Brine Shrimp Hatchery Gizmo

[DanGofCalgary]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI...E:L:OC:CA:3160

I just ordered 3 for myself. I've made brine shrimp hatcheries for years by siliconing a bit of tubing in place on the bottom. after a while they leak, or get all gunked up on the bottom and you really can't get in to clean it, OR I cut a piece off the tubing and it gets shorter and shorter.

For less than $4, this is awesome!

I only run one brine shrimp hatchery at a time but I want 3 just in case the 1st one gets damaged!

These are probably available at a lab supply store as they look like common lab gizmos, but for this price, I'm not going to quibble and try to find them.

This will make the making of bbs hatchery so easy!

[ckmullin]

nteresting. I've always used an aquarium tubing joint and glued that in place on the bottle cap. Never had a leak yet.

I'm sure this will for good for ya!

[vince0]

lol i need to see this in person. maybe buy one off you??

[DanGofCalgary]

nteresting. I've always used an aquarium tubing joint and glued that in place on the bottle cap. Never had a leak yet.

I'm sure this will for good for ya!

wow! Not only have you figured out how to get 'the best' brine shrimp eggs to take 2-3 time longer to hatch than mine, but you also never have a leak! You must be very talented. I'd suggest not reading anything I post any more or wasting your talented time replying to it as it is obviously way below your skill and talent level! I'll try to remember to put in the title 'not for superheros or ckmullin' in the future, to save you time! Thanks for reading my weak post! you're awesome!

haha! just kidding!

If your method is working for you, you should stick with it. I however do have those issues with my 24 hr hatch out brine shrimp hatcheries. I get a lucky build occasionally (like the one I am using right now has lasted me a couple years with no issues) but when I try to clean the gunk out I often break the silicone.

Perhaps you could post some pics of yours, and the methodology you use? What kind of glue? what are these devices you are referring to? that kind of helpful information would be great!

For the rest of us though, I'll post what I think of it when it arrives. To me it looks like a super quick way to get a brine shrimp hatchery up and running.

@Vince: I'll let you know when they arrive Vince, and what I think of them. I wonder what they were originally intended for? I am guessing some kind of lab tool? bottle wash? dunno. for $13 for 3 (including shipping), well worth the gamble I think to see if they work well.

[ckmullin]

If something I said had cheezed you off, it was of course not intentional ! I don't think anyone here wants to start to pick a fight...nor I. If I comment on a topic it is because I have had some sort of experience with it and offer that experience. Just as other have experience and post about it freely.

The topic title is " Brine Shrimp Hatchery Gizmo:" and it talks about that product and the problem of a more dyi approach. Since the dyi approach was mentioned, I had then made my own post that I have not experienced that problem. I don't see any harm in what was written. I guess like anything in life things can be taken different than originally thought...so perhaps that is the case here...I'm really not sure. Perhaps I've taken your post wrong also.

People freely post their opinions and experiences, so do I...I thought that is what a forum is all about. The sharing of information. I'm not here to piss people off but just to help with what info I do have. Some of my info I thought was at least half decent as a some of my topics are now sticky.

I said what I use works for me and that I had not had a leak. That is all.

I had also said "i'm sure this will work good for ya!" I had meant that. It looks like a good handy cap.

Perhaps you brew more shrimp that I...so overall you have more hrs into it than me. By that perhaps you have experienced more of the problems than I? Again dunno.

You had asked for some pictures of what I've done, I hope this will fill that request. I've had to disassemble the setup to get some pictures but here you go.

For my own attachment I use an 180 degree airline hose attachment (double nipple). I don't remember on this one if i drilled the cap or used heat with a metal rod to make the hole. Both work fine. Thinking again I do think I use heat for the opening as no material is removed but rather it's gathered to make more of a rim for a better attachment for the attachment! hehe I make the hole as snug as I can and then insert the connector. I roughed up both the inside and outside of the bottle cap with some 200 or so sandpaper to remove that smooth shiny surface and give the glues something better to bond with. I then used the Lepage "Flexible Plastic" to make a small seal on both the inside and outside around the airline attachment. Over that I used a high temp glue stick with my glue gun. The hot glue isn't pretty but for me, it does hold and work.

I use a ziptie to hold the hose to the double nipple so that I can easily remove if needed without having to mess around with the bottle cap. In the picture there is a thicker heavy duty piece of tubing over the airline tubing to stop any possible kinks etc that could possibly happen at that joint. Normally it's tight against the bottle cap but here I pulled it back. I use co2 tubing for this as I've found over time standard tubing becomes hard and then brittle while the co2 tubing I've found stays pliable longer. Others might refute but again this is of my own experience.

The 180 degree (double nipple) attachment that I use.

crappy pictures, sorry for that...but still kinda shows the setup, I hope.

The double nipple attachement was inserted down into the cap as I only want the end nipple to be in the bottle.

Hope the instruction makes sense, kinda wrote it fast.

Again, nothing I've said should be taken in any negative way...as in no way is was meant as such.

Edited April 13, 2012 by ckmullin

[DanGofCalgary]

wasn't cheesed off at all. I didn't see any value in your post and felt it was a bit patronizing and added nothing to the discussion, so I thought a good ribbing was in order. All in good fun.

I do however like what you have added here, and think that adds to the discussion and value for folks.

I see how you are doing yours. It's similar to the first style of brine shrimp hatcheries I built years ago, and suffered (for me at least I felt it was an issue) from one major flaw. the brine shrimp collect below the outlet, so you end up with a lot of gunk build up. I typically try to build up silicone internally to compensate for that, so the cap has a flush surface, and minimizes build up. However, it tends to break loose after a while, especially as I tend to run the same solution for a week at a time (most people I think change out daily, I don't) so there is a build up, that I need to clean, and again I break the silicone loose at some point.

What I am hoping these caps that I have ordered yield is a quick removal, easy to reinstaill that can be cleaned, has a flush surface so no collection below the draining point and is quick and easy to build.

It's not a big deal to wait for the silicone for a day, but I think these caps really do make it quick and easy to get a brine shrimp hatchery up and running. as shown in the following steps.

1: Get 2 litres of mix (preference to user)

2: drink said mix with preferred alcoholic beverage.

3: cut off bottom of 2 liter bottle

4: screw on my fancy gizmo cap

5: attach airline

6: hang it up, put in brine shrimp and pickling salt

7: harvest in 24 hours.

8: profit!

Thanks

Dan

[Jayba]

I ordered a few a couple of weeks ago. Thought it was a wicked idea. I love that you can leave the bottle intact and not have the spray from the bubbling. I was just going to drill a small hole in the top of the bottle. Just have to remember to put my finger over it as I load it with water, salt and eggs. I too have had troubles with the jimmy rigged setup over the years, and am far too cheap to buy a real hatchery for the occasional batch that i make.

Mine arrived the day before I took off for Mexico do it is unproven. For 14 bucks unthought u would try it.

[DanGofCalgary]

They arrived last night. They are a fairly rigid plastic.

For fun, I timed how long it would take to get a new brine shrimp hatchery set up with this gizmo and a 2 liter plastic bottle. under 5 minutes it was up and running.

They're perfect.

Dan

[Sierra]

I'm almost nervous to add to this topic...however ...I don't drill the bottom of the cap...

I cut off the top of a bottle and stick rigid tubing (I actually use a straw) into the hatchery.

It's leak proof I guess...and sturdy

I have noticed that at first the eggs seem to stick to the sides but in about 1-2 minutes that stops. If you guys have tried this method what are some pros and cons and why don't you use it? I've only been hatching my own for about a year, but it seems to work fine for me and I like it. I feel like i'm missing something important here...

[DanGofCalgary]

I'm almost nervous to add to this topic...however ...I don't drill the bottom of the cap...

I cut off the top of a bottle and stick rigid tubing (I actually use a straw) into the hatchery.

It's leak proof I guess...and sturdy

I have noticed that at first the eggs seem to stick to the sides but in about 1-2 minutes that stops. If you guys have tried this method what are some pros and cons and why don't you use it? I've only been hatching my own for about a year, but it seems to work fine for me and I like it. I feel like i'm missing something important here...

Interesting approach. I think the key phrase there is 'it works for me'. If it works for you, and you're happy with it, no reason to change.

But with that said, I'll answer your question from my point of view as best I can. I am not completely clear on how that works? I somewhat visualize what you are describing and what comes to mind is;

Wouldn't the eggs settle on the bottom away from the straw? It is my belief that eggs that are not moving don't hatch. Now this might be an old wives tale but that is the reason I have always set it up with the bottle inverted and the air source right at the bottom so eggs can't settle anywhere. I believe this gives a higher hatch rate. But again, that might not be true, but based on what I have been told in the past so always set mine up that way. You may be on to a 'myth buster!' haha!

2nd query on your method: How do you seperate the egg casings and the bbs (baby brine shrimp)? When I want to harvest, I disconnect the airline, let the bbs settle to the bottom, egg casings float to the top and I can drain them out through the airline without gettnig all the egg casings. Now I still get unhatched eggs with that as they don't float, but I am willing to accept that as opposed to other more complicated methods that are available that will get you almost only bbs when you harvest.

Do you have a method of harvesting that gets a minimum of egg casings when you do?

Dan

[Sierra]

Yes I was under the impression also that all the eggs had to be moving to hatch. I don't actually know if that is true or not lol.

I'll try to describe it a bit better:

I cut off the top of the bottle, then I insert the airline tubing into a straw. (I have a straw and piece of airline tubing I just connect and disconnect for ease). The straw reaches near the bottom and therefore there are no eggs sitting or still. I also place a piece of saran wrap over the top and have a desk lamp shining on the hatchery for warmth.

Obviously one does not supervise it so I wanted a no-leak no-tipping risk set up. I can see why this piece of hardware the topic is about... would be wanted if you did have a system that had the risk of a leak. In that case I would definately want one cause who wants to worry about a possible leak!

Collection:

I just turn off the air and let everything settle. I then use a light to concentrate the shrimp and use a turkey baster. It actually works really well because I place the light near the bottom and when I use the turkey baster it pulls up all the slightly lighter shrimp before it starts sucking any eggs off the bottom. Then I filter through a coffee filter. Takes less than 2 minutes (after settling time).

Possibly another pro is...it is really easy to clean.

[DanGofCalgary]

Interesting. I can see how the turkey baster would work nicely for extraction. I hang mine from a rack, just over my sink in my fish room. I'd knock it over if it was free standing! haha! I see how your set up would work though, and it sounds pretty efficient actually. Post a pic if you get a chance. I'll try to remember to take a pic of mine and post it.

Dan

[dvsman]

I raised Africans for years but got out of it now back into it,oh well.Brine shrimp just need heat and turbulence,What I found worked best for me was to use a

2.5 gal.tank and heat the water with any old hang on tank one,Heat the water to your desired temp,Place a old bottle so the it is filled above the water line,this will keep the water temp constant around the entire bottle,add salt and brine shrimp eggs.agitate with a simple air stone then wait.

This was the best unit that I made work and had many compliments on its effectiveness.

Good luck and I hope it works as good for you

Terry

[Fireisfun]

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but how do you raise the bbs into larger adult shrimp. I've hatched a few and add them to my tank but I haven't noticed any adults even when I rearrange the live rock

[Jayba]

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but how do you raise the bbs into larger adult shrimp. I've hatched a few and add them to my tank but I haven't noticed any adults even when I rearrange the live rock

In order to grow out brine Shrimp you need a few things. Be able to feed them (yeast or dried and crushed egg yolk). Water quality and the and maintaining the salinity they like is imperative. While small they require aeration just like hatching.

I have never tried to grow them out but if someone does. Please document it and post it. Cheers