Making a 'bait pond'

[CubanExpress]

Great information & write up, CubanExpress

Thanks, rare!

[CubanExpress]

Was thinking of a way on cutting down the bacteria cycle. Can't you add existing live rock to jump start the process? I know the live rock has to come from the water and can't be in the air for more than a few second for the bacteria dies off, but thinking a few years back I remember my mom spending a lot of cash on 'live' live rock from the pet store so she could add fish earlier.

Crsty; you can, but you'll have to add at least 200 pounds of live rock because of the size of your tank. It really doesn't substantially speed up the process of establishing a new biological filter. What live rock will do is take the filtering load off the new biological filter media until it starts to cultivate enough nitrifying bacteria to start doing work on it's own. Remove the live rocks and the bio filter will still need close to 9 weeks to complete a nitrification cycle. It's all based on biology, just like how a woman's reproductive cycle can last anywhere between 28 to 32 days. Nature has to run it's course, so be patient.

Going to get this moving, probably today.

Dimensions: My liner is 10' x 7' 7"

Possible sizes:
96 x 48 x 15 = 299 gallons
84 x 42 x 15 = 229 gallons

I'm leaning with the second size. I'll be cutting it close with a 15" depth and wanting a 48" wide pond(liner wise), 42" width should give some more room to work with and should make 'catching bait' easier. 15" depth should give them enough water to feel safe in(I'll probably throw some type of plastic mangrove thing to provide cover), 7x3.5 should be enough room for them to swim and get exercise and 229 gallons should be enough water to house a good 100 or so baits with a proper filter.

84 x 42 x 15 will be plenty, it's better to be slightly smaller, than to come up short on the pond liner after building the foundation. Good idea on adding some cover, pinfish love it!

Thoughts?

I need to test the salt levels in my local canal and other ones that are close by next to where I'll be setting my pinfish trap, which at this point will probably be down in Miami somewhere since I'm not getting crap around here. Where's the closest point going north from Ft Lauderdale that's reliable for pins?

Using the floating hydrometer you'll notice it's marked in decimals. A good starting point is .019 - .021. In the wild salinity swings up and down all the time. Rainy seasons cause the salinity to drop, and during dry seasons the salinity rises. Fish adapt without problems. The water at the inlet from an incoming tide will be .024 give or take, but I'd recommend adding freshwater, preferably R/O to lower the salinity, it's much healthier for fish in captivity.

Also for a 12v pump...

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-ma ... -9576.html

about 3.3 GPM, which isn't bad considering one from tractor supply co. was 3.8 GPM and they wanted $80 or so. $80 seems to be the starting price for most of them, while this one goes for $35. Any suggestions here would be great.

Looks like the best deal going locally is river marine supply. Seachoice bilge pumps starting at $18.95 for their 600 GPH model. The 1000 GPH is $22.95. Each model has a 1 year warranty, over the counter replacement.

[CrstyCptSWitherspoon]

Oh nice find on the pumps. Any tips on a cheap way to store the water as I transport it? Was thinking some kinda drum or something...

Currently removing plants from the area that this thing will go in. For aesthetic purposes I think I'll actually be making the pond 72 x 36 x 20/24. It just fits a bit nicer in the corner and fits under an already existing plastic roof type thing to keep the rain out. I'll still need to make a secondary roof/cover for it to give it more shade and protect from the rain more, but this will still help. I also feel since it's a smaller dimension length/width wise and deeper, it will more easily hide from the sun allowing the water temp to stay lower.

[CubanExpress]

**Edit** I forgot to put 1 before the decimal point. It should be 1.019 - 1.021 salinity as a good starting point. The water from the incoming tide at the inlet is around 1.024 give or take.

Oh nice find on the pumps. Any tips on a cheap way to store the water as I transport it? Was thinking some kinda drum or something...

Currently removing plants from the area that this thing will go in. For aesthetic purposes I think I'll actually be making the pond 72 x 36 x 20/24. It just fits a bit nicer in the corner and fits under an already existing plastic roof type thing to keep the rain out. I'll still need to make a secondary roof/cover for it to give it more shade and protect from the rain more, but this will still help. I also feel since it's a smaller dimension length/width wise and deeper, it will more easily hide from the sun allowing the water temp to stay lower.

The 55 gallon poly barrels will be the cheapest way to transport the saltwater. And yes, try to make sure it gets lots of shade. Not only for temps, but to keep the water from getting an algae bloom.

[CrstyCptSWitherspoon]

Just got back from home depot. Picked up 16 cinder blocks and a shovel(mine was broke ). Cleared out where the pond will go. I'll start digging and lay the liner tomorrow. Tarpon fishing tonight

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... ogId=10053

$.84/gallon. 44 inches high and the truck I use has a cab on the back so this might be my best option. I'll buy 2-4 of them depending where I'll be getting the water from.

[CubanExpress]

The measurement on a 55 gallon poly barrel is 35" high by 24" wide.

[CubanExpress]

Crsty; Remember, don't do any water changes until it cycles all the way. If you have a water test kit, you can find out when your saltwater livewell has fully cycled by testing it's water parameters. When you initially fill up the well: ammonia, and nitrite will be at zero, and nitrate should be under 2 parts per million (possibly unregisterable depending on what test kit you're using) What's going to happen next is during the first week or two ammonia is going to build up from fish waste.

The test results will look something like this...




Slowly but surely, 'nitrosomonas bacteria' will develop in your new bio filter and start oxidizing the ammonia, converting it to nitrite. Test results should look something like this.





With high nitrites, a new bacteria will develop called 'nitrobacter bacteria'.

Test results showing nitrobacter bacteria hard at work, converting nitrite into nitrate




Close to nine weeks, nitrosomonas and nitrobacter will both be present in large quantities located in the biofilter. Test results showing nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacterias working together to convert harmful ammonia, and nitrite, into safe nitrate.



It's exactly the same process that takes place when cycling a freshwater aquarium tank, or pond. However, a freshwater tank or pond will cycle in about 4 weeks due to having a lower PH. The high alkalinity and PH in saltwater retards growth and reproduction rates of both the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacterias. Really, the only difference between freshwater and saltwater is that one is loaded with sodium chloride (salt).

[CrstyCptSWitherspoon]

Thanks again for your help.

The pond has been dug out and the liner laid. Filled it up with fresh water to let it mold and settle for a few days until I get some saltwater in there and build the filter. Also need to pick up some cap stones to cover the top of the liner laying across the cinder block. Laid out it's roughly 6' x 4' x 2' and is somewhere near 300-320 gallons. I'll have to snap some pics and show some documentation.

[CubanExpress]