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Fry Condos I'm test driving...
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:30 am
by Barbie
A friend that works with acrylic came into the store the other day, and I was asking him about making a flow through container of some type to hold different sizes of zebra fry without having to use different sources of water flowing through. Then I can use one battery backup powered air pump that kicks on when the power goes out. Yes, I know it's not a generator, but I'm working on that!
He got right on the project, and brought it into the store today. I am VERY happy with it! The water flows over the first chamber from an air powered sponge filter, then each divider has a hole in it that I insert a large pore sponge over. This allows the water to flow through each of the chambers freely, but the fish can't, and the bottom 3 inches is enclosed, so food can settle in each compartment. I just use a turkey baster to remove any waste. Here are a few pictures. Input is definitely welcome! (only two of the chambers are full in these pics, the rest are left to free flow for demonstration).
*note* to the far right of the bottom two pictures you can see one of my snub nosed fry.
Barbie
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 9:36 am
by Dr. P
Great idea! But scary, I have plans to make something similar
I was planning on using some sort of spray bar along the top of each section. That way there is no reduction in flow from the first section to the last.
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 12:22 pm
by kgroenhoej
I like it
I want one too... But I'm a bit worried about the DO in the last section - when all the sponges are in place and matured (full of the good stuff) sponges will use some DO. Do the water-surface "move" enough (in the last sections) to create enough DO?
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 3:19 pm
by KenW
Hi Barbie, great idea.
I have a similar concept but with only one compartment. I cut a hole (for flow thru) with a plastic mesh siliconed over the hole on the opposite side of the in-flow .
How are you attaching the condo to the tank or is it just floating?
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 4:44 pm
by Barbie
I've been using quite a few individual containers kicking around the house in different tanks. This one is acrylic that's bent to hang on the glass, with little braces to keep it level. The guy did a fantastic job making exactly what I wanted from just a description of what it was for. I was really impressed. He was all critical saying he wanted to try to bend the acrylic and not make it square edges. I told him sheesh, it's not for display, it's saving my bacon for tank space is all! hehe
The DO should be fine between chambers, as the water pretty much freely flows through those sponges. They are just aquaclear sponge cut to fit, so it's pretty large cell pore. I rinse them out any time they get remotely clogged. There's quite a bit of flow from the little sponge filter because I use a pretty high powered air pump. I won't know for sure if it's enough until I get enough fry to fill all the boxes 
.
Don't worry, I don't have all the fry in that one tank. That's 2 spawns worth. I also have 20 fry in another tank, with a couple of my juvenile wilds growing out, and the "spare" pair in yet another tank.
All that's in this 40 gallon long tank are 7 adult zebras and that fry trap though, with about 15 times the tank volume turning over an hour, if not more, not including the flow from the sponge. I've got 3 more boxes at least on the way, and he could definitely add some form of spray bar, if I think I need one. I was just looking for something that lets me put in a fail safe, in case of power failure.
Barbie
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 7:54 pm
by Des
Barbie,
Fantastic idea. I hope you have a patent on the idea !!!!!!
Des.
Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:31 pm
by Ed_R
I suspect I'll be wanting something like this in a year or two;)
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:16 am
by fishboy20
I just experienced 2 power outages which both lasted 2 hours. My fish never had a problem thankfully but I am certainly looking into options for saving my fish. Certainly running flowthrough system with one pump, several heaters, etc. would be ideal. Guess I have something to work towards.
Those fry growouts look pretty good. I am just trying to get back to the having fry stage again though. One of these days I hope to need something like that.
~Jeremy
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:23 am
by Barbie
I resigned the boxes a bit, and added a spraybar and what not. I'll take some pictures once I get one of the new ones running. I told the guy that is building it to patent it. It's not like I'm going to rush out and buy the thousand dollars worth of equipment to build such a thing. I don't mind if he makes a profit off something he made helping me out at all. How much would you guys think something like that is worth? They're really well made, actually. I had to explain that they're really not going to need to be beautiful and square and what not. They just need to keep the fish in and allow me to keep them healthy .
Barbie
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:36 am
by Ed_R
HE could offer jmore than one size, don't you think/ One with 1, 2, 3, etc compartments, for varying pirces. Diversify the porduct line a bit until the market tells you waht it will support and what it won't.
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:42 am
by Barbie
Oh they don't have to be just like mine. He can make them to any dimension or what have you. It would take longer to get them, and after all, why would anyone want one designed any other way? *grin*. These fit perfectly into one side of a 4 foot tank, btw, so they really are convenient, but yeah, he could make them with different spacing without too much trouble atall.
You still didn't give me input on a what they were worth type of guesstimate though
Barbie
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 9:02 am
by Ed_R
The reason being my 'what's it worth' is probably less than the cost of materials for him;)
I'd want one to fit a 30-inch tank, for around 25 bucks or so.
Unless I'm just not thinking.
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:04 pm
by Barbie
Yeah, I doubt he'd bother to make them for that. He's got 15 dollars worth of acrylic and pipe and 12 dollars in a rio pump for the ones I redesigned. I told him he should be able to sell them for 40 dollars at least. Maybe I'll put one on aquabid for him and see how they do!
Barbie
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:11 pm
by Ed_R
ACtually, with a pump and sponges, a 4-footer ought to go for 40 to 50 bucks. A 30-incher ouught to run a bit less. 35 bucks or so maybe?
TOld you I wasn;t thinking;)
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 8:17 pm
by Barbie
I guess I'll just let him sell them to the people that have asked me about them then I can't see talking him into build them to not even make 8 bucks an hour on something that took the kind of equipment he has to use building them, personally.
Barbie