filter media ??

[cobyb]

hello all,
my breeding system was did not work out well. i decided to seperate the system from my dt and sump due to high nitrite levels. now i have a new 40 gal. breeder tank and a cascade 1500, and would like to get some input on witch kind of media would be best. im breedin bangaii cardinals and would like to keep it as simple as possable. t-5 lighting, bare bottom, cascade 1500 canister filter, 2 korilla 2's, no corals, a little live rock, and little babies.

look to here what would be the best options for media. and maybe how to create dividers for different age groups.
thanks for all the help.

 

[akunochi]

Well ideally a breeding setup is broken down into multiple tanks, but if you don't have the room for a true breeding bank then you're kinda limited. To give you an idea of a typical setup:

1st tank is painted black on all sides to minimize light as it can damage the young fry. This tank is usually a 10 gallon only filled with 1-2 gallons of green water and has merely an airstone for circulation. The water is changed twice daily.

Your next set of tanks are your grow out tanks. As the fry progress in size you transfer them into tank 2. This tank will hold the fry and allow you to begin the culling process. As the fish mature at different rates you will notice the larger ones becoming aggressive. Use a breeders net to seperate those fish from the smaller ones. once you have a group you put them in the next tank/section. Continue this process and eventually you will have many tanks all filled with different batches of fish. This creates your steady supply of fish.

For filtration I use a normal sumped setup with a HUGE fuge setup to absorb nutrients. If you are going to use a canister then use lots of carbon media and ammonia media changed out weekly at a minimum. Also skip teh T-5 lighting. It is far too intense for the young fish and can actually damage them during the initial period of growth. If you are serious about breeding and maintaining a supply then you will need more than 1 tank. Also while you do have 1 tank you can use glass or acrylic to separate it into chambers. Make the chambers go from small to larger to accommodate different ages of fish.

 

[cobyb]

im not trying to be a professional breeder by any means, i just found babies in ny dt one night and thought i would give it a whirl. im pretty limited on funds and space, so a bunch of tanks will unfortunatley not work. i will definitely reduce the lighting. thanks for the input on the carbon and ammonia media.