Thinking over how to build a transport rig for moving fish around.
The idea is to build a tank system out of acrylic within an enclosed trailer (racing car transporter etc to give an idea of style of enclosed trailer).
The trailer would be enclosed to keep the tanks warm (or cool depending on time of year and time of day of the transport), to provide physical protection to the tanks and for privacy.
The trailer can be quite long - 20 feet long would be no problem provided a small truck is setup to tow it (F150 or similar etc) and can be the legal width and 8 feet high to give head room for walking in to load/unload the tanks.
I dont see the trailer as a problem in anyway - this is old tech, well known and tried and proven over and over countless times. The trailer can be engineered to carry 2 tons without blinking and possibly as high as 3 tons (starting to push it a bit now) So far so good.
Now comes the hard part - designing a tank system. The tanks would have to be Acrylic for weight savings. The fact that acrylic is also a bit more insulating does not hurt. The tanks are not for show of course so pretty design is not a factor. The tanks can have braces inside the tanks to stop bowing/deflection.
The ideal would be to have a row of tanks down each wall of the trailer - so 2 rows - 1 down each side. Because the trailer can go as high as 8 feet it lets the tanks be 2+ feet high - but more on this in a bit.
Reasons for doing this are;
1/ Easier on the fish - rather then pack fish in bags/boxes as per the norm, the fish can be put into tanks with MUCH more water - when packing fish the usual way, the more water in the bag the better they travel. The reason why the least amount of water possible is put into transport bags is simply weight issues = cost of transport if being flown anywhere. More water per bag = fish arrive in better less stressed shape - there is ZERO doubt on that. If the fish are placed in tanks, of course there is LOTS more water.
2/ Packing time is reduced. If any of you have ever packed 40 boxes of fish you know how long it takes. Of course the fish that goes into a bag/box first is in there for hours longer then the fish that goes into the last bag/box. Strategies to deal with this are to pack the toughest hardiest fish first, but still..... If packing fish into tanks, the whole packing side could be finished in an hour instead of taking 8 hours to pack fish into bags/boxes. This puts considerably less stress on the fish. Less stress = better survival rates.
3/ Unpacking time vastly reduced. Again, unpacking 40 boxes of fish after a long drive when you are now very tired is no fun at all. Much easier to scoop fish out of tanks with a net and place into their new tanks on arrival. Much much faster and less stress on the fish.
Other benefits are that in a centrally plumbed transport rig, the transport tanks can be connected into whatever system the fish are coming out of and the same tank water circulated into the transport rig meaning water from the tanks the fish are in before transport can be circulated through the transport rig tanks. No shock for the fish being moved from tank to tank. Makes the process near seamless.
Same on the unload side. Hook the transport rig tanks into the tanks the fish are going into upon arrival and circulate for an hour or so. Fish can then be scooped out and placed straight into their new tanks.
So that's the rational behind the idea. Now to design the whole setup. Idea is to have a trailer custom built for the purpose. I expect this will run some $$$ but Que Sera, Sera, - right? I doubt anyone would be doing this for the money - if so they would be sorely disappointed. So while money is always an issue, its not the primary concern. Getting the transport rig right is.
So how to design the tanks?
I am at the earliest stages of thinking up a design, hence asking here for input on some of the ideas i am throwing around. I am thinking that a tall tank 3 feet high divided into sections to separate different types of fish is appropriate. This keeps aggressive fish away from the more delicate types. Allows separation of different types of the same species etc (think color morphs of the same species or silver females of the same species that came from different areas etc)
I guess i really need to learn sketchup to draw some plans to show what i am talking about.
My main issue is circulating water through the tanks at the various levels to make assure all fish get sufficient oxygen. How would i do that? If i have a water input how would i get that ciculated evenly over 2 or 3 "layers" within the master tank?
Thanks J.D
The idea is to build a tank system out of acrylic within an enclosed trailer (racing car transporter etc to give an idea of style of enclosed trailer).
The trailer would be enclosed to keep the tanks warm (or cool depending on time of year and time of day of the transport), to provide physical protection to the tanks and for privacy.
The trailer can be quite long - 20 feet long would be no problem provided a small truck is setup to tow it (F150 or similar etc) and can be the legal width and 8 feet high to give head room for walking in to load/unload the tanks.
I dont see the trailer as a problem in anyway - this is old tech, well known and tried and proven over and over countless times. The trailer can be engineered to carry 2 tons without blinking and possibly as high as 3 tons (starting to push it a bit now) So far so good.
Now comes the hard part - designing a tank system. The tanks would have to be Acrylic for weight savings. The fact that acrylic is also a bit more insulating does not hurt. The tanks are not for show of course so pretty design is not a factor. The tanks can have braces inside the tanks to stop bowing/deflection.
The ideal would be to have a row of tanks down each wall of the trailer - so 2 rows - 1 down each side. Because the trailer can go as high as 8 feet it lets the tanks be 2+ feet high - but more on this in a bit.
Reasons for doing this are;
1/ Easier on the fish - rather then pack fish in bags/boxes as per the norm, the fish can be put into tanks with MUCH more water - when packing fish the usual way, the more water in the bag the better they travel. The reason why the least amount of water possible is put into transport bags is simply weight issues = cost of transport if being flown anywhere. More water per bag = fish arrive in better less stressed shape - there is ZERO doubt on that. If the fish are placed in tanks, of course there is LOTS more water.
2/ Packing time is reduced. If any of you have ever packed 40 boxes of fish you know how long it takes. Of course the fish that goes into a bag/box first is in there for hours longer then the fish that goes into the last bag/box. Strategies to deal with this are to pack the toughest hardiest fish first, but still..... If packing fish into tanks, the whole packing side could be finished in an hour instead of taking 8 hours to pack fish into bags/boxes. This puts considerably less stress on the fish. Less stress = better survival rates.
3/ Unpacking time vastly reduced. Again, unpacking 40 boxes of fish after a long drive when you are now very tired is no fun at all. Much easier to scoop fish out of tanks with a net and place into their new tanks on arrival. Much much faster and less stress on the fish.
Other benefits are that in a centrally plumbed transport rig, the transport tanks can be connected into whatever system the fish are coming out of and the same tank water circulated into the transport rig meaning water from the tanks the fish are in before transport can be circulated through the transport rig tanks. No shock for the fish being moved from tank to tank. Makes the process near seamless.
Same on the unload side. Hook the transport rig tanks into the tanks the fish are going into upon arrival and circulate for an hour or so. Fish can then be scooped out and placed straight into their new tanks.
So that's the rational behind the idea. Now to design the whole setup. Idea is to have a trailer custom built for the purpose. I expect this will run some $$$ but Que Sera, Sera, - right? I doubt anyone would be doing this for the money - if so they would be sorely disappointed. So while money is always an issue, its not the primary concern. Getting the transport rig right is.
So how to design the tanks?
I am at the earliest stages of thinking up a design, hence asking here for input on some of the ideas i am throwing around. I am thinking that a tall tank 3 feet high divided into sections to separate different types of fish is appropriate. This keeps aggressive fish away from the more delicate types. Allows separation of different types of the same species etc (think color morphs of the same species or silver females of the same species that came from different areas etc)
I guess i really need to learn sketchup to draw some plans to show what i am talking about.
My main issue is circulating water through the tanks at the various levels to make assure all fish get sufficient oxygen. How would i do that? If i have a water input how would i get that ciculated evenly over 2 or 3 "layers" within the master tank?
Thanks J.D