The sludge of an aquaponics System?

Bobby_W

I have noticed a lot of systems contain a solids separator/filter and they end up putting the sludge in a soil garden or compost system, now firstly what is in the sludge made from, my knowledge its just ammonia and carbon? Secondly if it is just ammonia and carbon in theory couldn't you just ad more bio-filters to the system to convert the excess ammonia and carbon into food for the microbes resulting in more nutrients for the plants? And add mesh filtration like cotton or wool near the outlet to keep the remaining solids in the bio-filter.

all input would be appreciated, thankyou

dstjohn99

The solids from and separator are fish poop. Research Radial Flow Filter as these tend to provide the best sedimentation for solids removal. Stay away from most mechanical media like mesh or fiber as they will plug up and cause difficult maintenance issues and catastrophic failures. I use bird netting in my RFF and it helps a lot, but does not clog. It requires regular cleaning.

Also research MMBR or moving media bio reactor or other similar methods for digesting solids into plant nutrients. Or better yet convert to iavs where solids filters are not needed / wanted and sand is used for grow media. Post-sand water can be used for the DWC beds.

Backyard Aquaponics A place to discuss aquaponics

The sludge of an aquaponics System?

Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics