H20CultureLabs
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Posts posted by H20CultureLabs
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Looking great! I used to have the exact same jar that I used as a terrarium. I love to see you using it as a beautiful planted shrimp vase! Well done!
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@OceanTruth @Anita Thank you very much for the kind words. It was coming together quickly, but my busy work schedule had put a hiatus on the project for a couple of days. In the meantime, here is a pic of all of the aquariums being pulled away from the cabinet as part of a safety test. No tip-over, no spilling, worked great!
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To provide a safe and secure 2nd layer of shelving, I utilized a steel floating shelf bracket to not only shore up the shelf to the wall to prevent the entire cabinet structure from tipping, but also to utilize the studs in the wall to hold up some of the weight from the 2nd layer of aquariums. By making the shelf out of 2 x 6 pine construction lumbar, I have full confidence that it will be able to maintain the 400 lb of weight from the four aquariums which will sit upon it.
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@ChemBob The standard size of egg for a zebra danio, considered to be the model Characin, is .7mm. (Source egg diameter - Zebrafish Danio rerio - BNID 101661 (harvard.edu)) Although egg sizes differ between species, this is a good approximation. The screen I used has a mesh size of approximately 1mm, so the eggs should have some wiggle room to fall through. Rainbow shiners may have larger eggs, this paper may help: Fall 2002 pt. 1 (nanfa.org). It should work well with pencilfish though.
I would experiment a bit, after all, that's half the fun! (and half the frustration).
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@OceanTruthA good question! It's pretty soft plastic, but I wouldn't say its extremely soft; its definitely more rigid than silicone. So far I haven't had any issues with it. My only gripe is that it floats, so you have to zip-tie it down. As far as it mattering, I am not certain but do not think it does. Reading scientific papers about ornamental fish breeding, they often mention using bottle-brushes as structure for the fish to lay eggs on and those are certainly not anything I would lay down on willingly.
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@OceanTruth Thank you! I was inspired by a fish room tour on the channel "Dan's Fish". The video is "Barb Fishroom Tour with Mike Monje of Exstream Aquatix". (I'm not sure I can link it without violating forum rules. I am in no way associated with the channel "Dan's Fish" but I do enjoy his content!) However, there was a custom-made Barb breeding aquarium at the start of that video which inspired this design. Mine is not as refined as his, but it works.
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My CPDs seem to be a big fan of these breeding tanks! They love darting into and out of the plastic grass. The coolest thing watching them eat daphnia in and around the plastic mats.
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When it comes to breeding egg-scattering fish, I am a believer in the "musical fish" and the "false bottom" methodologies of fish breeding. One of the abilities I'm most excited about with this new of aquarium rack is the ability to use both methodologies ease to enhance my fish breeding yield. To accomplish this, I removed the bottoms of four Aqueon 2.5 gal aquariums and replaced the bottoms with standard home screen to provide a false bottom for the eggs to fall through. Attached to this screen is a mat of artificial plants to provide the fish both cover and structure for them to breed in. These 2.5 gal aquariums are then suspended at the top of the larger 10 gal aquariums utilizing plastic clamps. This allows for the fish to be easily moved from one aquarium to the next so that they are small fry have a chance to develop in the larger aquarium without the threat of being eaten by their parents.
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As can be seen here, the lower shelf works quite well and the aquariums are nicely displayed and easily accessed with this design. Although it took me several iterations of various home built aquarium racks to finally achieve this result, I am quite pleased with it
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Each aquarium is an Aqueon 10 gallon which I purchased at the most recent dollar per gal sale. These were each drilled with 2 holes. A small hole for 1/4 inch RO tubing to be applied to the front for filling water, and a larger hole in the back to accommodate a 1/2 inch bulk head so that the water could be drained. In this way, I can hook them up directly to my water filter allowing the water change water to "flow through" the aquariums and into a central drain.
Each 1 of these aquariums was also fitted with a sponge filter and a layer of black diamond sand on the bottom. I have found great success using this as a substrate and I love both its look and it's low cost.
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The cabinets sliders themselves were affixed to the sides of each 1 of these trays. The sliders were attached to the base using L-shaped brackets with machine screws attaching in to the cabinet sliders and regular wood screws attaching the bracket to the plywood base of the shelf. The cabinets sliders themselves were attached to the trays utilizing the same construction screws at the trays themselves were attached with creating a very strong and reliable attachment.
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@ererer I currently keep the Everglades and the Gilbert's pygmy sunfish. I feed them micro worms, frozen daphnia, and baby brine. They are thriving in my aquaria and I find them to be very tough fish. I have bred both Tiger and Scarlet Badis, but I have only successfully raised a handful so far. I find the best way to get females is by from other hobbyists; I was fortunate in that regard.
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@Streetwise I never thought about it that way, but you're right! I server rack, with the right combination of fittings, could be used similarly.
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@BrandyJust two high is the plan. Going higher than that is possible, but I would prefer a stand made of metal if that was the case. It will not have an auto water change system, but a "flow through" style easy water change system. I'll add pics of it once its installed.
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@OceanTruth The rack will absolutely be secured to the wall; pet and child safety is paramount for me! I'll be affixing it to the wall using a floating shelf bracket. Pics to follow.
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@OceanTruth Thank you, the sliders so far seem to be working well. They stood up the test fill, more pics to follow.
@Colu I have found that breeding fish, even on a small scale, is very enjoyable and rewarding. Its no wonder so many go on to create fish rooms to house their projects.
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For the aquariums themselves, they each sit in a tray made with a base of 3/4 inch birch plywood for stability and have an edge made from 1 in pine furring strips. These trays were painted using a high-quality paint to ensure that they are water resistant. These were secured together utilizing high quality construction screws to provide the necessary support for each aquarium, which weighs approximately 110 lb. These trays were then affixed to a pair of cabinets sliders which are rated to 150 lb each to ensure a factor of safety when the aquarium has been pulled fully from the shelf. I found that these high quality cabinet sliders, although expensive, were well worth it as they were both easy to install and have a silky-smooth soft-close feature which is essential when a 100+lb box of water is being moved back into place.
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Very, very clean install. I love it!
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Very nice job! Looking great!
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The footprint for this new aquarium rack is simple, it is made out of pine wood that has been put together using pocket hole jigs to create a very strong lattice. Utilizing both vertical and horizontal components, I created a rigid base which can easily hold the 800lb of aquariums which it will support. The top of this frame was then secured together using 1/2 inch birch plywood which I very much enjoy as a building material since it is easy to work with, lightweight, strong, and creates anesthetic looking finish. This plywood base later was coated in 1/8in PVC wall covering to provide a waterproof surface.
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The purpose of this journal is to document my adventures in aquarium keeping as my hobby transitions into its next phase where I settle into a more long-term focus on breeding nano-fish and fresh water crustaceans as well as growing plants well. Over the past 30 years, this hobby has been a true joy for me, it has allowed me to learn so much about both myself and the world around me. It is my hope that my documentation of my aquarium-based journey will inspire others to continue to push their hobby to the next level.In light of recent success I have had selling fish and shrimp in my local market, I have decided to extend my 6 10 gal breeding rack into a larger 10 gal rack holding eight aquariums. Utilizing this new structure which I have affectionately named the "Aquarium Wunderkammer", it is my hope to continue breed Danios, Badis, Pygmy Sunfish, White Clouds, Fire Red Shrimp, Blue Dream Shrimp, and Dwarf Crayfish for both fun and a small profit. I think this new project of mine is novel because it utilizes a sliding rail system usually used in cabinet making that I have not seen utilized for an aquarium rack. By placing these aquarium on cabinet sliders, the aquarium can be moved away from the shelf they normally rest on, greatly increasing the amount of available aquarium which can be accessed for maintenance and catching of livestock while maintaining a small footprint. Thus far in my in hobby experience I have not seen a system utilizing cabinets sliders and aquariums, so if you have similar thoughts, you can now see an example of one of these systems in action.
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An Aquarist's Journey
in Photos, Videos & Journals
Posted
No new rack updates today, I have not had a chance to work on it the past could of days. Instead, here is a picture of a baby pygmy sunfish (This one is an Evergladei) with a belly full of baby brine shrimp. (Aquarium Coop Brand, of course)