Seahorse Fry Breeding and Raising

[yveterinarian]

I have now, through much inner debate, decided to start trying to raise some of my own fry while giving my friend Ray the balance to raise. To this end, knowing I needed a lot of water, I have purchased some more tanks.

So far I have: 5 Ten gallon tanks, bottom drilled that I picked up used for $75
                    75 gallon sump that I also picked up used for $75
                    Protein skimmer - already owned
                    2 filter socks - already owned
                    1 human tube feeding pump that I am going to experiment with for feeding during the day while I am at work -                    free

Will still need plumbing for tank flow, Dan's feed (from Seahorsesource to enrich the Baby brine shrimp), Brine shrimp eggs, return pump, simple lighting, good air pump, bioballs for filtration and some form of flow through DIY canister filter (getting plans from Dan Underwood on Seahorse.org).

My plan is to house the tanks in the same room as my current sumps. Yesterday, my husband and I emptied the room of all other things so I could get to the wall. The wall needs to be repaired and painted before I set up the tanks. I am going to run 2 new dedicated ground fault circuits to this wall for the extra equipment and in the spring will install a vent to outside to help deal with the extra humidity created by the water.

I have decided to build a shelf at the same height as the other sumps in the room for the sump and a strong framework shelf above and to the right of the sump for the 5 ten gallon tanks which will be set up with narrow ends facing out. The plumbing will go to each tank with a shut off valve to each one so I can easily disconnect one for cleaning and so I can run each tank as needed. All return plumbing will go to the filter sock then the bioballs, then the canister - not necessarily in that order. I have plenty of wood in my workshop for building the shelves and making them sturdy so I won't have to purchase any.

I have also been asking many questions of DanU and of Rayjay about the needs of the fry and the best way to proceed. There is a lot of information to process so I'm just going to take this one day at a time.

Here are some pictures of the start of this project:

This is the wall they will be going against. When we first moved in the receptacle didn't work. When I opened the wall, I found the wires had been chewed by a mouse and some of the insulation had caught on fire in the past. I fixed the wiring but never got around to fixing the wall. 

This is the sump before cleaning. After 2 days of soaking and scrubbing, it is now clean.

These are the 10 gallon tanks that I have purchased. They all come with the bulkheads and some tubing.

Tomorrow, I plan to go get some Drywall compound, ground fault receptacles, 2 new breakers for my breaker panel and some paint. Let the fixing begin! I will post pictures of my progress.

 

[Poseidon]

That's awesome!!! Wishing you the best of luck!
I heard through a friend ray was getting out of breeding. Can you confirm that....

 

[yveterinarian]

That's awesome!!! Wishing you the best of luck!
I heard through a friend ray was getting out of breeding. Can you confirm that....

Hi Brandon, thanks for the encouragement.  I think I need all the help I can get.  It is feeling a little overwhelming at the moment.

Ray hasn't said anything to me yet but he has been encouraging me to try to raise some of my own as well in case he can't keep it up.  He knows I will still be sending many of the fry to him and he hasn't said not to.  He has purchased a bunch more seahorses in the last 2 months so I think he is still hoping.  His others haven't reproduced in a while.
My last fry that he had died just before Christmas and he has some other things going on right now that is taking up a lot of his time.

 

[pulpfiction1]

hardly wait to see it all up and running

 

[yveterinarian]

hardly wait to see it all up and running

Thanks Phil:

Today I bought the paint, drywall compound, 2 15amp Stablock breakers, on the wall wiring channel,  and 2 external boxes for my GFCI receptacles. ($130)  I decided to run the wire on the wall rather than in the wall because this wall is filled with foam insulation and I would have to tear apart more wall to get the wiring inside.  (can't just fish it through)  I ran the two lengths of wire through the ceiling yesterday with my husband's help and I will connect once I get the wall painted.  (Before anyone asks - yes I do understand wiring and have had an electrician in to inspect my work when I completely changed my breaker panel and ran new circuits for a sunroom I was building.  He passed it with flying colours and even said the work was too tidy to have been any of the companies he knew.)  My husband bought me the cinder blocks I will use in constructing the sturdy base.

Tomorrow, I start....

 

[pulpfiction1]

i love a new build

 

[yveterinarian]

i love a new build

Me too! ;D

Today I sanded all the drywall compound and tomorrow I start painting.  Have been covering the refugium/sumps while working and am going to work with the window open tomorrow and keep the fan blowing to minimize the effect of paint in an aquarium area.  Should have the new sump up and running on Sunday or Monday.  Will post pictures then.

 

[Poseidon]

Pictures pictures pictures pictures pictures pictures pictures.

 

[yveterinarian]

Well, yesterday was a very busy day.  I finished painting the shelf that the sump is to go on.  Completed installing the wiring, each receptacle on it's own 15 amp circuit.  My husband lifted the sump into place and today I am making the saltwater for this tank.  Here are some updated photos:

Here is the wall after painting with mold and mildew resistant paint

Here are my two sumps for the seahorse tank and the reef tank.  All will now be in the same room.  The power bars were on the wall until I started painting them.  All will go back up once the room is finished.

The shelf goes in.  I made it wider than the sump so I will have a ledge to stand on when needed.

The shelf painted with mold and mildew resistant paint.

The wiring goes into place.

Finally the sump goes into place 

Today, I am building the shelf to hold the 10 gallon tanks then it's off to MOPS for the pump and fittings.

 

[jones02]

its starting to come along, excite to see it finished and running! cant wait to see osme ponys in them tanks

 

[Poseidon]

looking great!!! when do you see it all being setup by? couple weekS?

 

[yveterinarian]

its starting to come along, excited to see it finished and running! can't wait to see some ponys in them tanks

Thanks, I'm counting down the days! Now I just have to get Jack to realize there is a great home waiting for his babies!

looking great!!! when do you see it all being setup by? couple weekS?

I'm hoping to have all set up by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.  I still have to cycle it but I have a sponge full of good bacteria that I have been saving for this kind of situation in the sump of my seahorse tank.  Hopefully, this cycle will go faster with the sponge than my sterile tanks before.

 

[yveterinarian]

New shelf has been made including the holes for the drain pipes.  I may put another vertical support beside the set of drawers before I'm done to make it stronger.  There are 3 horizontal supports going front to back and one long one across the front which you can see.
It has been a productive day.  The water in the sump is now circulating and is almost up to temperature.  Once I get the bioballs in there and the sponge, I will start to cycle.  There is more water than I need in there but once the 10 gallons are hooked up some will go to one of them when Jack has his babies. 

My order has gone into MOPS and my husband will pick up that and my plumbing supplies on his way through Hamilton tomorrow.

 

[yveterinarian]

It's all starting to come together now.  If I hadn't had appointments today, it would have been done    .  Here are some updated photos:

This is a shot of all the tanks cleaned and waiting the plumbing.  Yesterday I took apart all the drain pipes and cleaned them as well.  There was no plumber's tape on any of the threads so I suspect there was a bit of leaking going on.  All tanks are numbered so I know which one fits which hole on the shelf.

Here's all the plumbing parts needed for this build plus a new pump.  Not shown is the flexible pipe and the rigid pipe.  My husband loves spending my money so he had a great time picking everything out for me!  ;D

Tonight I tested all the tanks with the drain pipe connected to make sure there were no leaks.  They didn't!  So I continued on and hooked all the drains together.  All I need to do now is add the drain pipe to the sump.

Tomorrow I will connect all the upper plumbing and test it once the glue has dried and cured.  Luckily, I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow so I should be able to finish this part.  The water in the sump is now cycling with the ammonia method using bioballs instead of rock so that at any time I can sterilize them if I need to later.  There is also filter floss in the same section and I will probably add some foam as well.

 

[becca_vienna]

Your setup is amazing!
I hope one day I can handle seahorses
They are so beautiful, I have seen Ray's setup he is so talented with them!

 

[yveterinarian]

Your setup is amazing!
I hope one day I can handle seahorses
They are so beautiful, I have seen Ray's setup he is so talented with them!

Thank you very much Becca.  I'm having a lot of fun with this build but also a few moments when I wonder if I've bitten off more than I can chew.  Right now I'm off work due to a shoulder injury and have time but when I go back I have to learn a whole new routine.    At the moment it is slowing down my build a little because of trips to physio when I'd rather be working on my tanks!  ;D
Yes, I love Ray's setups.  He does very well with them and I hope I can begin to do some of what he has.  He's my "go to" person in Canada and he helps keep me working in the right direction.

 

[yveterinarian]

[move]Tonight is Celebration night![/move]

Today I finished everything on the setup.  ;D

This morning I worked on a way to hold up the fill pipe setup for the tanks.  I came up with the idea to put up a thin strip of wood and have some 4" strips that could turn to hold the pipe assembly in place but can easily turn to remove pipe if needed.  As you may see in the picture, two of the tanks are now covered with white on the bottom.  While testing my assemby, I cracked the bottom of two tanks  .  I luckily had some clear plexiglass so I cut a piece to fit the bottom of each and rushed out to get aquarium silicone.  When I got home I discovered it was white  .  I siliconed the plexiglass to the inside on the bottom and sealed all of the bottom and edges well.  Water test today showed no leaks (thank goodness).

After I built the small ledge I painted it with mildew resistant paint and placed the pipe on once it dried.  It worked a charm and even had the valves facing exactly the angle I wanted them 

I then finished hooking up my wiring to my breaker panel and tested each circuit.  I also put a foam weather barrier on the box of the receptacles behind the plate cover to guard against moisture getting into the box and corroding the wires.

When my husband got home with a fitting I forgot to put on my list, we fired up the pump and tested the setup for leaks.  One thing I do need is some kind of backflow valve to prevent water draining out of the pump if the power goes off.  I have not put the pump in the sump but above on a shelf so if anyone knows of a valve I could use (1/2" fitting) I would appreciate it very much.
Here are a couple of pictures of the water filling the one tank:

It was so great to see this moment!  No leaks were discovered and all connections performed well  ;D

Below I have put a drawing of the flow pattern of the tank.  I am not sure where to place the protein skimmer once I bring it online after the cycle.  I can put it on the left or the middle.  Suggestions are welcome. 

Total cost of build:  $580 with the pump, bio balls, filter floss, tanks, wiring, plumping pieces, air pump and brine shrimp eggs for the fry food. 

Now all I need is some babies! 

 

[pulpfiction1]

looks awesome girl

 

[yveterinarian]

Thanks so much Phil. 
Apart from my major design flaw (no back flow valve) it is working tremendously.  All tanks are holding water well but I'm only cycling to the first one at the moment. 
I don't want to put the pump into the water as it will heat the system too much so my husband is going looking for an automatic shut off valve that we could incorporate into the draw line for the pump.  If he can't find something that is suitable for aquariums, I will have to design something, ugh!

 

[yveterinarian]

Thank goodness MOPS is on the way home for my husband.  He came home with a beautiful footvalve that I have put inline with my pump intake to automatically shut off the back flow if there is a power cut (we get quite a few).  Tested it out tonight and it works wonderfully!
Now I can relax a bit.  I kept worrying that I would have a power failure and the pump would fry when it came back on d/t lack of water. 
Cycling is going well.  All three of the main components of cycling present, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.  Now I just have to wait for the ammonia and nitrites to go to zero.