Fish breeding setup idea... Would it work?

[dvandevelde1]

Alright so, I'm a 16 year old kid who plays sports year round and needs to find a way to make money. Nobody will hire me around here because I can only work specific hours... So my brother and I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to breed fish. Because we do t have a lot of money, we've been brainstorming on how to keep costs down. I came up with a very quick sketch that I will post down below. It is comprised of five 10 gallon tanks. The first four will be for holding fish and the last one farthest to the right will be the sump with bio and mechanical filtration. If I connect all of the tanks with water bridges made of pvc and pump the water from the last tank into the first using a maxi jet, can I essentially create a multi tank system for raising and holding fish? Would this be practical?

 

[smitty]

I have never tried anything like this but I am sure by looking at your plans it can be done and work well.

 

[tanker]

It can be done, but not a good idea. The way you have it--if one tank geta sick, they all get sick. Also if one tube blocks or clogs, there will be a spill (overflow).

 

[smitty]

Jessica you are right about that.

 

[tanker]

Thanks Smitty, this is one smart lady.

 

[Narwhal72]

Also the energy costs of running a water pump are much higher than that of an air pump. Not to mention that you risk sucking fry from one tank to another.

It's far more economical to use an air pump and sponge filters in each tank individually.

I would do more planning. Because with only 5 10 gallons for growing out fry you are looking at being able to grow about 15-20 fish (I am assuming some type of Malawi Mouthbrooder or BN plecos) every quarter (month if you are lucky). That's not going to be a money maker by any means.

 

[dvandevelde1]

I will most likely be breeding angelfish or discus. The reason I wanted all of the tanks to be one system is because I wouldn't need to have a heater for each individual tank.

 

[Brian Feeder of Fish]

It can be done, but not a good idea. The way you have it--if one tank gets sick, they all get sick. Also if one tube blocks or clogs, there will be a spill (overflow).

I agree on that. I believe you could reasonably build enough redundancies/fail-safes into the system to prevent an overflow. (you would have to read up some on that, I'm not an expert on plumbing for fish tanks) As for the disease concern, yep. I can't think of any way around that. Best advice would be quarantine new additions, and just be generally cautious about health.

What would you do with the adults? Do you have another larger tank? 10 gallons is nowhere near big enough for adult discus or angel.

Regardless, I would like to see a log or something of this. I have considered a similar scheme in my time as well, and am curious about its viability.

Brian

 

[OrionGirl]

Might want to check the local market as well. I attend many fish auctions through the year, and unless you have an in demand variety, you're not going to make much. Even high-end fish, you'd be lucky to make $2-3 per fish, and if you figure in the costs, that's barely breaking even. If you went with something like zebra plecos, MAYBE...but even then, it's tough.

I wouldn't count on one heater being able to maintain temps in all 4 tanks. Water will lose temp as it goes through the lines, and the tank further from the heater is going to be cold. That's not great fry development. Having a continuous flow, where water is added at the first tank in line and then leaves the system at the end would be far better, and reduce the need for filtration, although it wouldn't address disease concerns.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Yep. Unfortunately this is a money taker, not maker. Welcome to the hobby son!