Recommended bio-filter for Bangaii grow-out tank?

[bigben]

Howdy,

My bangaii have just spawned for the fourth time in their "career". The fry should be released in about two weeks.

I have a 10gal tank to grow the fry in. I currently have an airpump hooked up to one of those cheap aerators plus a heater. Can anyone recommend a small "bio-wheel" type filter that I could use in this setup? Or, should I just do frequent small water changes from the main tank? I guess I could put some macroalgae in there from the refugium, but I don't have lights for it yet.

I could just leave the fry in the main tank since there are no predators (other than powerheads and an overflow). Any thoughts/suggestions? Thanks,

Ben

[Clyde]

none of my 10 frys survived their first breeding - or I could be wrong as I saw em one by one leave the crate I built for em and I havent seen em since

I will now buy a Eclipse system - dump the whole eclipse in my sump, having the overflow going through the system to seed the biowheel and some rocks in the small tank and have it pulled out in an instant and would be VERY cured :)

yes a few rocks, maybe an urchin long spine and a sandbed for em to be comfortable in..

[billsreef]

While I haven't raised Bangaii fry, I can tell you what usually works for other fish fry. Usually sponge filters are used for fry grow out tanks along with frequent (daily) small water changes. Any power filters need modification to prevent them from sucking up the fry. The sponge filters will provide excellent biological filtration without the draw back of sucking up any fry.

[bigben]

Thanks guys,

Bill, can you suggest any good brands/models? I will take a look at petwhse and other sites. Oh yeah, how much aeration is necessary? The airpump I'm using is fairly small. Thanks,

Ben

[billsreef]

The two most common brands of sponge filters are Lee's and Jungle. They look like they roll out of the same factory and probably do. I like the large corner sponge filter myself. A small air pump should be sufficient in a shallow tank. To quick cycle that sponge you can try sticking it the sand bed of your main tank and run there for a few hours or overnight, than move it to your fry tank, without rinsing off the sponge.

[bigben]

Thanks, Bill.

I actually just ordered a Lee's cloverleaf corner filter and another Tetra Luft airpump. Just one more question: The sponge will most likely accumulate waste/residue. Should I remove the sponge from the fry tank to clean or should I just syphon off the big particles. I'm afraid that removing the sponge will be detrimental to the bacteria residing there. Thanks for all the help,

Ben

[Rod Buehler]

A 10 gal tank with a few small rocks from your tank, and an air pump will be sufficiant. I would leave the end of the airline open ( no stone).

[FMarini]

Ratssss...I was out of town for a few days, and another good banggai Q? arises.
Ben:
Bill hit is rigth on the head, these little sponge filters are great for the grow out tanks, they seed easily and maintain decent water quality. One problem is that you'll be adding lots of food to this little tank, and it will foul quickly, ensure you do daily in not weekly water changes to remove lots of the dead brine nauplli.
Rod also mentions a great idea in that using live rock in the tank is also a excellent way of maintaining water quality in the grow-out tanks. If you had a chance to read my 98 article you'd see that I used the sponge filters in the 10gal grow out tanks.
Hopefully your also enriching your baby brine w/ selcon and phytoplanktons
frank
If you want more info on raising/breeding these fish find it here:
http://www.eparc.com/banggai/banggai.shtml

[bigben]

Rod: Thanks. I had thought of that, but I really don't have any rock to spare. Unfortunately, my main tank is only 20gal, so I have corals stuck to all of my rock.

Frank: Thanks. I figured removing all the dead shrimp would be necessary, because this is why my last brine shrimp tank was so very unsuccessful--waste buildup. I'll probably just siphon the dead ones out each day and do small water changes. Oh yeah, thanks for the link. You'll be happy to know that I was already referring to it for info :) Is this same '98 article you referred to, or is that somewhere else?

Ben

[gas4544]

I used a 10-gallon tank as my nursery tank with a corner sponge filter and caulerpa for the babies to hide in. I went with a bare glass bottom and a couple of pieces of live rock. I fed my first batch of babies live baby brine shrimp five times a day per Frank's directions and I did not lose any of the 22 babies until I shipped them to a buyer in Hawaii. Two of them did not make it, but the rest are doing great.