# Summer Tubbin' Question Thread



## Hankj (Jan 5, 2013)

I usually am not a fan of the hot summer months but this year I am very excited after I read Snipe's article on tubbin'. Hopefully there are some people on here that have experience with this and could help me get everything straightened out. 

I am planning on having several tubs, mostly with one species per tub. The fish I am planning on using are celestial pearl danio, cherry shrimp, a nice fancy guppy, marbled crayfish, and another colorful crayfish if I can find some pairs. I imagine I can keep the live bearing guppies in with one of the crayfish but would any other of those fish breed well with crayfish? 

If I had a tub of only shrimp (or crayfish), would the bugs become a problem because there are no fish eating them? 

What's the smallest the tub can be?

Does the tub have to be thick plastic or could it be a thin rubber maid? What if I reinforced it with a few layers of duct tape?

Do local plant shops or out door nurseries typically sell pond plants or do they need to be mail ordered?

Thanks in advance


----------



## Hankj (Jan 5, 2013)

Anyone?


----------



## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

Most people around here use the large 100+ gallon molded plastic livestock troughs. You can go smaller but more likely to run into issues. The larger the tub the more stable it will be with temperature. 

The state you are in would help quite a bit as setup varies south to north. I'm more familiar with Minnesota techniques which vary a bit compared to down south.


----------



## Hankj (Jan 5, 2013)

Mikaila31 said:


> Most people around here use the large 100+ gallon molded plastic livestock troughs. You can go smaller but more likely to run into issues. The larger the tub the more stable it will be with temperature.
> 
> The state you are in would help quite a bit as setup varies south to north. I'm more familiar with Minnesota techniques which vary a bit compared to down south.



I live in Ohio. Southern half


----------



## rexpepper651 (Dec 25, 2012)

dont crayfish eat little fish?


----------



## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

rexpepper651 said:


> dont crayfish eat little fish?


Yes but in the case with guppies I think the guppies will still win. lol Also you live really close by :shock:.

For ohio you do want big tubs, 100 gallons or more imo, 300 isn't uncommon. They go also all the way up to 500 lol. Fleet farm and other livestock/farm supply stores carry them, usually they are called stock tanks. You want the plastic ones not the metal ones. The larger the tank the better it handles heat waves and cold snaps which are common in the midwest. They stay more stable in temp and water parameters when it rains and such. From my understanding you setup early, soon as things start to bud even tho it is cold. A place where the tank gets partial sun is ideal. Seed the tank with mud/inverts from a pond that is ideally fishless. Along with floating plants to protect fry. Allow the tank to run without fish during most of spring or until daphnia and other food populations in the tank are large. Often a small pump/fountain is suggested but you really only need it if O2 becomes an issue. Ideally you want one species of fish per tub as when mixing one species always tends to out compete the other. Starting off with fairly large breeding groups is best. Apart from the marble crayfish, I don't know much about them apart from they are magical at reproducing lol. Also watch the tanks in late summer as sometimes they can crash if fish populations get to high.


----------



## rexpepper651 (Dec 25, 2012)

haha guppies are fiesty lil buggers? haha yeah you do live close. crazy! i used to live in maplewood and still have family there actually. thats pretty cool!


----------



## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

rexpepper651 said:


> haha guppies are fiesty lil buggers? haha yeah you do live close. crazy! i used to live in maplewood and still have family there actually. thats pretty cool!


You should check out minnfish.com and aquarium.mn. Both are local sites. There is a fish show in Fridley first weekend of April. The spring auction is coming up as well. Let me know if you are ever looking for live plants.

>.>
I lived in Wisconsin till fairly recently.
<.<


----------



## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Do you have a link to Snipe's article that you mentioned? The biggest issue is temperature control, and choosing a species that can handle some temperature swings. Depending on the surface it's placed on, amount of sun/shade, as well as size will determine the temperature stability. I run a 150 gallon tub outdoors for the summer, usually starting with a few trios of platys. It will get close to 90F on really hot days, despite my strapping a large sheet of white styro over the top first thing in the morning. Some cold water in the evening helps it drop.

I'll start pretty early with mine, usually April, but I do have a 1kw bucket heater & temperature controller. It gets partial shade from my garage, but not much. Being a black tub, the sun helps heat it early in the season, when it gets warmer I put in a thin layer of light colored gravel. I also have it on a couple wooden skid tops from the start, insulates from the colder ground. These get pulled out when it warms up, as I want that colder ground to help maintain temperatures. A good heavy rain helps cool it in the summer, as well as providing a free water change if it rains hard enough.

From a few trios I'll have a couple hundred fish by the end of the season, just in time for all the local auctions & swaps.


----------



## Hankj (Jan 5, 2013)

Tolak said:


> Do you have a link to Snipe's article that you mentioned? The biggest issue is temperature control, and choosing a species that can handle some temperature swings. Depending on the surface it's placed on, amount of sun/shade, as well as size will determine the temperature stability. I run a 150 gallon tub outdoors for the summer, usually starting with a few trios of platys. It will get close to 90F on really hot days, despite my strapping a large sheet of white styro over the top first thing in the morning. Some cold water in the evening helps it drop.
> 
> I'll start pretty early with mine, usually April, but I do have a 1kw bucket heater & temperature controller. It gets partial shade from my garage, but not much. Being a black tub, the sun helps heat it early in the season, when it gets warmer I put in a thin layer of light colored gravel. I also have it on a couple wooden skid tops from the start, insulates from the colder ground. These get pulled out when it warms up, as I want that colder ground to help maintain temperatures. A good heavy rain helps cool it in the summer, as well as providing a free water change if it rains hard enough.
> 
> From a few trios I'll have a couple hundred fish by the end of the season, just in time for all the local auctions & swaps.


Summer Tubbin' by John Sipes

He is from Cincinnati which is about 45 minutes south of me. I dont know how big his deck is but it would have to be pretty large for 10 large gallon tubs.


----------



## Hankj (Jan 5, 2013)

Anyone ever use those white or blue 55 gallon plastic barrels? Used in industry a lot.


----------

