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AquaRanch™ Systems Liners for Tanks & Ponds Aquaculture in Education Comments & Articles |
Fisheries
AquaRanch ™ Read the entire paragraph thoroughly before beginning the assembly required for each number. Keep the aerial pictures of your system and the list of System Components near by for reference. 1. When positioning your system, keep observers in mind, especially if installing a Culture Tank window. Tighten all of the bulkhead fittings on the Culture tanks and the Bio-Filter tank. You may want to use silicone between the two parts of each bulkhead fitting to insure a watertight seal. 2. Position the culture tanks in the desired location. The angled Bulk Head Fittings should face the same direction. Slide Styrofoam insulation board or other padding underneath the tanks for insulation. You may want to cut away the excess padding from around the base; however, you will need to wait until assembly is complete and the tanks are filled to do so. 3. When positioning the Filtration Units, keep the drain outlets in mind. The plumbing from the drain outlets can be elbowed over or go straight to the drain. On the Clarifier, one side has three outlets; the outlet in the center is for the drain. The Bio-Filter has one side with outlets close to the ground. One of those will be the drain. The Clarifier & Bio-Filter outlets (at waist-to-chest-level) should face each other. Position the Filtration Units in-between the culture tanks. The drain outlet on the Clarifier should be on the same side as the angled Culture Tank outlets. The drain outlet on the Bio-Filter should be on the same side as the straight Culture Tank outlets. There should be about 4" to 6" of space between the sides of the filtration units and the sides of the culture tanks. 4. The Air Blower will distribute air to the system through the Air Manifold. The Air Manifold should be positioned above the system for best distribution. The Air manifold should run from the outer side of one Culture Tank to the opposite outer side of the other Culture Tank (perpendicular to the Filtration Units & Drains). Information on the installation of the Air Manifold will be in paragraph 7. 5. Find the Air Blower and the Air Filter(s). The Air Blower should be placed squarely on Styrofoam insulation board or foam padding and tightly fastened down to a secure location. The Air Blower must be higher than the water level. It needs to be sitting squarely and must be stable. Place it in an area with adequate ventilation. Position the Air Blower in relation to the system. (Remember that the Air Blower will be attached to the Air Manifold, which must be close enough to the system to allow for vinyl tubing to run to each of the different system components. It is recommended that the Air Manifold be centered above the system.) 6. Attach the Air filter(s) to the Air Blower. Depending on the size of the model, either screw the filter(s) in or loosen the screw on the flex coupling attached to the filter(s) and, using Vaseline, slide the flex coupling over the inlet hole of the Air Blower and tighten the screw. 7. Find the Air Manifold, which consists of 4 sections. Line up the sections in order (i.e. Part A.M.#1, then Part A.M.#2, etc.) with the air outlets on the same side. Using pipe glue, apply adhesive to the inside of the coupling on Part 1 and to the outside of the pipe on Part 2. Quickly slide the pipe into the coupling. Keep all the outlet holes in alignment on the same side. Do the same for the other pieces. 8. Find the Adapter Barbs in the Bag of Miscellaneous. Screw a barb into each of the air outlets in the Air Manifold. Loosen the outer screw on the flex coupling of the Manifold. Using Vaseline, slide the flex coupling over the outlet hole of the Air Blower and tighten the screw. Support the Manifold, either place support beneath it or hang chain from the ceiling to hold it up. You may want to support the Air Manifold before attaching it to the Air Blower. The Air Manifold should be positioned above the system for best distribution. 9. If Installing
a Window, do so now. 10. Assemble the Plumbing, Parts #1 through #19. Read the entire paragraph for the number before attempting the assembly. Complete the steps in the order listed. You have the option of using PVC pipe glue for a permanent bond or 100% Silicone rubber sealant for a temporary seal. Remember that PVC pipe glue dries quickly and all steps must be done rapidly if using it. Silicone will take a minimum of 24 hours to dry, do not attempt to 'clean-up' any spills until it is dry or it will smear. Using Silicone allows you to disassemble the plumbing for cleaning. Because of it's slow dry time and because it's temporary, we recommend using Silicone. 11. During the plumbing assembly, keep the aerial pictures of your system and the list of system components near by for reference. Find two parts labeled #1. Place the pipe end of #1 into the inner side of the coupling inside the Clarifier, keeping the holes facing up. Repeat with the other #1. These pieces should not be glued, as they must be removed each time for cleaning. 12. Find two parts labeled #2. Apply silicone to the outside of the slightly-shorter pipes on both. Push them into the waist-to-chest level Clarifier outlets, with the slightly-longer pipe parallel to the ground and the openings facing away from each other. 13. Find two parts labeled #3. Apply silicone to the threads of the adapters, all the way around at the beginning of the threads. Screw them tightly into the outer side of the waist-to-chest-level Bio-Filter outlets. 14. Using Vaseling, slide the flex couplings onto the pipes of #2, connecting the Clarifier to the Bio-Filter. 15. Find two parts labeled #4. Apply silicone to the threads of the adapters, all the way around at the beginning of the threads. Screw them tightly into the outer side of the angled Culture Tank outlets (on the same side of the system as the Clarifier). 16. Find two parts labeled #5. Apply silicone to the outside of the shorter pipe and to the inside one of the outer couplings on the clarifier side with 3 outlets. Push the pipe into the coupling. Repeat with the other #5. These are both Valve A. 17. Find four parts: two labeled #6A and two labeled #6B. #6A Side 1 goes with #6B Side 1. #6B has Valve B and #6B Side 2 also has the Bio-Filter Drain, Valve C. Loosen the screw on the flex coupling. Using Vaseline, slide the pipe of #6B into the flex coupling of #6A. Tighten the screw. Repeat for #6A Side 2 and #6B Side 2. Apply silicone to the inside of both of the ells on #6 Side 1 and also to the outside of the pipe of #4 and #5 on Side 1. Push the ells onto the pipes, connecting the Clarifier to the Culture Tank. Repeat for Side 2. 18. Find two parts labeled #7. Apply silicone to the threads of the adapters, all the way around at the beginning of the threads. Screw them tightly into the outer side of the straight Culture Tank outlets (on the same side of the system as the Bio-Filter). 19. Find two parts labeled #8. Apply silicone to the threads of the adapters, all the way around at the beginning of the threads. Screw them tightly into the outer side of the Bio-Filter outlets close to the ground. 20. Find four parts: two labeled #9A and two labeled #9B. #9A Side 1 goes with #9B Side 1. Loosen the screw on the flex coupling. Using Vaseline, slide the pipe of #9B into the flex coupling of #9A. Tighten the screw. Repeat for #9A Side 2 and #9B Side 2. Apply silicone to the inside of both of the ells on #9 Side 1 and also to the outside of the pipe of #7 and #8 on Side 1. Push the ells onto the pipes, connecting the Bio-Filter to the Culture Tank. Repeat for #9 Side 2. 21. Find two parts labeled #10. Apply silicone to the threads of the adapters, all the way around at the beginning of the threads. Screw them tightly into the inner side of the angled Culture Tank outlets. 22. Find two parts labeled #11. Loosen the screw on the flex coupling. Using Vaseline, slide the flex coupling onto the pipe of #10. Tighten the screw. The pipe should point to the center of the tank and be about 4 to 5 inches off the ground. Repeat with the other #11. 23. Find two parts labeled #12. This is the Culture Tank Center Drain. Place the gray base squarely in the center of the tank floor. Push the ell opening firmly onto the pipe of #11. There is no need to silicone this part. 24. Find four parts: two labeled #13 and two labeled #14. You do not need to silicone either of these. Gently place #13 into the top ell of #12. Gently place #14 into the coupling of #12, the notch should fit comfortably over the inner ell. 25. Find two parts labeled #15. These pieces can be set aside. When stocking fry, use #15 to replace both #13 and #14. It should be placed into the top ell of #12. When the fish reach 3 or 4 inches long, replace #15 with both #13 and #14. To insure the safety of the fish, close Valve A when switching back and forth. 26. Find two parts labeled #16. Apply silicone to the threads of the adapters, all the way around at the beginning of the threads. Screw them tightly into the inner side of the straight Culture Tank outlets. 27. Find four parts: two labeled #17 and two labeled #18. This is your Airlift. Take two barbs from the Miscellaneous bag and screw them into the outlets at the bottom of #17. Take two long sections of vinyl tubing from the Miscellaneous bag and attach them to the barbs, by firmly pushing the tubing over the barbs. Apply silicone to the shorter pipe on #17 and to the inside of the adapter of #16. Push the pipe into the adapter, keeping the airlift upright and parallel to the side of the tank. Place #18 on the pipe of #17, there is no need to silicone this part. Adjust the opening of the ell so the flow will go clockwise. 28. Find one part labeled #19. This is your Clarifier Drain, Valve D. Apply silicone to the outside of the shorter pipe and to the inside of the lowest Clarifier hole. Slide the pipe into the coupling. 29. Find two Bio-media Crates. Place the crates inside of the Bio-filter with the Airstones at the bottom. Keep the vinyl tubing loose and free of kinks. Bio-media is buoyant; therefore it may be necessary to weight your Bio-media crates to keep them from floating. You can use something as simple as a brick. 30. Find one Foam Fractionator (if applicable). Take two barbs and the tee connect, attached to two small pieces of tubing, from the Miscellaneous bag. Screw the barbs into the outlets at the base and connect the two small pieces of tubing to the barbs. Take one long section of vinyl tubing from the Miscellaneous bag and attach it to the tee connect. Place the Foam Fractionator in the open space in the Bio-Filter, with the exit outlet over the edge and the airlift pointing into the Bio-Filter. Place a bucket under the exit outlet to catch the foam. 31. Find four Directional Bio-filter Aerators. Place two Aerators in each tank, with the arms over the edge of the tank. The Aerators should be tight and secure against the side of the tank. Situate them so they and the Airlift are symmetrically balanced in how they are placed around the tank edge. The outlet ells should be adjusted to point the flow in a clockwise direction. 32. Find the Clamps and one small piece of vinyl tubing in the bag of Miscellaneous. Slide a clamp over the piece of tubing and attach the tubing to the Air Manifold barb closest to the end cap. This is your pressure release valve. Slide a clamp over the end of each of the sections of vinyl tubing now coming from the system. Firmly slide the tubing over the barbs on the air manifold, connecting the system to it's air distribution. The air manifold has one outlet, positioned accordingly, for each system component that required air. Keep all tubing loose and free of kinks. Keep the clamps open, and adjust them accordingly when the system is running. 33. Once the silicone is dry (which takes a minimum of 24 hours), and the drains, Valves C and D, are connected to the drainage for the building, fill the system with water. Fill the Culture Tanks, the Clarifier, and the Bio-Filter. The Drains, Valves C and D, should be closed and the other two Valves, A and B, should be open. 34. Once the system is filled, plug in the Air Blower. Place the heater (if applicable) in the water on the edge of the tank or on the edge of Part #14 and then turn it on. 35. If Installing
a Growbed, do so now. |
