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Comment by TCLynx on November 7, 2011 at 12:08pm

What do your water test kits say?

Get the Filtration going ASAP!!!!!  Ammonia can build up even when the fish are not eating much.  You do the water changes based on water quality.  If you have measurable ammonia or nitrite I would be doing partial water changes daily until you get your filtration online then you need to let the filtration cycle up (which could be pretty hard on your fish since you have to let the ammonia and nitrite spike a bit to let the bacteria have something to eat and get going but this also exposes your fish to a toxic situation.

So, Don't feed.  Don't warm your water up too fast, you will need to base your changes on the toxicity of the ammonia which varies based on pH and temperatures.

 

Then once your filter is cycled up (that will be when your ammonia and nitrite are both 0 and you have some nitrates and you are able to feed your fish) you will be able to slowly figure out how much water you need to change out and how often to keep your nitrites from rising off the chart or into a range that is unreadable by you when you run the tests.  The fish can survive fairly high nitrates but if you just let them rise and keep rising you won't be able to read what they really are without doing complex dilution tests and since you don't have plants to use up nitrates for your indoor system you should do the water changes to keep them in the orange.  How much and how often will depend on your fish load and how much your are feeding them.

 

That said, I think you may find that you have too many fish for the amount of filtration if you warm the water up to the point where they start eating well.

Comment by Conrad Chin-Yee on November 7, 2011 at 11:43am

TCLynx

I didn't know that. Water changes it is then. How often and how much to change for 125 gallons? I changed 15 gallons yesterday as I sucked up some detritus since I don't have a filter yet.

 

I just ordered two Eheim Jager Thermosttat Heaters for my indoor wintering/breeding aquariums...hope these are good ones!

Comment by TCLynx on November 7, 2011 at 7:08am

Conrad,

You don't need charcoal, the charcoal itself doesn't remove ammonia, nitrite or nitrate.  The charcoal might make a fine home for bacteria which convert ammonia to nitrite and the next bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate which is what the plants would remove in a aquaponic system but if you are not running this as aquaponics, you will have to do regular water changes to remove excess nitrates. 

The charcoal is handy for capturing things like chlorine and some metals but doesn't actually remove any of the ammonia, nitrite or nitrate.

Comment by Conrad Chin-Yee on November 7, 2011 at 6:15am

I have my 125 gallon on a home made stand of cement blocks and sitting on a platform built out of 4  2x4s covered top and bottom with 3/4 plywood and 1/2 plywood. I have 6 large tilapia from my outside breeding tank together with my 30 2-3 " fingerlings plus about 10 babies. Tank has some MB3 media floating in a net bag, and PVC homes

 

No filter set up yet but have an airstone. My filter foam arrives today and I plan to do a whole-tank filter set up with foam blocking off one end of the aquarium with a water pump in it with the exit hose blowing water our of the filter end into the main tank. Will also have to make a DIY bio-filter using my MB3 and my existing air stone. 

How do I remove the ammonia, nitrite, nitrates etc. w/o using a charcoal filter?

What kind of heater is the best to heat my indoor 125 gallon breeding tank? I need to get one soon and fish aren't eating...water too cold. I will try to post some pics later

Conrad

Comment by Sahib Punjabi on November 7, 2011 at 5:20am

Very nice Dave :-)

Comment by Dave Lindstedt on November 6, 2011 at 10:48pm

Some recent photos of my operation

Disregard the dates shown

.  These were taken last week

 

 

Comment by rj woodard on October 26, 2011 at 8:45pm

can you tell me where to get a few red nile fingerlings?

Thanks, RJ

Comment by Jon Parr on October 25, 2011 at 9:37pm

and here are my golds spawning.  it takes a couple of minutes of video to see the eggs come out.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy86RmHkVGs

Comment by Jon Parr on October 25, 2011 at 9:30pm

here's a clip of my tilapia fingerlings munching on mosquito larva

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5vlvscNYQE

Comment by Dave Lindstedt on October 25, 2011 at 8:12pm

I bought the last 2 200 watt heaters.  Installed one in the 20 gal tank and one in the 40 gal tank.  I ordered 3 400 watt heaters.  I intend to put two in the 330 gal tank and 1 in the 100 gal tank.  Fish certainly prefer the warmer water in the 86 to 88 degree area.  Water temp. is a subject frequently overlooked.

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