Breeding tank setup

[Bilbo]

I rearranged my tanks and now have 4 specialist blackwater breeding tanks.
600 x 300 x 350 tall

Each tank has an overflow with two outlets to prevent floods if one gets blocked.

Water is continuosly pumped up from the sump and into each tank through a canister filter with bio media

Overflows fed into a bucket filter filled filter foam and a good scoop of peat. Hundreds of holes are drilled in the bottom of the bucket.

pH meter

 

[Mike Wise]

Maybe it's just me, but I always worry about such multi-tank shared filtration systems. Having worked in both the retail and wholesale aquarium fish business, I've seen many systems from simple individual tank/sponge filter to complex multi-tank systems. From what I've seen, the multi-tank systems were less labor intensive, but had much more problems with diseases. One sick tank led to many sick tanks. I wouldn't even buy from one supplier because all of his fish had disease. The owner spent more on medication and lost fish than he saved on labor costs. I'm not saying that they never work. I only think that one needs to be extra careful about the health of the fish put into such systems.

 

[Gordon C. Snelling]

Looks nice but I too worry about that style system. A friend of mine lost his entire stock when someone dumped an unknown toxic substance into the sump at his store.

 

[Bilbo]

I was looking at an inline UV but I decided to go with the precautionary method, nothing gets in my system now without being in QT first. I have done my time fighting cammelanus etc so no more bugs.

The only problem now is before I put cardboard between the tanks the neighbouring males spend all their time showing off and no time breeding.

 

[jose_vogel]

In this moment I´ve 30 tanks.

They´re divided this way:
6 tanks sharing filtration
6 tanks sharing another filter
7 tanks sharing another filter
7 tanks sharing another filtration system
4 tanks stand alone each of them

The "stand alone" tanks are for hospital and QT (I always QT new fishes 2 months).

Besides, each tank of each chain could be separated from the system simply by closing one valve (each tank have two valves -one is for water out and the other for water in-) and putting in that tank a heater and a small filter.

Finally, each tank has his own net and I put same ssp in differents systems.


When I turned my 30 stand alone tanks into this system, my life changed!!! and I could pay much more attention to the fries (the survival rate grew very much).

I hope I could explain myself in my poor english.

 

[Mike Wise]

If everyone who uses tank systems also quarantined ALL of their fish like Jose does, then they should work well. Sadly most people are too impatient to quarantine for 2 months.