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ML will you get enough light to the fish/water? Temp + photoperiod for many types of fish to spawn and start growth.
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Originally posted by ewest: ML will you get enough light to the fish/water? EWEST, Good question...and I'm not sure of the answer. I put in a 4 x 6 ft window in the shed right next to the spa, and have cut-in those viewing windows I mentioned...but I'm not sure that will be enough. I know for sure the fish I have must be enclosed or they will jump out. Any data on how much light is enough to enable spawning in Tilapia?
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Moderator Lunker
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ML, will only natural light work? What about a neon Gro Light bulb?
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP Grandpa
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DD, Not sure...this is totally unknown territory for me. I've never even had an aquarium before. I know T,P,&W uses artificial lighting to help enable Redfish spawning. Sounds like a great rainy day internet surfing project. Dang, DD, if one has more than one type of fish in the same tank that he would like to have spawn, then it might get really complicated....
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Checking on tilapia light/photoperiod and will report back. I know BG/RES are spawned indoors with artificial light. ML I thought I saw lights in the tub? If you have to rely on indoor light that clear plexiglas cover you had in one pic will do ok . Some good info here but not a direct answer. Still looking. http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/78451-282fs...33b6a4f416755e7 from http://srac.tamu.edu/index.cfm?catid=11
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This is the best I have found so far.
Photoperiod is not a critical factor in spawning as long as there are at least 10-16 hours of light (some sources list 12-14 hours as optimum). Temperature is critical; Tilapia will not spawn if the temperature falls below 20°C. The optimum temperature is 82-86°F.
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EWEST,
Thanks for your efforts. I was aware of the temp requirements but not lighting. The spa is easily capable of providing the needed temps and has a built-in light but not sure if artificial light will do the trick. The main use of this system is for growing-out and overwintering and if spawning happens it would be a great bonus. The plan is to crank up the temps around the end of February and see what happens. Thanks.
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We will be waiting on your posts on what happens with this interesting project. Please no pics of ML lounging in the tub with the tilapia. :p 
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Don't worry...not going to happen...unless Sunil goes first.  Besides, there's Pacu in those waters. 
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The more I read, the less I know.
What is Pacu?
Eddie
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1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be... Dwight Yoakam
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Didn't someone (Eastland?) say their tilapia spawned in an aquarium with artificial light on all the time?
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IIRC Ryan Freeze ended last Winter with more Tilapia than he started with in his large tank system.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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I'm just catching up. There was standard commercial florescent lighting on about 10hrs per day on my tank. Water temp was around 80 degrees. Top was open exept for some chicken wire to keep them from jumping out...which they will. The water was very green.
ML, are you using the tub's heater?
 "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking
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Here are a couple of more thoughts: the filter and pumping system is designed for clean water and clog very easily. Consider plumbing the outlet of your external filter into the intake of your tub filter thereby "prefiltering" the water entering your tub's filter and heater and still being able to use the air pump in the tub for aeration. If that proves to be too difficult you may also consider bypassing the tub pumping system completely and simply mounting the heater to the outflow of your external filter and then plumbing a line from your air pump through a hose to a large airstone.
 "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking
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Ryan,
Yes, I'm using the spa's heater which is very capable. As shown, I've augmented the spa filtration system with a pressurized bio/mechanical filter and have seeded it with beneficial bacteria already.
I really appreciate your info, Ryan, and the PM's especially. Gives me some confidence going down an unknown road. If I do half as well as you did, I'll be happy.
My "plan" this first time is to just have the breeder fish survive and gain some weight until the end of February and at that time crank up the temps, turn on the lights and try for spawning activity. Based on your results, I think I can handle 30 to 40 pounds of fish for a short time between March and April or May when they are released into the ponds. Really appreciate your comments.
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Ryan, Must have been posting at the same time as you. Interesting words on the filtration system. The way my operation is set up, the spa filter/pump runs only when the heater element comes on, which is fairly infrequent right now, but will be more frequent when I crank up the temps later on. The aux filtration system actually runs constantly 24/7. I'll look at routing it through the spa filtration but since the spa filter/pump only runs when the heater element kicks on, seems like that is not practical in my case. The aux system cycles a volume of water equivilant to the spa tank every 45 minutes. A similar system has performed very well in an outside micro-pond stocked with fish, including Tilapia It's capacity(the rated cap. of the aux system) considerably exceeds the size of the spa...750 gallon spa vs 2000 gallon aux filtration system. Would you say a spa used in this manner could never be used for human purposes again? I'm actually hoping that is the case and will make this a permanent arrangement. 
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It's been a while since I've had an aquarium but there is "The Aquatic Maestro" series of 4-H books that were very helpful in getting me started. The books are designed for 10-14 year olds and at the time were about $1 each from the extension office. There is a lot good information in an easy to understand format.
 "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking
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The problem I fear would be the tub filter or the screened intake clogging causing the heater to overheat and tripping the thermal overload protection. This used to happen frequently with our spa due to debris somehow slipping past cover. If you think you may use the spa for human purposes in the future it may be worth investing $140 in an external heater and not using the spas system at all.
 "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge." Stephen W. Hawking
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Things are running just bubbly so far on this project and I’ve made some changes to operational procedures with more changes on the way.
When the project started, I didn’t expect or plan to use the high speed jet recirculation or forced air jet aeration capabilities of the spa…just use it as a holding tank and water heater. As fish wastes have been generated, some have settled into the various irregular shapes of the spa/hot tub which is made for comfortable seating of humans. This is difficult to remove with just one main recirculating pump. I tried a fine mesh pool skimmer with good results but it still leaves a lot of fine particles in the water. So, turn on the high speed jets and high pressure air system and see what happens…it is still an experiment, after all.
Well, the results really surprised me. The high speed jets coupled with high pressure air completely stirs up the wastes to where the entire system can be completely filtered in about 10 minutes. I was at first fearful of how the fish would react to this procedure…but you know what, they actually seem to enjoy it much like we would in taking a dip in the hot tub. No kidding, ROTFL but they really do. If and when it becomes necessary to run this procedure longer, it may still have adverse affects of the fish but so far, they line up every morning for the daily spa.
Next up, I’m working on some automation methods for the feeding and water quality processes.
p.s. note to moderators...this thread should probably be moved to the raising forage and bait category. Thanks.
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ML do you want one of us to move it ?
Moved as requested per PM
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The Redneck Aquaculture Sys has now been automated and the capacity has been increased through the following changes: 1)an automatic feeder, pictured in the first photo below, has been installed. This little feeder (from Aquatic sys) provides multiple feeding cycles each day of varying length. Next to the feeder you can also see the aeration system which is a right-off- the-shelf comm... sys from Academy. 2)An aux tank has been added to provide a source of constant fresh water exchange. The tank shown in the second photo below is an old 150 gallon stock tank with an automatic water level float. This tank will also serve much later on as a grow-out tank for small fry which hopefully will come later. 3)To complete the water change sys, icemaker tubing was added to siphon from 0 to 250 gallons per day as shown in photo 3 below. Initially, the siphon is set to provide a 15% water change daily and adjustments from that setting will be made as necessary. Thus far system costs are about the same as the cost of a large automatic fish feeder. The only problems encountered thus far have been in managing the ammonia levels. That problem now seems to be under control with the biological filters getting fully seasoned and the addition of the stock tank with fresh water exchange. The system can now run itself for at least a week and possibly two weeks with the only manual intervention to check ph and ammonia levels. 
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ML, that is truly ingenious and definitely matches the thread title. 
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Well, ML. It seems you are keeping busy. Enjoy the good life. That is one sweet setup.
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Awesome! What is the third Picture? I thought it was a pic from google earth until I saw the ball valve!
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Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
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New pond
by canyoncreek - 02/06/25 09:35 PM
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Koi
by PAfarmPondPGH69, October 22
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