The "Jools' new fishroom post"

[MatsP]

The ones at MA@Oxford (Wheately) are offspring of Jools' fish, by the way. They were owned by Rupert Collins before he moved to New Zealand.

Well, that means they're not

Pseudohemiodon apithanos

then. How much are they going for at what size?

Jools

Ah, yes. They may or may not be then!

--
Mats

[zenyfish]

Those neosilurus and madtoms are too cool! And I was under the impression that madtoms just hide under a rock all day.

[racoll]

The ones at MA@Oxford (Wheately) are offspring of Jools' fish, by the way. They were owned by Rupert Collins before he moved to New Zealand.

That was about a year ago now, when I took them to the shop, so they may or may not be the same fish.

Alternatively, they may have got a new wild shipment of either the real P. apithanos or the misidentified P. sp. "marbled".

[Marc van Arc]

It's very nice to be able to revisit the fishroom while sitting in my own living . Great videos!

[Jools]

Those neosilurus and madtoms are too cool! And I was under the impression that madtoms just hide under a rock all day.

Only if keep don't stuff the tank with plants like their natural habitat. Add plant cover end they're happy.

Jools

[Richard B]

The ones at MA@Oxford (Wheately) are offspring of Jools' fish, by the way. They were owned by Rupert Collins before he moved to New Zealand.

How much are they going for at what size?

Jools

If i remember correctly they were £11.50 , quite small, 3-4 "TL

[evesonevo]

Thats a lot cheaper than i'd thought they'd be, seriously tempted now just the 400 mile round trip putting me off.
Anyone from round that way popping up north by any chance?
Col.

[Richard B]

if they still have them, & you want some, i might meet you somewhere in the middle - ish, perhaps...

[evesonevo]

if they still have them, & you want some, i might meet you somewhere in the middle - ish, perhaps...

That would be great thanks Richard, i'll give them a ring tommorow to see if they've still got them in stock.
Col

[andywoolloo]

What kind of goldfishes are Bill & Ted? They are cool. Are they commons or comets?

[grokefish]

Cool.

Matt

[andywoolloo]

what size are most of those tanks in the fish room, like the one the goldfish are in, they mostly seem that size, also what substrate are you mainly using? Like in the barb tank with the suspicious granulosas and the goldfish tank.

oh and p.s. what type are they , they are beauiful.

I heard you say they are 18 " front to back.

[L number Banana]

Wow, just catching up on this post - those videos are superb!

1) Thank for letting my hear my Great GrandDad's accent again, a very natural story-telling accent

2) That's blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in your antique tank Really feel silly advising you but if it's still there, vacuum and then increase the flow, mini power head across the sand - poof gone.

3) N. ater, still my all time wish list fish - they are bee-oo-tiful! Absolutely no catfish compares. Graceful, whiskery and svelte.

4) Really good idea with the pond liner flaps.

5) Hoplo tank, what's on the surface, it's looks like it's duckweed? I tried duckweed in mine but they kept eating it all.

6) Just being nosey but what's the posters near the back wall? Looks like maybe a fish species poster? Maybe PC could get some of our more artsy types to each draw a fish, produce something similar and the profits go back to the site? I'd buy one or three if it was all catfish.

Thanks for taking the time Jools, nice tour!

[Jools]

What kind of goldfishes are Bill & Ted? They are cool. Are they commons or comets?

They're about half way between both. If they were dogs they'd be mongrels - one has a hair lip.

Jools

[Jools]

what size are most of those tanks in the fish room, like the one the goldfish are in, they mostly seem that size, also what substrate are you mainly using? Like in the barb tank with the suspicious granulosas and the goldfish tank.

oh and p.s. what type are they , they are beauiful.

http://thepieraquatics.blogspot.com/200 ... barbs.html

Tank sizes are mostly in "My Aquaria".

[Jools]

Wow, just catching up on this post - those videos are superb!

1) Thank for letting my hear my Great GrandDad's accent again, a very natural story-telling accent
2) That's blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in your antique tank Really feel silly advising you but if it's still there, vacuum and then increase the flow, mini power head across the sand - poof gone.
3) N. ater, still my all time wish list fish - they are bee-oo-tiful! Absolutely no catfish compares. Graceful, whiskery and svelte.
4) Really good idea with the pond liner flaps.
5) Hoplo tank, what's on the surface, it's looks like it's duckweed? I tried duckweed in mine but they kept eating it all.
6) Just being nosey but what's the posters near the back wall? Looks like maybe a fish species poster? Maybe PC could get some of our more artsy types to each draw a fish, produce something similar and the profits go back to the site? I'd buy one or three if it was all catfish.

Thanks for taking the time Jools, nice tour!

1) Glad you liked it - I'm not very good at any other accent!
2) I know, it's just lazyness on my part, it's been eradicated now by putting the (strong) light on for less time/day.
3) Yeah - that's why I've built a tank around them.
4) Ta, not my idea originally (Colin Dunlop suggested it to me), just added on the design. I've recently seen this done with black polystyrene and duck tape too.
5) Yup, that's duckweed. If I stop feeding them, they eat it eventually.
6) There are some l-number posters and two great fishes of Southern Africa posters that Shane gave to me.

Jools

[Jools]

So, looking now at replacing the various air pumps in the room with one big pump. Anyone got recommendations and pics of their implementations?

Cheers,

Jools

[MatsP]

I have an Atman 12000 HP (or something like that - I saw that Neil had one or a similar in March). Only drawback is that it's a noisy thing... Besides the tanks themselves, I have 6" airstones in my RO water storage, and all three sump systems, so a total of 14 airstones, and it's still so much that I have to release some air with a piece of air hose with nothing connected to avoid too much air into the tanks. It does something like 110 liter per minute (as opposed to the bigger small airpumps that do 50-400 liter per HOUR).

My air distribution is just regular 6mm airline routed all over the place. However, if I redid it now, I'd use plastic pipe and drill 4mm holes that I stuff a "airline male-to-male connector" into the hole, and run airline only a as far as is needed - mostly because it makes it possible to run new airlines wherever/whenever, rather than having to either find a suitable line to branch, or to route one all the way from the airpump to wherever it needs to go. But the pump I got has a 12-outlet manifold to connect 6mm air-hose.

Edit: I'd probably use standard overflow pipe for the distribution of air if I did it over again.

--
Mats

[Lloydy]

Great job Jools, wonderful to see how this has developed over almost 2 years, I look forward to more pictures & videos in the future

I was curious as to why you decided to go for lots of smaller / medium size tanks rather than a smaller number of big tanks? An issue with space / layout, or just that you like to keep lots of different fish and therefore need the large number of tanks with different setups?

[drpleco]

So, looking now at replacing the various air pumps in the room with one big pump. Anyone got recommendations and pics of their implementations?

Cheers,

Jools

I'm not sure if they ship to the UK, but I got my air system supplies from www.jehmco.com. I use the 80 liter per minute linear air pump and it supplies plenty if air for 1000 gallons with about 40 outlets. It's rated for up to 80 outlets so I have room to expand. I just put the fishroom to bed but I'll try for some pics tomorrow. I use a system like Mats mentioned with PVC pipe running around the room and air valves drilled and tapped into it. It's a PITA to drill and tap the holes and then Teflon tape the valves, but worth it in the long run. The best part of the linear air pump is that it is very quiet - probably equivalent to a standard 2-outlet air pump.

[Jools]

I was curious as to why you decided to go for lots of smaller / medium size tanks rather than a smaller number of big tanks? An issue with space / layout, or just that you like to keep lots of different fish and therefore need the large number of tanks with different setups?

I'm more interested in breeding different species than keeping lots of fish or some big fish. It's more of a challenge too.

Jools

[Jools]

I'm not sure if they ship to the UK, but I got my air system supplies from http://www.jehmco.com. I use the 80 liter per minute linear air pump and it supplies plenty if air for 1000 gallons with about 40 outlets. It's rated for up to 80 outlets so I have room to expand.

Yes, I've always liked these linear pumps. However it's not the shipping that concerns me rather the difference in voltage supply in our two countries.

The noise isn't so much an issue and shipping to the UK might be expensive so I will probably go for something UK based unless I can be sure about the power issue.

These are good suggestions, does anyone else have any?


Jools

[retro_gk]

The noise isn't so much an issue and shipping to the UK might be expensive so I will probably go for something UK based unless I can be sure about the power issue.

I believe Jehmco will supply 220V versions of the linear piston pumps on request. I got hooked on them after seeing a couple in operation in the US and had a hell of a time tracking one down in India, where I am now.

Turns out most of these pumps are manufactured in Japan and sold under various brand names abroad. "Medo" and "Alita" seem to be commonly used trade names. They are commonly sold for outdoor goldfish ponds, and small sewage treatment facilities, amongst other uses. I finally got mine (a 220v model, equivalent to Jehmco's LPH80) direct from Japan via an import facility that mainly deals in hospital equipment. Ended up costing me the equivalent of just over 120 GBP, including shipping and import fees. All I needed was an adapter to fit the plug to the power outlet here.

You might want to check with garden pond suppliers first before looking to get one from abroad.

[drpleco]

retro_gk is right - the models jehmco sells are originally from Japan. I didn't climb up to check mine but I remember the instructions and box marked in Japanese. I like the pumps and my only complaint is that the air has to be "tweaked" so that all of the sponges have equal pressure. Shallow tanks have to be tuned back and even different types of sponge filters in the same tank can be problematic. I just go around a few times a week and make sure everything is flowing properly and it seems to be mostly stable once the initial adjustments are made.

Here are a couple shots from my fishroom:

Here are my pumps. One is the 80 liter model and the other is the 27 liter model. The big pump powers the perimeter of the room (1000 gallons) while the smaller one powers an island in the middle (500 gallons). I did it this way because I had the smaller pump from a previous small fishroom and it wasnt useful as a backup if I bought a 120 liter pump for the entire room. Both pumps are on a shelf suspended from the ceiling so that they're above the water line of the highest tank:



And some "plumbing"




I put elbows on the top of my sponge filters to create more surface disturbance:



And here are a couple shots to show that the system works:
a TON of tiger endlers:


kribensis;



alenquer L333

[GW_NL]

Wow! Great videos Jools!

After watching the videos, I Inmediately looked into your species list for the remarkeble catfish Neosilurus ater.

Never seen it before, truly magnificent creature.

[Jools]

drpleco,

OK, those metal air taps look handy and I think they might be US only but I am sure I could get a job lot. What are you using to seal them into the PVC pipe?

Jools

[drpleco]

Jools,

I used Teflon tape on the valves and to attach the pumps to the PVC. I used 1" PVC, but i'd use 3\4" if I did it again. I'm not sure, but I might lose a small amount of pressure with the bigger pipe. I primed and glued all if the PVC to PVC joints.

I imagine that you have connections here in the us, but I'd be happy to ship anything to you that you can't get in the UK. Here's a random link to Teflon tape, in case it's something you're not familliar with. Https://www.hardwareworld.com/12x520-Te ... NHD0U.aspx

Andy

[Borbi]

Hi,

at least "on the continent", these metal valves do exist, as well; I use them, too. Around 1.50€/2 pcs., so they are not too expensive. Don´t remember which company they are from, but I could get them even in the pet section of a DIY shop (so they shouldn´t be rare). If needed, I could find out which company made mine.

Cheers, Sandor

[MatsP]

Teflon take is definitely available in all good DIY/Hardware/Plumbing stores. There are two "qualities" - regular, thin variety, and the thicker "gas approved" variety. I'm pretty sure 3 ten-thousands of an inch is the thinner variety.

I don't think you loose pressure using a bigger pipe... You just need more volume of air before the pressure is built up fully.

--
Mats

[bronzefry]

I can't imagine my life without Teflon tape. Home Depot type places sell it for less than $2 American for 2 or 3 rolls.
Amanda