On my way to an aquarium but bass akwards

I finally got my RAS set up and running complete with some added ammonia to get the nitrification cycle started. The u tube siphon was giving me fits but it was because of the check valve I put on the intake end of it which kept closing down with the low pressure flow. Once I took the 2 inch check valve off no more problems. Never fails; try and reinvent the wheel and you ask for problems.

I will set up an aquarium for natives this winter but that has to come second as this tank is part of my business raising fish for a couple of niche markets. It's my first attempt at keeping fish indoors and I must say building and setting up this thing has been an adventure. At least once I get the system cycling I can move some water to an aquarium to speed up the cycling in the aquarium.




The epoxy coated stock tank with rotating biofilter in action. The specs call for a fish container twice the size of this but I got this tank and another by bartering so I'm making the best with what I have. Besides the basement room wouldn't be big enough for a 12 foot circular swimming pool!






The U tube siphon before removing the check valve that was impeding low pressure siphon flow.





The drum clarifier which pulls water and settlable solids into the bottom via a u tube siphon. The suspended solids are trapped under netting that has been packed into the clarifier drum. Clarified water is pulled from the top of the netting to the biofilter frame where it drops on to paddles which turn the biofilter.



An iron filter I am renting to remove iron from my well water. Wow is this water clear once the iron is removed with some of that is not removed settled out.

Edited by az9, 23 November 2009 - 11:05 PM.

Looks like a nice DIY project.
what type of fish do you plan to raise?
i would look into adding some FRP to your walls around the tank setup.
http://www.kal-lite....cifications.htm

Edited by CATfishTONY, 24 November 2009 - 05:54 AM.

Looks like a nice DIY project.
what type of fish do you plan to raise?
i would look into adding some FRP to your walls around the tank setup.
http://www.kal-lite....cifications.htm

Yep it was quite a DIY project! The book is outstanding but there were some errors due to changes that were made in the system, but the changes weren't carried over in the book. It make it confusing at times. Fortunately I had the email and phone number of the author, Steve Van Gorder, and he was very helpful and friendly.

Yes, I am planning on adding some of that material on the walls around the tank. It was all I could do to get this thing up and running and that is my next priority. I had a sheet of it, but cut it into pieces for the paddle wheel walls, and pieces under the cinder blocks, to protect the plastic I placed on the floor in a frame to keep spills contained. It's readily available at the local lumber yard.

As far as fish species, I have a few thousand bluegill fry about 3/4 inches long in a floating cage that were hatched late in the year in my bluegill production pond. I plan on putting some of those in the tank. It's going to be close to ice formation by the time the tank is cycled, so I may have to chop ice to get them out! I'm hoping once I get them temperature acclimated I can get them feeding quickly before they have fungus problems. I've never liked handling lepomids or bass in cold water.

I was going to hold over pumpkinseed broodfish I'm getting from a supplier in New York. It turns out he would rather seine his pond in the spring so the bluegills are the second option. When I get the pumpkinseed broodfish I can just plant them into the production pond so the bluegills can stay in the RAS.

I may consider supplying pumpkinseeds to anyone interested here. I'm familiar with shipping in oxygen bags and can get the required health testing done.

BTW thanks for the link you PM'd me about the fluidized system. That may be my next project once I get experience with this one.

Edited by az9, 24 November 2009 - 08:12 AM.

Bassakwards, that sounds like an awesome user name. Was that setup all DIY? Either way, big kudos.

Bassakwards, that sounds like an awesome user name. Was that setup all DIY? Either way, big kudos.

Bassakwards is of course not original, but it is creative isn't it?

Yes DIY if you mean Do it yourself with the help of the aforementioned text and questions to the author.

What surprises me is I'm not seeing any water condensation anywhere. I thought it would really increase the humidity but it doesn't seem to be. Not effecting the drywall whatsoever.

My ammonia is now 3.0 mg/l after adding more and more ammonia. I'll be waiting for the nitrites to appear and then of course nitrates.

Edited by az9, 25 November 2009 - 09:38 PM.

Thats a cool setup. How many qallons is it?

At least once I get the system cycling I can move some water to an aquarium to speed up the cycling in the aquarium.

Just one note for when you go to set up your aquarium. BB do not really live in the water in large amounts and just using water from an established system will probably not do a whole lot cycle your tank. What you need is either some filter media or some substrate or decoration from an established system.

Thats a cool setup. How many qallons is it?
Just one note for when you go to set up your aquarium. BB do not really live in the water in large amounts and just using water from an established system will probably not do a whole lot cycle your tank. What you need is either some filter media or some substrate or decoration from an established system.

You're absolutely right. Thanks for the info.

Note:

I would not recommend building the 'u' tube siphon as it is pictured in a previous post. That is with a 't' and an screw on end cap on one end. I had air being sucked in, possibly in the cleanout of the 't' and/or because I did not hold the joints in until the glue set. Once I built another one -- as in the text -- with just elbows and end caps to fill the 'u' tube siphon, and I held the joints in to keep them from moving before the glue set, I no longer had any problems with the siphon.

I guess I tried to reinvent the wheel which caused me problems. I thought the 't' would be an easy way to fill the u tube to start the siphon going, and the screw on end cap on the intake end I felt would make it easier to remove. However it's not necessary to make it easier as once you get the siphon going there is no need to terminate it to clean the clarifier. All you need to do is disconnect a section of PVC in the clarifier and cap it. Then just remove that end of the siphon and hang it on the fish tank edge.

Very cool, az9! I have that Small Scale Aquaculture book, and hope to someday build one of these. Please post updates as you start to actually keep fish in this system. It's especially cool to see the big biowheel in action. Even if I never build the whole system, the biowheel seems like a neat way to provide bio filtration for a multi-tank sump system.

Very cool, az9! I have that Small Scale Aquaculture book, and hope to someday build one of these. Please post updates as you start to actually keep fish in this system. It's especially cool to see the big biowheel in action. Even if I never build the whole system, the biowheel seems like a neat way to provide bio filtration for a multi-tank sump system.

Thanks for the kind words. Ammonia had dropped to about .25 mg/l but nitrites and nitrates are holding at 5 mg/l. I'm wondering if I should add more of an ammonia source or wait for the nitrites to drop first.