Thanks for all the interest everyone, it has been a great weekend. The female pup is doing great, and the water continues to test perfectly.
I added another couple of buckets of lava rock today, and I have ordered 3 cubic ft of scrubbies. This new sump setup is working wonderfully, and it willonly get better.
I won't be changing out any lava rock, but I'm sure that I will need to periodically clean it a bit and stir it up. Maybe it won't be necessary to often though, because I intend to add ozone to the system at some point which will help keep it clean.
The Tilapia continue to do wonderfully, and I cannot wait to set up more tanks to get a gen II going. I intend to carry out several lines of these blues to improve the genetics. It doesn't seem like anyone is doing this yet, so it will be a great project. It seems like all of the Blue Tilapia available now are pond bred random genetics, and judging from the ones I went through to get my breeders, they are quite varied in their growth rates and body form. Within a year or 2, I will be proud to offer genetically pure blues that will out-do all of the others in growth, beauty, and cold tolerance.
I truely believe that I have learned all of my lessons with the rays. I can't hesitate to admit that there are many experts with skill and knowledge far surpassing what I have, but as far as my own water supplies and needs for my own ray system, I am confident that I have it under control.
Now that my sump is upgraded, I am ready to plumb in my new pool. The new sump is ready to handle the flow of a second pump, and I cannot wait to give these kids some more space. The problem that arrises is that I'm not sure any of the current rays want to be separated. They are so happy together... But in reality, I need to separate them so that I can control the parentage. I have an awesome Leo mix hybrid that is competing for sex with my Motoro male...and I need to be sure I know who is the father of all the upcoming pups.
I'm really glad I got the sump upgrade done. I do have more lava rock to wash and install, but My main focus (other than tank maintenance) is going to be getting my racecar ready to win on 7/17. There isn't a lot of time, but then again, there isn't much to do other than hope my engine guy gets his part done...
I like going really fast...
Mike
I added another couple of buckets of lava rock today, and I have ordered 3 cubic ft of scrubbies. This new sump setup is working wonderfully, and it willonly get better.
I won't be changing out any lava rock, but I'm sure that I will need to periodically clean it a bit and stir it up. Maybe it won't be necessary to often though, because I intend to add ozone to the system at some point which will help keep it clean.
The Tilapia continue to do wonderfully, and I cannot wait to set up more tanks to get a gen II going. I intend to carry out several lines of these blues to improve the genetics. It doesn't seem like anyone is doing this yet, so it will be a great project. It seems like all of the Blue Tilapia available now are pond bred random genetics, and judging from the ones I went through to get my breeders, they are quite varied in their growth rates and body form. Within a year or 2, I will be proud to offer genetically pure blues that will out-do all of the others in growth, beauty, and cold tolerance.
I truely believe that I have learned all of my lessons with the rays. I can't hesitate to admit that there are many experts with skill and knowledge far surpassing what I have, but as far as my own water supplies and needs for my own ray system, I am confident that I have it under control.
Now that my sump is upgraded, I am ready to plumb in my new pool. The new sump is ready to handle the flow of a second pump, and I cannot wait to give these kids some more space. The problem that arrises is that I'm not sure any of the current rays want to be separated. They are so happy together... But in reality, I need to separate them so that I can control the parentage. I have an awesome Leo mix hybrid that is competing for sex with my Motoro male...and I need to be sure I know who is the father of all the upcoming pups.
I'm really glad I got the sump upgrade done. I do have more lava rock to wash and install, but My main focus (other than tank maintenance) is going to be getting my racecar ready to win on 7/17. There isn't a lot of time, but then again, there isn't much to do other than hope my engine guy gets his part done...
I like going really fast...
Mike
