Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What do you think of using rolled up green house mesh for a filter?
basicly the idea is roll up the mesh so that it can fit inside 150mm pvc pipe, and cut sections into it to sit the plants in.
pros:
large surface area for bacts.
can be unrolled later to clean out roots
lighter then gravel but cheaper then clay balls
cons:
?

Can't see that it wouldn't work just fine Timmy.....

But I'd suggest checking out whether or not the mesh has perhaps been soaked or manufactured with any anti-fungal components... i.e to stop it rotting

If any fish waste/uneaten food, etc was pumped up there depending on how it is packed into the tube, you might find it gets clogged (afterall people have had problems with gravel filled pipes clogging)

I reckon it would be ok with the solids. you roll it up and tie it at the middle and ends, and make it just wide enough to fit snuggly in the tube for easy removal later.
that way it's loose enough for the small stuff to trickle through, certainly no worse then the gravel. worms should do the rest.
I want to make it flood and drain, is this possible/effective using runs of pvc pipe like this?

hia timmy take a looks at my system http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... 2861#42861

ive done some thing similar in my old pond it worked quite well but i only had 6 small goldfish in it

my boss has a pond filter made from this stuff called jap mat which looks like really coarse foam does exactly the same thing but costs about 400 times as much, mine cost 8 bucks

i say go for it

in my pvc pipe growbed side of my sytem i have added a section to my pvc gravel filled pipe biofilter for just this purpose.....i also put a screwtop lid on so when its blocked i can remove the shadecloth....wash it out...put it back n away we go again