15 replies to this topic

[Ken]

After returning home this spring from collecting in Virginia and Kentucky and seeing the number of fish I lost I decided I was going to try and make something that would possibly increase the number of fish that would make the trip home alive. This is what I came up with.... Let me know what you think. Any suggestions? I have a video of this to explain how and whys of what I had done but it was too big to upload.

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[Michael Wolfe]

So I like the air pump/line set-up. But those seem like really small containers... can the water intermix in some way or is the water in each little tank separate? Seems like you have reduced the amount of water in the container significantly.

[al10]

Those look cool, but why they so small? Well I guess it depends on the fish you plan to collect.

[al10]

Umm I see a flaw, the tube in the sponge filter is where the water comes out, so a lot of water will be thrown out of the tube.

[Ken]

This is why I was hoping to upload the video.
Yes Michael, I designed them to intermix.The cooler will be full of water with the level above the filter tubes on the top row, not just in the indiviual containers. Water will circulate through each of the containers.which is the reason for the holes at the other end of the lid. Understand, I designed this for the purpose of transporting in the vehicle since being full it would be difficult to carry into the field because of the weight.
I have been trying to come up with an idea to carry the individual boxes into the field, load them with fish and take them to the cooler all without losing water but I have yet to figure that out.
The fish I intend to collect are mostly Peridae so I won't be needing real large containers.
To keep the water in the cooler at a desirable temperature I am thinking of having a second smaller cooler with either a bag or ice or ice packs (depending on my distancce from home) and runing the airlines to that cooler with the airpumps located inside the second cooler.

[Michael Wolfe]

Cool, so the smaller containers are really more like dividers. I think I like that better. Larger volumes of water is better for the fish (but harder on the back... and I get that too).

[Ken]

Exactly!

[littlen]

Nice work, Ken. Any particular reason to keep the darters separated during transport? (Separated by collection site, size, etc?) Or are you just creating more space for bottom dwelling fish by having an upstairs and a downstairs in your set-up?

Shy of adding a motor, some wheels, that is a nice set up. Are those two air pumps able to provide enough airflow for you when the system is full?

[Kanus]

Very cool idea, I like it! The only thing I might tweak with that setup would be the addition of an inverter and large standard aquarium pump. Battery powered pumps are certainly important, for times like when the vehicle is off, but an inverter would save you big money in the long run with the cost of batteries, plus battery powered pumps are *usually* louder and more annoying to ride along with.

[al10]

Ooooh, that's cool, hopefully you can get some fishiies.

[Michael Wolfe]

...plus battery powered pumps are *usually* louder and more annoying to ride along with.

Derek, I have seen and downloaded some of your musical preferences, there is no way that you can hear an air pump while riding in the car... turn up the music!

[Khai Wan]

That is a neat setup. For my case, I transport my fish using kordon bags. I get the 7.5x12 size directly from kordon, afew years back.
http://www.kordon.co...-bags#suppliers!

My setup is to use a good insulation cooler. Then I created the frame holder using pvc. This frame has two levels. Then I use egg crate for the floor and then use a plastic sheet (got it from arts store called Michael) to lay on top of the egg crate. The plastic sheet is to prevent from damaging the breathing bag against the egg crate. The individual breathing bag with fish is placed inside with newspaper as cushion.

This setup allows me to have a total of three levels. Each 7.5x12 bag can hold up to 4 adult fish of size 3 inch.With my cooler setup, I can transport as many as 80 fishes, depending on the size of the fish.

I had the fish inside the cooler for 2 days without any death. The breathing bags can be reused a few times. So far, I have reused it times without any problem but they tend to lose the elasticity.

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[Khai Wan]

There is a type in my previous message. So far I have reused the bag three times without problem. Sorry for the upside down photos.

[kirby007]

that's a pretty ingenious fish transport idea, any guess on the cost of this kind of build?

[gerald]

Looks good. Keep the sponges running in your tanks at home (with fish) and take them out just before going collecting. You want them densely colonized with nitrifying bacteria to consume ammonia; otherwise they are just a source of air. Also, longer riser tubes will give you more water movement. Short fat tubes dont provide much air-lift power. Khai's arrangement looks like a winner too.

[Ken]

Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions. I'm gonna work backwards to respond....

Gerald, you are correct I have had the sponges running a couple months now and will continue until spring. I understand the concern about water movement.... I am counting on displacemnet within the boxes to help with that. When all six filters are going the water moves pretty good, moreso from the lower ones though.

Kiby, If I remember correctly the cost of the boxes were @ three dollars each at Walmart, the airvalves I think were @ three dollars also (on sale), the airpumps I got at Dick's sporting Goods and were @ ten dollars each. As far as the cooler I have no idea as I used an old one we had.

Khai, the reason I figured I'd try someting else wasd because a number of the fish I had lost were in Kordon bags (which I swore by). I have used them for years shipping fish with minimal loss but something really messed up this time. The nags were totally full of water, and they had enough room between them to allow for co2 and o2 to flow through. But I like your idea also. If this proves unsuccesful I may go back to them and try your method.

Derek, I will also be bringing an air pump as you suggested. In fact that is what I have been using to "age" the filters. I intend to use the battery operated pumps when the car isn't running since I don't no how much drain a standard air pump would put on the battery while out collecting etc,,,, As for the noise, I agree with Michael. Some good music and I won't care about pump noise.

Nick, yes to your questions. To separate size, location and similar varieties.