Has anyone grown out bluegill in a tank. I have several 300 gal tanks I would connect together with 2 inch pipe and then have water run threw them out of a windmill? Would the water be too cold for them to grow? Would I need some sort of air system? If so would putting air in the first tank be enough or would I need air in each tank? How many fish per tank if I get 1.5 inch fish and would like them to be 4 to 5 inches when I would take them out. Would I need one tank full of water plants to filter out nitrates? My other option would be dig a hole and put a 27 foot round grain bin sheets 4 foot deep and then line it, put some plants in and air.

How much flow through are you looking at? I would be worried about well water temps being too cool to get good growth rates. I am currently feed training a bunch of little RES in a 75 gallon tank and using an aquarium heater to keep the water temp right at 78 degrees. I am doing a 10% water change daily while cleaning the bottom of the tank as well as aerating and running a couple of large sponge filters. My little RES are eating well and getting fat. My daily water change typically knocks the water temp down 3 or 4 degress but comes right back up with the aquarium heater. IMO good growth rates will depend on optimal water temps in the tank and keeping nitrite levels in check.

Shorty,
I have several age classes of RES in my pond and have been hand feeding Optimal. I get glimpses of the wide body and slightly colorful flash of the RES adults as they get the pellets but I've read here that the RES are 'hard' to teach to eat pellets.

I'm curious how you did it?

In the 'wild', in my pond, do you think since every other fish around them is eating pellets including their adult parents that the young ones will figure it out on their own?

I also wonder if that environmental imprint of learning to take pellets becomes inbred in the genes and passes on or if each generation has to relearn the tricks of eating pellets?

Canyoncreek, RES do like Optimal better than other types of fish food and they also prefer it hydrated rather than dry. I suspect the parents of the ones I am feed training are also proven pellet eaters.

When I started a few weeks ago I initially fed them blood worms along with hydrated Optimal crumbles that I had run through a coffee bean grinder. RES love blood worms and the idea was to get them accustomed to me hand feeding them and to get them started eating Optimal and the plan has worked. When I walk into the shop now they come to the surface and right over to the side of the tank where I am standing wanting to get fed. From there I dialed back on the blood worms and increased the hydrated Optimal feeding quite a bit. Right now I am working on feeding them dry optimal crumbles with a automatic feeder during the day while I am gone and a number of them are now eating that as well. I do have a small number of very small RES that have not feed trained yet but hopefully they will come around.

I would guess 2 to 3 gal min. when wind is blowing. The water is cold maybe 55*. I would need a solar heater of some sort to get the water temp close to 80* in the tanks. Just thought the running water would keep the water clean. So if I would make a larger containment out of the grain bin sheets (27feet round 4 feet deep)and limit the amount of water coming in. How many fish can you put in before you get water quality problems. Could I raise 200 fish a year in that size of tank with just air no filter system. I would put some potted water plants in it. Or could I put an inch or two of dirt or gravel in bottom and then add plants.

I think you could get away with that. Are you going to pellet feed them?

Yes I would feed them. I would want to get them as large as I could in one summer. Then net them and put them in my lake. If it would work I would make one for minnows too for bait and to stock lake.