Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Tilapitopia 3.0

Dave just add some Bourbon and you should be fine...

Where's the fun in that guys? The biggest kick I get out of bringing fish in for the winter into my DIY systems is he much they have grown come spring.

Our plan is to start with around 40-50lbs of Tilapia and not overfeed until mid to late February to grow them out.

If we can keep the water temps in the mid 70's all winter with our solar setup, we will be feeding them more sooner and grow them as big as we can. It will all depend on the water temps.

Also, I need to calculate how much waist our bio tank can process. That too could limit our plans. It is all a balancing act.

Classic!!

Read somewhere that cola's from fast food places, that dispense from the counter, are a breeding ground for bacteria in the ice. This is due to all the workers that fail to wash their hands.

Bpa's in plastics may be a carcinogen.

I read that the more sterile environment that a child is raised in, the more health problems they will have later on in life when they are exposed to everyday germs - not enough immunities built up in the system from early age.

i.e. people that were born and raised out in the country have less allergies to airborne pollen than people that were born and raised in large cities.

Maybe there IS some truth to the saying "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

There's some truth to that. Allergies are almost unheard of in third world countries.

When our boys were younger the pediatrician advised us to let them play in the mud, dirt, grass, water, etc. Said kids need exposure to that sort of thing to help their immune systems along, and our current society mindset of scrubbing and sanitizing everything in sight wasn't doing them any favors.

I didn't tell him that our kids were already wallowing around outside, all on their own.

Speaking of Tilapia I caught a nice Overton's tilapia a few minutes ago.

Mark, which pond?

Is it diner?

My hope was that they would be at or near breeding size by the time the pond warmed up enough to put them back in. Thought of starting them with a smaller amount of water, and increasing water as they grew. Problem is, this would not work with one of those filters that hangs on the back of an aquarium...so looking at canister filters.

Any ideas or input on off-the-shelf filters? What i have seen so far would cost $140-$300 for canister filters. The ones that hang off the back of an aquarium I can get for about $50 each...would take three to four for a full tote.

Sean

Big fish!

You'll have to excuse me but even though I have blue tilapia in one of my tanks I'm by no means an expert on tilapia. I'm guessing that's a Mozambique?

Why not build your own system and filters that can handle up to 100 lbs. of fish?

A circular 5 to 8 foot Stock tank $200.00
2 blue 55 gallon drums $20.00K
A 60 watt 10 to 15 gpm mag drive pump $40.00
A 40 watt 60 lpm (2.1 cfm) linear air pump $145.00
PVC fittings and pipe $50.00 or less
A knife gate valve $30.00
PVC glue and primer $6.00
Two membrane diffusers $70.00
1/2 inch air line 10 feet $15.00
1 inch water line 10 feet $20.00
Garden mesh material for filter netting $15.00
Cinder blocks $25.00
Allied Aqua media 2 to 4 cubic feet $50.00 to $100.00



If you can find a used plastic stock tank you could probably knock $150.00 off the total.

You could use dual stones instead of the membrane diffusers and save about $30.00.

It will pay for itself in one or two uses depending on how many tilapia you buy.

You can hatch 'em in an aquarium once you have brood fish.

15' wont work without moving a support that is directly under a Jacuzzi type bathtub, but 12' fits nice.

I was worried about springing a leak with the pools and not being aware of the situation as it is occurring, then I slapped myself and reminded me of what I do for a living

All good info guy's, and thanks a bunch for starting this thread Brian.

Brian the little pond by the front gate...threw it back.

Typical bachelor I've never used my oven/stove/dishwasher
at my house...lol.



Cecil I believe so...
I think that's the only kind they allow in Texas.

From my limited knowledge about RAS systems, you have to size the filter according to how many pounds of fish or rather how many pounds of food you are feeding per day. Not how many gallons of water are in the system.

Yep here's a nice little guide using an mbbr I sent to highflyer. Compliments of one of the Pentair/ AES catalogs. You can easily build these yourself.

Cecil,
Perfect information,

We are good for way more food than we'll feed for the fish weight we are trying to grow!!

As the water temps go, so will the food go. We have added grow lights to make green water to use the Nitrate produced by the process, and if needed, we will change out water as needed. Our well water comes out at 68.5 degrees fahrenheit, so temp swings should be controlled.

Sounds good Brian. Just keep monitoring your ammonia and nitrites and remember Murphy's Law especially applies to raising fish in RAS.'

Did you ever find out how many lpm or cfm the Tetra whisper AP300 puts out? I've been all over the Internet and haven't found it yet. All I can find is it's good for up to 300 gal tanks, which doesn't mean squat.

But 7.5 watts sounds amazing even if it's only 30 or 40 lpm!

Found it.

2.6 lpm with two airlines and a 'T' at 24 inches of water depth.

7.5 watts. 0.06 amps.

Is it really only 2.6 lpm? Or was that a typo and they meant 2.6 cfm, although 2.6 lpm would explain the use of only 7.5 watts.

I need 30 lpm just to run my membrane diffuser and another 30 for the mbbr. That's using 40 watts of electricity.

Cecil,
When I get back to the farm, I'll time filling a 2 liter bottle and let you know. I know I have the data somewhere and if I find it, I'll let you know.

Brian,

A certified and calibrated 100,000 gallon tank filling over a period of several weeks/months would be more accurate but if all ya got is a two liter bottle.....

Enjoying following along on your project man! Please keep us in the loop!

That's it, its a three liter bottle to end this debate.....

Wait a minute... Aren't we talking air here?

How are you going to measure air flow with a bottle?

Or how much water flow the airlift is producing and try to determine air flow that way?

Cecil.
My evil plan is simple.

I'll fill the bottle with water, turn it up side down, and place it in my IBC with the air leads inside. I will then set it to the depth I want to test and turn on the air pump and time. The beauty of this plan is that I can test it at several depths and know how the pump is doing at those depths.

And just so Bill D. does not cry foul, I plan on using a NIST calibrated three liter bottle and a NIST calibrated chronograph.