It all started… / Pavilion Construction

It all started… when we built a 12,000 gal koi pond in 2006 in Rochester, NY (more on the Yard is Canvas page):

In 2008 we caught two 2-foot channel catfish at a local koi & catfish farm & placed them in the koi pond. Iryna said she wanted them in our pond for their awfully cute surface feeding with barbels sticking out entirely above water. Later on through the years she’d say this was most definitively the pivoting point and the biggest “mistake” that launched us (read me) into this fishy endeavor 🙂

Same winter arrived our first tank, a 27 gal hex:

Which turned into two 27 gal hexes and a 120 gal tall in 2009:

Which by 2010 was augmented by two 55 gal tanks, two 150 gal Rubbermaid tubs, & a 4000 gal, 40’x6’x3′ / 12×1.8×0.9 meter pond, all in the basement:

So we ran a fish rescue at our little home for 3 years in Rochester, NY: https://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=29488. It couldn’t hold us anymore. In 2011 we moved 1500 mi / 2400 km south to Naples, FL to build a business out of this hobby. We moved in 4 trips, with fish in 150 gal Rubbermaid tubs & in our 12x6ft trailer lined with rubber liner.

Over the next 10 years, by 2021,
– we have built two pavilions, 3K & 2K sq ft / 300 & 200 sq m,
– installed two 4.5K gal / 17K liter fiberglass tanks,
– ten 240 gal / 1K liter glass tanks,
– built a 1.8K gal / 7K liter acrylic tank,
– a 25K gal / 100K l rubber liner tank with a 45ft acrylic window,
– a yet unfinished 10K gal / 40K acrylic tank,
while still running a fish rescue on a side, now in SW Florida…

Pavilion #1 (main) white tarp, round roof, between two houses
Pavilion #2 (25K) white tarp, flat L-shape roof, to the left:

Main pavilion:

These are sample photos. The construction of the 1^st pavilion step by step is blogged here, from bottom of page 2 to page 7: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=33968

Second pavilion:

The construction of the 2^nd pavilion:
– beginning, fall of 2015, from bottom of page 10 to top page 11 http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=33968
– interrupted by the building of 25K gal exhibit
– interrupted by Hurricane Irma in Sept 2017
– ending in spring of 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HacTgNQJK8

Hurricane Irma in Sept 2017
delayed our plans by 1.5 years:

• In preparation, we were able to quickly remove the roof tarp covers and most of the shade cloth.
• The front wall of the eye of Category 3 hurricane Irma hit Naples at 2 pm, Sept 10, 2017. At 4 pm it got quiet as the eye was traveling over us for an hour. Then the back wall continued the battering. Sustained winds 120 mi/h / 190 km/h, gusts up to 140 mi/h / 225 km/h.
• We were 9 days without power, with just a 7000 running-watts generator. Had to fill it every 7 hours with 5 gal of gasoline. Used $50 of gasoline a day at $2.70 a gallon. The first 5 days gas lines were ~2 hours, then got better.
• The generator ran:
  • — ten 360 watt 5000 GPH pumps
  • — one 150 watt 3000 GPH pump
  • — fridge and two freezers
  • — several lights, laptops
  • — a fan (to fall asleep in a 95 F, 75% humidity house).
• Not enough power to run a well, RO filters, or supply house & fish with fresh water.
• We were ok, most fish were ok, only 2-3 losses.
• Lots and lots of property damage but the main building structures held up fine.

Devastation after the hurricane: https://youtu.be/dYgi7XwuhZ4

The construction of the tanks, filters, etc. is on
the Fish Tank Construction page.