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inkidu
04-07-2010, 01:39 PM
No offense but sometimes I feel like a freshwater guy in a saltwater world.

Discus fish are what I always liked maybe one day I will get salty.

Been thinking about a monster diy saltwater tank i.e. only one side glass/acrylic. Lion fish.

But I first want to be able to raise the food. Peppermint Shrimp

Here is my idea. Set up a channel made of pipe that switches back on itself

several times. All along the length of the trough, pipe cut in half, alternate flat 1/4 pie shape

pieces that would be like boulders in a creek i.e. set up eddy currents that would trap/hold up

young peppermint Shrimp. Make the pipe long enough that almost certainly some of the shrimp would

get big enough before the end of the pipe. (I have read that they are very susceptible to "mechanical"

damage). Have a slight drop along the length of the trough use low water flow and of course

use an algae scrubber. ?'s that come to mind. Could this even work? What diameter pipe?

What flow? How long would the pipe need to be? Weighing the return for the amount of trouble/cost?

I have read one main problem/issue with lion fish is feeding them. One great thing would be to see a predator

do its thing. I do keep discus.

Young peppermint shrimp like the dark. (great less I would need to do)

Reasons this might work. They eat copepods. They are sensitive to nitrates.

Algae scrubber provides food and zero nitrates.

What does anyone think?

rygh
04-07-2010, 03:15 PM
That's why I put the squiggly smile by the Coraline note.
But the blue-ok concept still applies. Same algae, partly adapted to blue from living in water.

The pipe/shrimp things seems ... fishy. (Ugh)
No real ideas there.
But you probably need a real refugium, not just a few pipes.
Interestingly, you probably want ATS -> refugium -> main tank -> sump -> pump up to ATS.

inkidu
04-09-2010, 02:24 PM
Rygh, it might seem fishy but sometimes I just let my mind swim. Is this worth its own thread.

Time will tell. This idea is in its infancy.

One thing I would adjust is that the 1/4 pie shape that creates the "boulders" should maybe

increased to 3/8 of a pie shape i.e. not only will it create a simple eddy but one that has dug a "hole" for itself.

So the "hole" might collect some of the newborn shrimp.

The way I feel, is to do a predator justice, you need to let it do what comes naturally.

Cuttlefish (predator)is another one I would like to consider if I go salty. There are some that are FW.

My main problem with cuttlefish is that they don't live very long. That said as far as I am concerned the pinnacle of keeping fish is if they breed.

Has anyone tried to keep and/or breed cuttlefish with a algae scrubber setup.

Any help would be appreciated.