not photosynthetic that are doing well but slow growers so far. Once I get them isolated in the new system maybe I can find a more suitable food and they will grow faster.

I think sponges are a important part of a reef ecosystem and biodiversity.
I think some may possibly even filter the water of dinoflagellates.

I would really like to find a few more especially of the photosynthetic type to work with.

 

[norfolkgarden]

Here are two photosynthetic sponges I have been working with.. Pic does not do them justice and they rival many corals in color. The red is much more red and the blue/purple is iridescent in spots.
They are fraged easily and do well with being exposed to air. They grow pretty fast too.
I have gotten several colonies of the blue so far.


I am trying to get sponges that are easier grow and can handle being taken out of the water and being exposed to air for short periods. So many sponges will die if exposed to air and sometimes even for second of being exposed to air. Air gets trapped in them and usually means death. Some actually look nice.

I have a few others too that are not photosynthetic that are doing well but slow growers so far. Once I get them isolated in the new system maybe I can find a more suitable food and they will grow faster.

I think sponges are a important part of a reef ecosystem and biodiversity.
I think some may possibly even filter the water of dinoflagellates.

I would really like to find a few more especially of the photosynthetic type.

Nice tank!

We have the blue and the red. Nice growers.

Where did you get your yellow and pink ones from?
Are they photosynthetic?
They look great!

You can contact
[email protected]
for cryptic seed sponges.
They were not too expensive for the variety of species you get.

reeffarmers.com

 

[shred5]

Thanks.

Yellow and pink?
I have some yellow and orange but no pink and I got the others from KP aquatics. I have owned them for years and are not photosynthetic..

Yea I was going to contact Steve about getting some.

 

[shred5]

Got the overflow and backing installed on the 120.


It is not a shadow over flow that is shown in the pic. Just wanted to show what background I use. I love this stuff, it is sign vinyl and goes on like window tinting. This allows me to change the background if need be. The overflow is modular marine.

I also got some sanding and priming done on the stand.

 

[shred5]

Just a small update:
Not much to show right now. Just allot of sanding and priming.
I have built the shelves/horizontal for the third set of shelves on phase 1. Have have not installed the verticals yet. I need to finish painting the second unit first.

Idea is have all the shelves done by next weekend and then start plumbing next weekend.


I have picked up a Let Lighting t-5 retro for over the frag tank. I am thinking of going also with (3) reef Breeders LumenBar High Octane UV for the frag tank unless anyone has any other suggestions?

I have not decided what to do with the other 5 tanks yet in phase one for lighting. That is 3 (15 gallon) algae tanks on one shelf and one anemone (20x20x16) and one photosynthetic sponge tank(20x20x16) on the other.. Any suggestions?
So far I am thinking a few reef breeders LumenBars.
Thinking two 36" Jungle sun for the 3 algae tanks. should be enough.

I am thinking two LumenBars over the other, not sure on color yet.

By the way is the phase 1 layout showing up for everyone.

Also open to suggestions on everything especially lighting and plumbing right now.
Plumbing is next.
This project has turned out to take allot longer and more money than I estimated.
Time not a issue because it really has to do with the weather. Way too hot of a summer, fall it does nothing but rain and now it is too cold.

 

[shred5]

Well I got the right section of Phase 1 pretty much complete.
I need to paint it and then attach the side and back.

I also have to paint the front.

Still trying to figure out what to do for the 1st section above the 120.
I want ed to put a canopy. But there is not allot of extra height. Plus who want to open a canopy every time you need to feed or get in the tank.

I still need to figure out what I want to do with the front as far as color. I painted the insides white but if I do the front white also it may be too much white.
I am thinking of doing some thin colored molding, one color horizontal and a different vertical.

The 3rd section will have 3 15 gallon aquariums not 4 ten gallon aquariums shown.. Just put there for effect.

 

[shred5]

Well I got the painting done this weekend.
Now I need to plumb the 120 and once I do that I will attach it to the other two sections and put the sides on it.

 

[shred5]

Pulled out my plumbing supplies to see what i need to plumb this thing up....

Drains will be red and returns blue. makes it easy to tell them apart.