My New System

[nwestwood]

Bag and 02 works great if you or the hatcher/supplier has 02 and bags. It's also the way most fish are shipped long distances, Bagged in O2, boxed and shipped FedEx overnight. Thats the way my Bass come.

For local pickup, I've had good luck just using a 5-10 gallon drink container or large cooler. I bought a 12V to 120V inverter, plug it into the truck or a spare battery, then plug in my aquarium size air pump with 2 air stones.

Fill the tanks with water from the hatchery/fish farm, net and count the fish into the containers, put them in the back of your truck, hook up the air put the lids on (partially) careful not to cut off the air.

You can see my setup from my last trout run on my web site:

http://www.utahcountyweather.com/Uta...ystem_Fish.htm

It's a lot of fun to pick up your own fish and bring them home, good luck.

[POC3442]

Well I have not been on these forums in a while because I've played the call IDNR and waite game. I come on now to finally say that after 20 or so phone calls and 10 months I finally have my Illinois Permit to buy and sell Tilipia. WHOT! Now I just need to go call my tilipia farmer and go get my 3 inch fingerlings.

[GaryD]

Hi,

It's great to see that you're on your way. We look forward to further updates as you settle your new fish in.

Gary

[POC3442]

I'm not sure how it is there in other places but the nice part about getting the license is when my fish get to size in 8 months I can sell them alive or gutted on ice to local stores. That and I can either eat all my tomatoes or sell them (doubt any will get out the door). But my major incentive for selling everything is so I can put the money towards expanding my system...but we'll see.

[POC3442]

After catching up on my reading I'm starting to think I might need to incoperate some sort of filtration into my setup...grr just when you think you got it all down pat.
I'll have to take pictures when I get home but basicly here is how it goes. I have a 225 gallon IBC tote w/cage under my 75 gallon grow bed filled with 1/4-1/2 gravel. The pump pumps water up the PVC pipe runs it through a inline filter http://www.plantlightinghydroponics....er-p-2305.html into my grow bed. The grow bed then fills in 15 mintues then empties back into my fish tank. The pump runs 24/7 is my plan.

As the water goes into the grow bed part of it is diverted shooting out into the fish tank this alone creates a swirling motion in the fish tank. Any sugestions? I know that you can put a micron mesh sleve where the water goes from the PVC pipe into the grow bed after my inital small filter. Should this small mesh sleve be empties once a day? BTW the way my 200 gallon fish tank is set up it should swirl causing most food to go to the center. Which makes me wonder if I'll need to find a way to remove solids from the center of my fish tank...hmm...

[GaryD]

Hi POC,

As the water goes into the grow bed part of it is diverted shooting out into the fish tank this alone creates a swirling motion in the fish tank. Any sugestions?

This is exactly what you want it to do. As you have already observed, it moves solids (including uneaten food) into the centre of the fish tank. Think about using a floating feed......that will keep the feed in the tank long enough for the fish to eat it.....but will ensure that it gathers in the centre of the tank if the fish are off their feed.

Are you using a pump in your fish tank.......or are you going to build a CHOP system?

If you're going to have a CHOP System, install a centre drain on your system so that the collected solids are removed from the tank. If you are to have a pump in the fish tank, set you pump up in the centre of the tank.

I think you'll find that your little filter will be too small to cope once you start feeding a tankful of fish. I'd remove it and allow the water from the fish tank to drain into a combination settling tank and packed media filter (like this). Regular cleaning of this filter will go a long way to lowering the biological oxygen demand (BOD) on your system.

Gary

[POC3442]

Is the (like this) supose to be clickable? But my pump is in the fish tank and in one of the corners...I did it this way because it made running PVC easier plus the straight shoot of PVC straight up increased the water output on the top into the grow bed.

[GaryD]

Hi,

Yes, it is supposed to be a link.....but I couldn't find what I was looking for. I've emailed a member who has developed a simple swirl tank arrangement that would be helpful for you. I'll post the images as soon as I get them.

Putting the pump in the centre of the fish tank will capture the solids that gather there.

Gary

[POC3442]

My pump has a spong type of filter on it's inlet...I'm guessing this should be removed?

[GaryD]

Yes.....I'd certainly remove it. They clog very quickly.