First timer trying to make a Breeding Rack.

AussieSam

Member
Dec 18, 2017
8
0
1
Port Macquarie, Australia
Hey all,

without going into the long story, i'm finishing off my rack build for my breeding tanks, and I'm an absolute beginner.. not a good combination, but i'm a quick learner, and have been loving this build up so far..

I mainly just want to check that i'm not doing anything disastrously wrong here.

Goals:
6 small breed tanks (with 2-4 breeders in each) (4x L numbers, 1x Longfins, 1x Peppermints)
4-5 Grow out tanks/ multi use tanks
Sump filtration
Absolute ease of maintenance (haha i know right...)


I work pretty long hours and sometimes work away so i'm trying to set this up for as little maintenance work as possible. So, bare bottom where I can, automatic water changing (not a drip feed), etc etc.

Here's a couple of photos of where its at so far.. Its been cycling for about a month, and have just put a couple of little guys in some of the tanks, and seem to be happy so far.


Tank setup (sorry for the mess, its still being finished off)



Sump. Similar design to my display sump. easy to clean, and plenty of room (5ft)


UV Sterilisation. I know some people like them, some don't.. I like them... There's 3 of them in order to match the total flow from the pump properly for full Level 3 Sterilisation.



Now being in the shed, I've made up a pair of wall vent fans to give fresh air directly to the tanks/sump. They only activate during certain temperature ranges (I'm an Electrical Tech, so I make my own automation gear).

The water changer can be programmed to do whatever size changes I like, as often as I like. The water is coming from our town water supply after going through a large sediment filter and Chlorine filter.

The waste water is pumped to the veggie garden. The water is pumped out at the same time as the fresh is brought in. (pumped out from start of sump, pumped in at end of sump (just before UV Reactors). Its a very slow flow for changes, so should be pretty gentle for the fish.

I've got a sponge filter in each section also, to provide a little extra filtration, but also in case of any failures in the sump. They shouldn't need cleaning very often, as they should be receiving nice and clean water.

I've currently got 3x300w heaters in the sump.

Also each tank is individually fed water, and has its own return. I've set it up this way to make it easy to isolate a section.

Also each section feed has adjustable flow. Being fed from a 6,000LPH pump atm, however it struggles when I ramp up the flow to one section, the others sometimes stop flowing (And I barely have them flowing currently).. so I've got a 16,000LPH on the way.

I'm also looking at getting a few autofeeders to help keep them well fed. I have one on my display tank and love it.. It feeds them the basics, and I just give them some veggies when they need it...

Now i'd love any input from you guys and gals.

Anything to help make things easier would be great, or anything that i'm severely doing wrong.. As I said, this is my first time doing anything like this, so I'm kinda winging it, and just seeing what works.
 

Jessman101

Member
Apr 30, 2017
17
1
1
Adelaide, South Australia
Awesome! I have actually just finished completing and setting up a 4' rack myself. Using 2 PetWorx 4' aquariums with sump on the bottom tier.

I have cichlid fry on the top tier and then I have my L168/L052 colony in the bottom tank.

Awesome pics mate!