Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Fish Grow Out Flow Through Project

My plan consists of two 275 gallon totes elevated on concrete blocks trickling slowly into the grow out vat. Use one tote per day alternating days to avoid the use of chemicals to remove chlorine. This equates to a 91% daily water change. Alternating days with the vat will also allow the water to warm up as needed. One 300 gallon grow out vat stocked with coppernose bluegill. The grow out vat will have two large sponge filters to keep the water oxygenated and provide mechanical and biological filtration. I can't decide whether to do a center drain with a small pump on the perimeter to keep waste moving towards the drain or simply siphon out the waste weekly. The drain will run to irrigation piping and will be used to water some fruit trees. The goal is to stock fingerlings at the first of March and harvest in late November. I make my own fish food that contains roughly 44% protein and 16% fat consisting of whole menhaden meal, menhaden oil, wheat flour, spirulina to boost the fish's auto immune system, kelp, paprika and cayenne pepper.

General thoughts on how well this will work?

How many coppernose bluegill can I stock and how much growth can I expect in nine months?

My apologies as I mean't to post this in the Help forum. Please move to the appropriate location.

Sounds like a cool project. A couple of questions.

When you say you want to harvest The CNBG in November, are you thinking the fingerlings will be big enough for table fare?

You mention chlorine. What is the source and temperature of your water supply?

Thats the goal. Not sure how realistic getting fingerlings to around 8 oz. is within nine months. I am not sure its possible with 100% daily water changes and food with 90% digestible protein and 16% fat. I came here to get the opinions of people that have a lot more experience than I do.

City water and water in the ground here may get down to 53 degrees F. in the winter. I think assuming 55 degrees F. in early March to be reasonable.

Found this 750 gallon stock tank.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc...ft?cm_vc=IOPDP1

Understand the only part of this that I have a good handle on is growing fish fast. Published studies that I have read say that 16% fat is optimal for growth. Observations that I have made bear that out. Protein's primary function is building and repairing muscle and tissue. With that said I think that protein quality is key in achieving phenomenal fish growth. The most natural and best that I have found is whole fish meal (92% digestible protein). The parts meals (fish, shrimp, chicken, pork etc.) are half the price of whole fish meal however their protein is only 20%-25% digestible. Soybean meal has 100% digestible protein however it damages the fish's intestines leading to much slower growth rates. It will be interesting to see if the use of whole fish meal makes a difference in the fish's growth rate.

*EDIT* I once saw the point made that shoe leather had a high enough protein percentage to use in dog food however the protein quality is so poor the dog would benefit very little from it.

People with experience applicable to what you are planning likely work with Siamese Fighting Fish. They have the frequent massive water changes.

Water quality will be an issue unless you keep stocking density low or have some sort of filtration to remove metabolites. Simply flushing with new water every 24 hours will not be adequate. You will have to work hard to make certain feed you make is good. No mention of vitamins was given.

Could you employ a third tote?

In saying removing metabolites I assume you mean biological filtration. This could be achieved using two large fluidized bed sand filters. To handle waste build up I was thinking of doing a drain in the center with pumps on the perimeter to create a more pronounced drain effect pushing waste to the center where it simply goes out the drain. This alone will reduce the biological filtration needed as there will be less waste to break down. Adequate gas exchange at the surface can be achieved through the water movement from the pumps and water constantly trickling into the vat.

I have found that you can provide adequate vitamins by being selective in the ingredients used in the food. Whole fish meal provides the B Complex. Vitamins A, C and K are provided in the kelp. Vitamin D is provided by the sun. The food part of this project is the only part that I have a firm grasp on to be honest.

I can add as many totes as needed.

First verify your formulation is good by testing at low fish stocking density. Book values for such nutrients may not be reliable for a variety of reasons.

My name is Clay. See the link below for the fish food that I am currently making. My main focus is producing fish food that allows fish in aquariums to live a longer more natural life. I also make and have tested a food designed for growth. In my testing along with others growing out Cichlids it grew fry to 1-1/2 inches in 2 months. All of the other foods that I have tested takes three months to achieve the same length. I am confident that the formula that I have for this project will grow the fish quickly.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ParadigmFoods.html

I'm definitely not a pro but I would think there is an optimum temperature range for feeding CNBG to maximize appetite/growth. What temp are you going to maintain the water at?

Test it again on the CNBG. Bluegill can be a little more particular than cichlids in terms of nutrition.

Thats the issue that concerns me the most. Heating 750 gallons of water in March and November is very expensive. A shorter growing season and Tilapia would be much easier.

My preference is to avoid pushing more than one variable at a time. You will be pushing thermal tolerance some if in Alabama even without heater. Summer heat normally more problematic unless your tanks well shaded. Water quality will potentially be all over the place with confines of totes that are not ideal for being self-cleaning. Making them self-cleaning has not been properly demonstrated for me as of yet, round tanks much better. I make diets too, although not with intent of selling them. Most of the diets are specifically for Bluegill and used to determine requirements for particular nutrients or ability of a given combination of feed-stuffs to meet those requirements. If diet used is not in excess for all nutrients relative to requirements, then pushing system will not allow finding what needs to be tweaked in your culture system.

I agree with you on totes for growing out fish. Could do a 8' round 750 gallon plastic stock tank for less money. Put a drain in the center of the bottom with two pumps on the perimeter to keep waste moving towards the drain. I am rethinking the flow through system. Calculated the water cost and it would run $200 per month. I could do a hybrid flow through/ aquaponic system more economically. Could send most of the water to the grow beds and around 100 gallons per day to water fruit trees. I could use two large fluidized bed sand filters for biological filtration and the drain would remove the waste. Elevate one tote for water changes and trickle it into the vat. Could do a spray bar over the whole vat with the return water from the grow beds to promote gas exchange at the surface. I am liking the hybrid system idea. The problem with Tilapia is it has little taste. I guess its how you prepare it. However muscadines growing in the grow beds and figs sounds really good.

What do you consider an optimal diet for bluegill's? My experience is working with warm water Cichlids. Maybe Tilapia are perfect for me after all.