Planning Breeding Racks

[Termato]

I have decided that I'm going to be setting up some breeding racks in my apartment. I want to breed the following fish:

1. Discus (no mated pairs yet but want at least a 2-4 of breeding pairs)
2. German Blue Rams (4 mated pairs)
3. Angelfish (1 breeding pair) <--I only want one breeding pair for now as I'd rather try to breed different fish than more angels
4. Shrimp (red cherry shrimp)

And eventually more, but I think that's more than a good list to start with. Here is the planned set up but I was looking to get some input from everyone before committing to any configuration.

Tanks:
Rack of four 20G Long (height restriction due to where it's going):
Set of two 10G Tanks
Rack of two 40G Breeders
Rack of two 75G and two 30G 4 foot long flat tank
210G Grow out tank (Hopefully picking this tank up soon)
150G Grow out tank (I wont get this tank for another few months until I find a good deal)

Currently, my angelfish are breeding inside of my community tank. I don't want to move them until everything is set up and other fish are breeding because they are consistently pumping out new eggs. Once I have the tanks, I'll be getting more discus to breed.

Here is a layout of the idea. I know where to put the tanks, and I'm limited to how heavy these stacks can be because of the apartment so I can't stack multiple 150G tanks together. I'm only going to stack the 20Gs and 40Gs and then have two stacks with shallow 30G over the 75G tanks.

Filtration:
Show tanks will run on canisters. This will be my Discus tank, another 150G and the 20G next to it.
Both 75G upstairs and the 30G above them will have canisters and HOBs that I already have.

All other tanks will have custom built systems that I'm going to put together. I haven't planned all of that out yet so we'll see where that all goes. From looking at this, do you all think I'll have enough space in tanks? (In the image, the 150G custom tank in between the two racks will also be a display tank).

Also, I want all the heavy tanks against the wall where I know it will support everything better. In November, my lease is up and I'll finally get to reconsider my living arrangement. I need a LARGE basement. So my question is, where would you all put these fish?

Arrangement:
I currently have a pair of rams in each of the 10 gallon tanks.
The pair of angels is in a 75G community
The discus are in a 150G community

I was thinking of having the breeding pairs of Rams in the 20GL. That'd be two 20G split in half with those Rams. I eventually want to breed apisto or maybe even cryptohero nano's or a C.A.R.E.S. Species. Those may take up the other two 20G Longs.

I could use the two 10G at that point to grow out small tiny fry. That, or move a pair of rams to the 10G and use the 20G Long to grow out.

The 40G tanks I was really thinking to breed the discus and angelfish. Thoughts? Can I split the tank in half and fit two pairs? Would that be too tight for them?

The 75G upstairs would be used to grow out rams and apistos.

The 210G Tank in the livingroom and 150G takn in the beedroom can be used to grow out discus and angelfish.

 

[lkelly]

I would burn that piece of paper lest your landlord or neighbors below you see it.

Otherwise, ambitious kick *** setup.

 

[Termato]

I would burn that piece of paper lest your landlord or neighbors below you see it.

Otherwise, ambitious kick *** setup.

HAHAH RIGHT!!! I took your advise and shredded the evidence . Btw, I'm planning this after a few thousand gallons spilled on the floor of the apartment hallway from a pipe bursting (not my fault and my apartment wasn't damaged). Seems like the perfect timing hahah.

Thanks!

 

[Forester]

Three things of the bat:

You should be able to stack the 40s 3 high, that's what I have.

For discus and angels I'm pretty sure you should be going with 20 highs and 29s.

You're gonna want more 10s to do stuff with. They're a very useful size. I have 8 right now and am adding 2 more.

By 30 long I assume you mean 33g? If so I have two that I want to get rid of.



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[MDB_fish_newbie]

I'd be interesting in a 33L after aquamania

 

[Termato]

Three things of the bat:

You should be able to stack the 40s 3 high, that's what I have.

For discus and angels I'm pretty sure you should be going with 20 highs and 29s.

You're gonna want more 10s to do stuff with. They're a very useful size. I have 8 right now and am adding 2 more.

By 30 long I assume you mean 33g? If so I have two that I want to get rid of.

Lucas, Thank you!

So the 20G Long tank rack is just wide enough to fit in that space. That means I could swap some of those out for 29G but I wouldn't be able to have it four high (because of the low ceiling in that spot). I could do a stack of three 29G tanks. I think that'd be do-able considering where it's going to be. That way I can breed the discus and angels in the 29s and not have to waste an entire 40G breeder. Great point. What do you think of that idea?

Then I think I could make a a single rack of 10G tanks four high where the equipment shelf is supposed to be and still keep two at the window sill (I somehow got it to be level). That's be six 10G total. The rams that would have gone into the 20G Long tanks would now get their own 10G tanks. That'd take up four leaving two free 10G.

Yea, I'm considering the 40s being 3 high. I'll have to move some stuff over head of where it is but I think that should be feasible. I can double check to make sure it'll fit. That's a good point and I'm going to have to really think about that. If I build the stand properly and distribute the weight, it shouldn't be an issue. That spot has 3 I beams around it supporting a giant column so it's the strongest part of the apartment.

For the 30G tanks above the 75Gs, I was thinking of custom making tanks that are the length and width of the 75s but that may be a lot of effort and time because I have to do a lot of other things already to set the place up. If you have 33G Longs available, that's PERFECT! I'd love to get both of those from you.

Great suggestions!

 

[MDB_fish_newbie]

The 33g are same width as the 75 and 55 g. Just realy low!

 

[Forester]

Lucas, Thank you!

So the 20G Long tank rack is just wide enough to fit in that space. That means I could swap some of those out for 29G but I wouldn't be able to have it four high (because of the low ceiling in that spot). I could do a stack of three 29G tanks. I think that'd be do-able considering where it's going to be. That way I can breed the discus and angels in the 29s and not have to waste an entire 40G breeder. Great point. What do you think of that idea?

That would be a great idea. How much space exactly do you have? Cause you could do end out 20g highs which are 24Wx12Dx16H so you could fit six in 24 inches of space or 9 in 36 inches of space. You could also double stack 75s if the floor will hold it.


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[Forester]

Then I think I could make a a single rack of 10G tanks four high where the equipment shelf is supposed to be and still keep two at the window sill (I somehow got it to be level). That's be six 10G total. The rams that would have gone into the 20G Long tanks would now get their own 10G tanks. That'd take up four leaving two free 10G.

I'm assuming you have the 10gs end out, you could stack them 4 high and get 12 into 30in of space.

I can currently fit up to 16 tanks on a 4 foot premade rack. I'll send you a picture when I get home.


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[Forester]

Yea, I'm considering the 40s being 3 high. I'll have to move some stuff over head of where it is but I think that should be feasible. I can double check to make sure it'll fit. That's a good point and I'm going to have to really think about that. If I build the stand properly and distribute the weight, it shouldn't be an issue. That spot has 3 I beams around it supporting a giant column so it's the strongest part of the apartment.

I'm using a premade stand from Home Depot for my triple stacked 40s and it works great. I'll post a pick when I get home.

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[Forester]

For the 30G tanks above the 75Gs, I was thinking of custom making tanks that are the length and width of the 75s but that may be a lot of effort and time because I have to do a lot of other things already to set the place up. If you have 33G Longs available, that's PERFECT! I'd love to get both of those from you

We are planning on using them during the marketplace at the BFD, but they're yours as soon as the marketplace ends.

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[Forester]

Could you post the dimensions of the room? I have time on the bus, and love playing with fish room designs.

Is your primary goal breeding and growing out, or show tanks? If you do want to primarily breed and grow out then I don't see the need for the larger tanks, you would probably do better with more smaller ones.

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[Termato]

Could you post the dimensions of the room? I have time on the bus, and love playing with fish room designs.

Is your primary goal breeding and growing out, or show tanks? If you do want to primarily breed and grow out then I don't see the need for the larger tanks, you would probably do better with more smaller ones.

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My primary goal is to breed and grow out to a decent size, especially the discus. I don't mind not growing out the angels and rams as much but I do want to grow the discus out a bit. I only plan on having two show tanks (both 150G).

Here is my floor plan (If you look at the original drawing, you can get an idea of how it fits in that space. The entire livingroom, dinning area, and the left wall of the loft and the left wall of the bedroom can be used for tanks. I do have a fireplace, which is why you see a 150G where that fireplace is. The fireplace has a ledge over it where it's about 2.5-3 feet deep. I'd custom make a 150G for that eventually. The little area that's colored in black is actual space. That's where the rack of 29s could go. It's a little over 30" wide. The window also has a ledge so I can't put things in front of it but I can put two to three 10Gs on there.

Getting the 33Gs after the BFD will be perfect. I could take up more space in the loft but I need an area for my office which is currently in the living room. The floor down there is also stronger.

Thanks for all the help so far Lucas!

 

[Termato]

Once I get home (closer to 5) I'll put down precise measurements for each wall/area I can put a tank.

 

[Forester]

Thanks for all the help so far Lucas!

Np, this is what I live for. I love it!

You would probably be better suited with lots of smaller tanks then a few larger ones.

Nice place. You certainly have options of where to put stuff.

Sounds good.

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[Termato]

So this took a while to measure everything but I just came up with a revised floor plan based on your suggestions. I basically removed everything from the second floor. That way it'd be easier to see everything at once and I can just move my entire office upstairs.

Check it out. Has measurements. I figured I can set up the rack of 10G later on because that wont be hard and it's easy to find a spot. I'm thinking I can set up another 4-8 10G easily with this set up.

 

[Termato]

Also, if you want to draw on top of something, I made it easier on this one:

That way it's exact.

 

[Becca]

Word of advice, don't do it in a rental, definitely not in an apartment, and absolutely not before you move.

Also, if you ignore all of that, you'd better have renters insurance.

Additionally, think about what you hope to get out of doing this. A lot of folks think they'll make money breeding fish, but it's extremely difficult to do this, even when dealing with fish that sell for high prices. Others want to be able to keep a wide variety of species and have some space to grow out spawns and quarantine newcomers.

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[Forester]

So this took a while to measure everything but I just came up with a revised floor plan based on your suggestions. I basically removed everything from the second floor. That way it'd be easier to see everything at once and I can just move my entire office upstairs.

Check it out. Has measurements. I figured I can set up the rack of 10G later on because that wont be hard and it's easy to find a spot. I'm thinking I can set up another 4-8 10G easily with this set up.

The only thing I would change would be the the left wall. If you switched out those tanks for a combo of pre-made racks, you could hold more tanks, more storage, and be able to move the tanks around without having to build new racks.

Here are three of the best steel racks I've found:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-77...-D-Steel-Shelving-Unit-ERZ782478W-4/202251082
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-60...in-H-Husky-Steel-5-SHELF-MR602478W5/203828237
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-48-in-W-X-24-in-D-X-78-in-H-Steel-5-Shelf-MR482478W5/203828250

With adjustable racks like those the possibilities are endless.

Ill post up a pic of mine soon

 

[Forester]

Here are mine. I got these racks awhile ago, but if I had to do it again I would go for the 24inD racks cause it just allows a lot more options.

If you go with adjustable racks.

The reason I suggest more smaller tanks over a few larger is mainly because it allows you to separate fish. It let's you grow out different broods separate, which helps you get the younger ones more food.

Hope this helps,

-Lucas

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