Janitors recruited for the Job

[Subsea]

When I first attempted mariculture in a greenhouse, I established tight temperature control and quickly realized that during the winter in Austin, Tx heating water to maintain temperatures in the 70 was cost prohibitive for business. So, I decided to loosen up my temperature controls to go into the lower 60’s. Equally important for mariculture is controlling nuisance algae. As in our reef aquariums, I strive to match nuisance with a natural control. Grazers come in many forms: amphipods, copods, lawnmower blennies & tangs of many colors.

In my many sojourns, I have come upon the humble molly as a good biological control for algae. Recently, in an effort to control nuisance string algae in fresh water lilly ponds, I came across Blue Israeli Tilapia that thrive in full strength ocean down to 50 degrees. Yesterday, I received 80 Israeli Tilapia to be included in water lilly ponds with gambesi, comet gold fish and koi. I will experiment with a 30G aquarium and 10 Israeli Tilapia and acclimate to full strength salt water. Then I will have cultivated a true janitor for soft coral & ornamental macro grow-out tanks.

 

[Subsea]

Combining hobbies with fish as algae control janitors.

First picture is 30G mixed garden with emphases on filter feeders including photosynthetic red ball sponge.

Second picture from back porch patio with 30G tank of Israeli Tilapia and mosquito fish on jacuzzi skid.

 

[blecki]

And when the tilapia get full size and start spawning... you can eat them. So your plan is to take the tilapia from freshwater, acclimate them to salt water, and stick them in a reef? Why not use the mollys for that, which don't get nearly as big?

 

[Subsea]

And when the tilapia get full size and start spawning... you can eat them. So your plan is to take the tilapia from freshwater, acclimate them to salt water, and stick them in a reef? Why not use the mollys for that, which don't get nearly as big?

I am already using mollies in places. Differrent species fish consume algae differrently.

I have many tanks with various ecosystems in place. As a retired Marine Engineer from Texas Maritime Acsdemy and 30 years working in and on the Deep Blue as a Subsea Engineer in offshore drilling, I like tweaking ecosystems with various biological controls. For me, nutrient recycling is the name of the game.

 

[Subsea]

And when the tilapia get full size and start spawning... you can eat them. So your plan is to take the tilapia from freshwater, acclimate them to salt water, and stick them in a reef? Why not use the mollys for that, which don't get nearly as big?

In the “big picture”, I intend to curate designer live rock from Edwards Plateau “holy rock”. For that puose, I have a 20’ by 40’’ greenhouse, in which, I intend to grow ediable seaweed for human consumption. A previous mariculture system included eight 150G Rubbermade tubs with 8000G main tank for live rock cultivation. The system was modeled from Dick Perrin’s greenhousees in Michagan.

 

[Subsea]

In the “big picture”, I intend to curate designer live rock from Edwards Plateau “holy rock”. For that puose, I have a 20’ by 40’’ greenhouse, in which, I intend to grow ediable seaweed for human consumption. A previous mariculture system included eight 150G Rubbermade tubs with 8000G main tank for live rock cultivation. The system was modeled from Dick Perrin’s greenhousees in Michagan.

@Timfish
If I pull the trigger on this project, I will include a 1500G tank buried in the ground for thermal stability and as a cryptic zone refugium.
A Cajun Aggie in Texas,
Patrick

 

[Subsea]

Tilapia that are wild grown in ponds taste different than Tilapia in intensive aquaculture. I do not intend to approach intensive aquaculture growing conditions requiring waste removal systems.. I will use this herbivore to clean nuisance algae from fresh water lilly ponds.

As an experiment in mariculture, I will cultivate Edwards Plateau “holy rock” into curated “designer live rock”. By combining ornamental macro algae with hardy soft corals and other filter feeders like NPS gorgonians and filter feeding sponges, I intend to emulate Caribbean/GOM reef biodiversity. To facilitate herbivore maintenance in greenhouse growout tank, I plan to include Israeli Tilapia fingerlings as part of the CUC along with the pod brothers: copepod & amphipod

First picture is Birds Eye view of 30G glass tank with Tilapia fingerlings and adult mosquito fish. This tank receives filtered sunlight all day. Every other day, I will add 1 liter of water from 25 year mature reef display tank to convert fish to 35ppt.

Second pictured 30G tank will supply some of the items going on “designer rock”.

Third picture is 25 year 75G mature tank set up.

 

[Subsea]

@Daniel@R2R

@Peace River

Can this thread be moved to experimentation forum?

 

[Subsea]

Since I took above picture, I have added a phytoplankton culture below 30G Caribbean biotheme mixed garden. Included under this 5000 Kevin spectrum lighting are snow peas & an agriculture experiment in 40’ by 20’ greenhouse with Israeli Muskmelons.

The periodic addition of partial water change from healthy mature reefs in the house has increased specific gravity in Israeli Tilapia 30G tank. Fresh water plants in 30G tilapia acclimation tank are suffering at a specific gravity of 1.012. I will soon add a corner air stone and an HOB filter as I feed moderately heavy to encourage rapid growth during this fingerling growth phase.

Growout in commercial intensive culture takes 8 months with a harvest size of 1.5 lbs. Once tilapia are in salt water growout tanks for live rock mariculture, I will drastically reduce feed. The bulk of carbon input will be carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis to produce glucose as a primary producer in the marine food web.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

@Daniel@R2R

@Peace River

Can this thread be moved to experimentation forum?

Done!

 

[Subsea]

Blue Tilapia

The Blue Tilapia is a freshwater fish with a high tolerance for brackish water. Adults are usually 5 to 8 inches in lengthand weigh 5 to 6 pounds. The largest recorded specimen was more than 21 inches long and weighed more than 10 pounds. Blue Tilapia are

tilapiadepot.com

Oreochromis aureus, commonly known as Blue Tilapia, or Israeli Tilapia, is a species of fish in the Chichlidae family. The Blue Tilapia is a freshwater fish with a high tolerance to brackish (slightly salty) water. Adults are usually twelve to sixteen inches in length and weigh six to eight pounds. The largest recorded specimen was more than twenty-one inches long and weighed more than ten pounds.
Blue Tilapia are mouthbrooders, and broods range from 160 to 1600 eggs per female.



Tilapia serves as a natural biological control for most aquatic plant problems. Tilapia consume floating aquatic plants, such as duckweed water meal, most "undesirable" submerged plants, and most forms of algae. Tilapia rarely compete with other "pond" fish for food. Instead, because they consume plants and nutrients unused by other fish species, and substantially reduce oxygen-depleting detritus, adding tilapiaoftem increases the population, size, and health of other fish.



Blue Tilapia are commonly used with aquaponics, and are the number one seller because of their cold hardiness, surviving down to 50 degrees and can also withstand a high temperature of 98 degrees. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment. Freshwater fish are the most common aquatic animal raised using aquaponics. In practice, tilapia are the most popular fish for home and commercial projects that are intended to raise edible fish.

 

[Subsea]

Initially, this was my first choice, but because “cold hardiness” was my first priority, the operations manager at Tilapia Depot recommended Israeli Tilapia.

Black Mozambique Tilapia

The Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) is a tilapiine cichlid fish native to southern Africa. It is a popular fish for aquaculture. Dull colored, the Mozambique tilapia often lives up to a decade in its native habitats. Due to human introductions, it is now found in many tropical and...

tilapiadepot.com

The Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) is a tilapiine cichlid fish native to southern Africa. It is a popular fish for aquaculture. Dull colored, the Mozambique tilapia often lives up to a decade in its native habitats. Due to human introductions, it is now found in many tropical and subtropical habitats around the globe, where it can become an invasive species because of its robust nature. These same features make it a good species for aquaculture because it readily adapts to new situations. Mozambique tilapia is laterally compressed, and has a deep body with long dorsal fins, the front part of which have spines. Native coloration is a dull greenish or yellowish, and weak banding may be seen. Adults reach approximately 35 cm (14 in) in length and up to 1.13 kg (2.5 lb). Size and coloration may vary in captive and naturalized populations due to environmental and breeding pressures. It lives up to 11 years.


It is a remarkably robust and fecund fish, readily adapting to available food sources and breeding under suboptimal conditions. It also tolerates brackish water and survives temperatures below 50 °F (10 °C) and above 100 °F (38 °C), but sustained water temperatures of 55°F are lethal to Mozambique tilapia.

 

[Subsea]

Several objectives may come together with elevated water temperatures before winter time lowers water temperature in outside ponds:

Blue Israeli Tilapia fingerlings have 3 weeks of growth at 85 degree water In all outside ponds.

15 Blue Israeli Tilapia and 15 Gambusia affinis (Mosquito Fish) introduced with submerged fresh water plant ( Hornwort) into 30G aquarium. Every other day, 2G of partial water change from healthy mature reef systems has gradually increased salinity but has also introduced bacteria and microbes.

With salinity now at a specific gravity of 1.020, Hornwort is breaking up, so I will net it and add some Gracilaria Hayi.

 

[Subsea]

As things change, 30G experiment to adjust tilapia outdoors to salt water has now produced phytoplankton / green-water, which I introduced to 30G Caribbean mixed invertebrate display that is heavy on ornamental sponges & cryptic sponges in hi-flow cryptic refugium using a cannister filter from a more mature system.

Please excuse quality of pictures due to biofilm on front glass which has numerous large amphipods boldly eating with lights on.

PS: This tank was dosed 1G of green water 24 hours ago.

 

[MinaSnow]

That's awesome news about the janitor job recruitment! Thanks for sharing it with us. I'm sure a lot of people are looking for opportunities like this. Good luck to all the applicants. By the way, has anyone heard about the सरकारी रिजल्ट 2023? It's always great to keep an eye on upcoming results and job opportunities.

 

[Jmp998]

Very interesting and innovative projects. Please keep us updated on your progress. There is more to the hobby than fluorescent corals under blue LED’s.

if you can sustainably and economically produce ‘live’ rock in Austin, that would be a great achievement and allow fine tuning of desirable vs. undesirable hitchikers.

 

[PeterErc]

Very interesting, subscribed.

I may have missed it or misunderstood, mosquito fish are being acclimated to full strength sea water?

Which fresh/brackish fish have you successfully acclimated to full strength seawater?

I looked into this years ago for bryopsis control, that never amounted to anything. Mollies and Scats did not consume it.

I wanted to try the American Flagfish and see if it would go full strength. I was unable to find them in the local canals.

In south Fl and do not have the time to dedicate to an outdoor system. I have pondered the idea many nights.

Thanks

 

[Subsea]

Oddly enough, the 30G tank being used to adjust fish from fresh to salt had a serious phytoplankton bloom. Also due to inattention on my part salinity got up to > 40ppt with resultant tilapia loss of all but one Blue Tilapia. Initially, when setting Tilapia conversion of fingerling Blue Tilapia to saltwater, I included freshwater plants with small mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis.

So, three weeks later, I am moving 30G rectangle tank for better sun location. It is now a full fledged phytoplankton dedicated growout system using natural sunlight. It’s when I moved the tank that the survivors ( 1 Tilapia and 7 Mosquito Fish ) were moved to a sunny location. Also during this same time period, I set up a 40G Rubbermaid tub with corals, macroalgae and ornamental sponges.

 

[Subsea]

Very interesting, subscribed.

I may have missed it or misunderstood, mosquito fish are being acclimated to full strength sea water?

Which fresh/brackish fish have you successfully acclimated to full strength seawater?

I looked into this years ago for bryopsis control, that never amounted to anything. Mollies and Scats did not consume it.

I wanted to try the American Flagfish and see if it would go full strength. I was unable to find them in the local canals.

In south Fl and do not have the time to dedicate to an outdoor system. I have pondered the idea many nights.

Thanks

@PeterErc
After operating a 10KG growout system in a 20’ by 40’ greenhouse. I found that heating & cooling of water in Austin, Tx at reef aquarium temperatures was economically prohibitive for a business. Summer heat was easily dealt with using evaporative cooling. With outside temperatures at 105 degrees, I was able to maintain system water temperature below 80.1 degrees while evaporating > 100 G per day, which equates to 834,000 BTU of cooling each day with 1HP of cooling fans & 1/2 HP of water pump for water jets/misters. Heating cost were 500% more than summer cooling cost. If 70 degrees was mandatory low temperature then a high efficiency heat pump with titanium heat exchanger would be an engineering solution, which is cost preventive for a hobby project. So, with no economical option for my small growout system, 5 years ago, I pulled the plug on greenhouse project.

One month ago,
I choose to find stuff to grow in a larger temperature spread with heaters controlling temperatures at 60 degrees falling, except for 30G phytoplankton tank maintained at 80 degrees. To assist with maintaining temperature; 40G Rubbermaid tubs and one 30G rectangular aquarium were insulated with 1/2” dense insulation panel. Each tank has 100W submersible aquarium heaters.


PS: If I had investor money, I would dampen temperature swings with large volume of water buried underground for geothermal heating and cooling. As I see it, a 4’ deep 6” wide trench establishes a constant ground temperature for 4” thin wall pvc used as a tube & shell heat exchanger with earth as the heat sink/source.

 

[PeterErc]

@PeterErc
After operating a 10KG growout system in a 20’ by 40’ greenhouse. I found that heating & cooling of water in Austin, Tx at reef aquarium temperatures was economically prohibitive for a business. Summer heat was easily dealt with using evaporative cooling. With outside temperatures at 105 degrees, I was able to maintain system water temperature below 80.1 degrees while evaporating > 100 G per day, which equates to 834,000 BTU of cooling each day with 1HP of cooling fans & 1/2 HP of water pump for water jets/misters. Heating cost were 500% more than summer cooling cost. If 70 degrees was mandatory low temperature then a high efficiency heat pump with titanium heat exchanger would be an engineering solution, which is cost preventive for a hobby project. So, with no economical option for my small growout system, 5 years ago, I pulled the plug on greenhouse project.

One month ago,
I choose to find stuff to grow in a larger temperature spread with heaters controlling temperatures at 60 degrees falling, except for 30G phytoplankton tank maintained at 80 degrees. To assist with maintaining temperature; 40G Rubbermaid tubs and one 30G rectangular aquarium were insulated with 1/2” dense insulation panel. Each tank has 100W submersible aquarium heaters.


PS: If I had investor money, I would dampen temperature swings with large volume of water buried underground for geothermal heating and cooling. As I see it, a 4’ deep 6” wide trench establishes a constant ground temperature for 4” thin wall pvc used as a tube & shell heat exchanger with earth as the heat sink/source.

This is an outdoor farm in Miami, the catch is the have a salt water well.
I am not far from natural sea water, but pumping a drum , hauling it of home then pumping into house is no longer interesting to me. When I go fishing I load up some 5g jugs and back them in the garage on a jet ski.
Yea, for me it would just be a small setup, circulation pumps and a sun shade and hope for the best. I have thought about burying a couple hundred foot coils of 1” polyethylene around 4’ deep or as deep as I could dig, just sand here.
I have a 10g experiment with macro indoors, just finished the install this weekend. If it goes well, may move some outdoors on the porch under a skylight and go from there.
Just messing around, and yes indeed, investor money, would have a dedicated aquarium room on a large property with a pack of rescue dogs running free. I will settle for the 1600sq ft, 4 dogs and happy healthy family.