1500 Gallon Rain Barrel and Backyard Fish Breeding Project

1500 Poly Mart Rain Barrel and three 125 gallon galvanized steel breeding tanks to breed and raise baby fry. The system is powered by a Medo LA-45 Piston Air Pump to aerate the fish and a large pond pump to power the hose to water the entire back yard.

[@GoldenRoseRecords]

I believe every home should have this. Imagine everyone that supplies their own food and water

[@joeschmoe435]

Well that's not very Communist of you

[@YahushaIsTheWay]

@@joeschmoe435 😂

[@thefishylife6823]

I swear one day I'm gonna play with some rainwater, this is a fascinating setup you got going!!

[@BushmanUSA]

Awesome set up! Thank you for sharing and thank you for buying local!

[@ATXAquatics]

Thanks Poly-Mart - I have to say, the Poly Mart products are amazing - easy to work with and well designed. Thanks for making a great product.

[@johnthomas8969]

That’s freakin cool! Very well done!

[@Ironrodpower]

Wow This is cool. I just started a little something like this with a 300 gallon rain tank

[@ATXAquatics]

Post some videos and let me know - would love to see it!

[@KingDanGaming]

nice freaking way to compound a bunch of cool into ONE

[@ATXAquatics]

Thanks @KingDan Gaming. I should have a video on the new one at the new house up here in a bit - it's bigger, but somehow just not as cool as the first one. Hopefully it will come into it's own by the time I do the video.

[@topazfire974]

Im Impressed Is a really nice system.

[@WoeIsKing]

Great video

[@ATXAquatics]

Thanks!

[@SH-os1ck]

Really neat, wish I was skilled enough to do this type of thing.

[@superbmediacontentcreator]

I've got the skills but not the husband or the space. I would love to do this!

[@elihuthompson626]

Nice job

[@DMike54]

I can't wait to see what kind of fish will go in them.

[@ATXAquatics]

See reply above - fish selection pending the move of those tubs - the water just gets a little too warm to safely have fish in them. Live and learn ... I'll update once I have a plan.

[@shanesipple5185]

ATXAquatics what if you buried them. Let geothermal cool them down

[@lloydmcgriff98]

CRAZY AWESOME !!! *cheers* !!! =) Brilliant Build Sir. We ( my Son and I ) Are on a ``SAE`` project... Thank You So much for showing Your Super Genius Set Up !!!

[@ATXAquatics]

Interestingly, the spot where I choose to put the tubs was in full direct sunlight - which is Austin, TX means heat - lots of it - something to think about if you're planning a similar build. So, in the process of moving those tubs to a more suitable location so I can get some fish in them. For now, algae farms :)

[@TheHillbillyHybrid]

I love your video

[@ATXAquatics]

Thanks - it was one of my first, so somewhat awkward at times - but hopefully they will get better with time.

[@xolo9086]

This is exactly what I want

[@sylviacaceres4008]

🌴🙌🏼🎶🌺🤗✨👍Your wife must be proud of you !!!! 🎉💪

[@barrysinclair2206]

I live in east Texas and I'm wondering about when it's not raining, should it be a good idea to have a bubbler system for each tank to eliminate mosquitos, or put a perch, bream in each tank to eat the mosquitoes and or larva

[@ATXAquatics]

Pretty cold up there in East Texas these days I imagine. The rain overflow acts as a kind of water change but it's not the only source of water movement - the small pump in the lower pond cycles water constantly. That said, a bubbler and / or some mosquito eaters would be a good idea during the part of the year when I don't have any breeding / tropical fish in there.

[@al70127]

Hello. Where did you get that gutter water catchment/debris filter at 8:27 or what are they called? I've been looking for that. Nice setup by the way. Thanks!

[@ATXAquatics]

Here is an amazon link to it - they are a little pricey, but they work like a charm. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004VMG05C. In retrospect, I probably should have also added a downspout flush - adds a bit of work and money to the project, but I think it would have been worth it over time. Here's a link to that - www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001OWG6BU. I've recently moved and in the process of building a new rain water system - I'll put a link to that video above once I get it done.

[@KennyJacobs]

Hello, have you had any fish deaths in the galvanized tanks? I keep getting warned about not using them for tilapia because of the zinc.

[@ATXAquatics]

I haven't had fish in these long enough to say with any certainty, but we used to have fish in all the galvanized water tanks we used to water our cattle back when I was little and never had a problem there - some of those goldfish live 20 or more years and were enormous. I did a little looking before I went with galvanized to see if there was any new / different information about poisoning, but couldn't find anything. That said, I wasn't eating the goldfish - I think I would just go with plastic if you're going to be eating the occupants out of an abundance of caution.

[@chasingamurderer]

Notice what type ppl do these things

[@itsyah]

Amazing, any info where to find the items for this build? Thanks in advance!

[@ATXAquatics]

I got the main storage barrel locally, but the store recently closed down. You can go to poly-mart.com and click on Find a Dealer to find one in your area. As far as the 125 gallon tanks - sometimes they are available on Amazon - which is great because free shipping - but it's intermittent. I got one of mine on Amazon and 3 of them from a local feed store - at the end of the day those are cattle watering troughs. The air pump was from Amazon and the water pump was for another project a very long time ago - I think maybe from a pool supply store. I'm in the process of moving to another house and going to reset things up there - I'll make sure and provide a list of parts and where I got them in the next video.

[@leecoleman822]

✔️

[@jeffbacon974]

Where did you get the plastic frame for inside the galvanized tanks. I need to do this for my horse/perch tanks.

[@ATXAquatics]

Hi Jeff - I actually made those, but it's super easy to do. Do a search for white polystyrene egg crate louver - it's basically one of those covers that goes under lights in office buildings. They come in 2ft by 4ft panels. You basically just cut pieces as needed using a jig saw or plyers and use PVC glue to attach them. Let it dry for 24 hours and your good to go. The pad on the inside is just a very thick bulk aquarium filter pad that I also cut to fit. Good luck!

[@JoshWitte]

Any issues with zinc leeching from the tanks into the water?

[@NauticalMonkey]

I had heard about that happening in the past - but doesn't seem be a problem. I haven't really tested anything directly though. Anecdotally, I did grow up on a ranch and we had basically the same "water troughs" I'm using here with goldfish in them for decades with no problems. It's kind of a built in water changing system with the cows though - they drink water, more water comes in, etc. Interestingly, they also acted as vacation feeders because they don't floss their teeth they were always dropping all kinds of things in the water that the goldfish ate :) Worked out well for everyone!

[@ATXAquatics]

See answer above Josh. Thanks.

[@ryansoares632]

Hey, really neat, can I ask what’s the water pump that your using?

[@ATXAquatics]

It's a crazy big pump that I had for a huge pond I had at one of my other houses. I wouldn't recommend it - I had to manually turn it off and on and it sucked up a lot of electricity. This is the one that I'm using now - just read down the page for the size that might work for you. Basically these turn on when you need water and turn off when you don't - i.e., they maintain a constant pressure in the line - so they turn on when you water things and turn off when you close the tap. www.plastic-mart.com/category/272/water-pumps I've installed 4 of them at my new house and they are rock solid so far (admittedly only 6 months at this point).

[@daffyslanding1]

Where can I get one of the filters like on top of your main storage tank? I just installed at 1000gallon system but no filters...

[@ATXAquatics]

Mine came with the rain barrels, so you might check with whoever you got it from. If that's no possible it should be fairly easy to fashion one. At the end of the day it's just a screen attached to a circular frame. You could start with some screen (like people use for windows or a screen door) and than cut the top couple of inches off from a 5 gallon bucket - attach the screen to the bucket frame and your done. Alternatively, I have seen people just put a piece of hardware cloth (rigid wire mesh) over the opening - that works too.

[@anlowman9228]

Any update on this system? Or the tree system you are building?

[@ATXAquatics]

I've moved away from there, but the new owners tell me things are going well. I'm in the process of building a new system, so I'll be doing more regular updates on that - stay tuned!

[@anlowman9228]

@@ATXAquatics Look forward to seeing it!

[@gmoneypeters3722]

Where did you get those stock tanks ?

[@ATXAquatics]

I got one of them on Amazon but haven't been able to find them there for a year or so - I'm sure that's Covid related. I was able to find some additional ones for a new project I'm working on at McCoys - they have a huge stock of them which I'm guessing they stockpiled prior to Covid hitting - www.mccoys.com/ - not sure if you have one in your city, but you can check here.

[@bloodybob3750]

where can i find the filter cages and filter material?

[@ATXAquatics]

I just made those. I took the acrylic light panel covers (like you see in an office) and cut them to size and than used PVC glue to put them together. The sponge material on the inside is just bulk aquarium sponge that I also cut to fit. It's a pretty simple build / design, but does a pretty good job filtering crap out of the filter system. They also create a good surface area for beneficial bacteria - so pretty good all the way around.

[@wjustin09]

Make more videos!!

[@ATXAquatics]

Thanks Justin - working on a new system now - should be up in a few months - slow and steady wins the race right :)

[@josephgmann3878]

Did you have to seal the interior of those galvanized tanks to make it safe for the fish

[@ATXAquatics]

I didn't seal them on the theory that we had those kinds of tanks on the farm I grew up on for decades with fish in them and they never rusted and the fish were fine. That's just anecdotal but it's a pretty good indication that it's safe.

[@josephgmann3878]

@@ATXAquatics Thank you for replying I’m about to start building my own patio pond because my wife really wants some coil and I was just curious. I did end up purchasing a liner to put on the inside just in case.

[@ATXAquatics]

@@josephgmann3878 - if you do a video send me a link - love to see what you get going.

[@specUVdust]

Metal tanks are toxic to the fish and could either kill them, or contaminate them perhaps if you end up going with a species you’re going to be eating. Also kind of funny was that you went through so much trouble to filter the rainwater, yet it’s raining in the entire system the whole time, LOL!

[@ATXAquatics]

I just love doing the "systems" probably as much as keeping the fish. I've been doing some recent experiments that seem to indicate that the galvanized tanks may not be poisonous to fish - at least not after they have had a chance to cure - we'll see as time goes on.

[@Goodellsam]

Is there a roof over that? Doesn't it rain?

[@ATXAquatics]

No roof. When we are lucky is does - we've been in a bit of a drought for a bit. I'm trying to contextualize your question but, I'm not entirely sure where you're going with that ... Yup, it rains ... I believe it's a good thing for the system ... What am I missing? Apologies if I'm completely missing what you're asking.

[@marklorrow1667]

I sorry but the plants on the side look something like cannabis that would be cool for me i guess😁😂😁 but for real great work nice

[@nomadismileseeker6611]

Does the ATX stand for what I think?

[@ATXAquatics]

ATX is just an abbreviation for Austin Texas

[@nomadismileseeker6611]

@@ATXAquatics that’s what I was referring to. 👍

[@giovanni545]

Revelation 14:12 (King James Version) 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

[@hanks_backyard]

I wonder if Jesus collected rainwater ... I'll bet he did, he was pretty thrifty that way I'd guess.

[@ATXAquatics]

Just a fish channel - give me a break dude.

[@giovanni545]

Откровение 14:12 (Версия короля Джеймса) 12 Здесь терпение святых, здесь соблюдающие заповеди Божии и веру в Иисуса.

[@ATXAquatics]

Dude - this is just a fish channel.