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I am in the fortunate process of having an old stable block that measures 8 metres x 6 metres. The walls are 0.5 metres thick. I intend to convert it to a fish room. I have some questions

1. What is the best way to heat the room / tanks
2. Is water that has gone through a RO unit the best for plecs, Zebs in particular
3. What is the best size of tank for raising Zeb plecs after removing them from their parents tank. I have two breeding colonies with 7 zebs in each. I am not trying to breed them at the moment because of the impending alterations to my house.
4. What is the best filtration for the Zeb fry.

grettonman wrote:I am in the fortunate process of having an old stable block that measures 8 metres x 6 metres. The walls are 0.5 metres thick. I intend to convert it to a fish room. I have some questions

1. What is the best way to heat the room / tanks
2. Is water that has gone through a RO unit the best for plecs, Zebs in particular
3. What is the best size of tank for raising Zeb plecs after removing them from their parents tank. I have two breeding colonies with 7 zebs in each. I am not trying to breed them at the moment because of the impending alterations to my house.
4. What is the best filtration for the Zeb fry.

Hi Grettonman

First of all welcome to the forum, and second... I am jealous. That is quite some stable! The 0.5 m thick wall will do you wonders for retaining the heat.

OK here are just a few pointers in response to your questions.

1.For something that size I would definately suggest heating the tanks, but have primary heating int he stable itself to make sure the heaters don't need to work too hard. This opinion could change dependant on how many tanks you plan on having. I woudl also suggest cladding the stable internally with timber frame and insulation, (2" polystyrene is usually the cheapest way of doing it) with plaster board ove rhte top obviously

2. It depends on where youlive and what your water parameters are. I personally do not use RO water but then agani I am lucky with my water. I would suggest doing a search on the forum as this topic has already been discussed.

3. To be honest this is personal prefernce, the bigger the tank, the more fr you can put in it. I am a firm believer that the bigger the volume of water, the easier it is to maintian and keep in good condition.
I personally transfer my fry into a 3ft*15*15.

4. As for filtratiopn I would suggest whatever you find works for the adults, although steer away from filters with a high suction. If your filters do have high suction, try and baffle this with the use of a medium grade filter sponge.

Hope this helps and enjoy the site.

If you feel like documenting the progress of the fishroom and creating a wee articel fro the site, drop me a PM.

Have fun!

rob

I am toying with the idea of using UG filters conbined with an external power filter and returning the water via an overhead spray bar for the fry tanks. I have only ever raised the fry to 4 months old when I was forced to sell them because I had to move the tanks with the parent zebs into my parents house. I sold them about a month ago and so far the purchaser has not lost any.

I intend purchasing some Juwel Rio 400's for the parents and fry. I am going to try and obtain them second hand. I also keep and breed QA's and Corydoras Sterbi and Corydoras sychri