Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,

This is my first post here on the board. I've been wanting to try aquaponics for a while and decided it would be best to buy a complete set up from someone. Yesterday I bought a complete aquaponics set up off craigslist. Its got a 275 gallon IBC for fish tank, the PO had gold fish in it. Feeling foolish now, but now that I've got it home I inspected the label and see it was used to hold "ACUPANE 5115 AFB slurry", which a little research indicates it contains lots of abraisive materials and is used to clean computer parts. So now I need to decide whether or not its ok to use this IBC. One one hand, the PO has been using it without fish kills so thats promising, but its not like his system was one you'd see on an advertisement, the plants looked pretty sorry honestly. And goldfish can survive allot, although encouraging, I don't know if thats good enough as a sole indicator for whether a system is safe. When I asked if he did anything specific to clean it, he responded "I rinsed it with water, take the label off and your problem is solved".

The other perspective is that since he has been using it like this for ~1yr, any residues that might have leached out probably already did while he used it.

I'll obviously pay more attention next time, but my question is this:
Would you use this tote? Is there any recommended way to clean it?
I also wonder about other components of the system, like the hydroton medium. Could it have absorbed anything undesirable...just worried I blew my aquaponics budget it on a sketchy system...

Sorry if this question has been asked before, still getting used to the forum...

thanks in advance!

Are you sure you got this name and number right? Dow makes something called Acu Plane but no 5115 for the number.

Sure Scotty will help with the contents, I could not find anything resembling it either.

AP is a learning experience

My first question would be whether the IBC liner is stained. Most water based contents and less harmful products tend to leave the liner relatively clean, indicating minimal residue. Can you post a picture ?
(instructions here viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21754)

re: AcuPLane - i get "The pad can also be used in conjunction with Dow's ACuPLANETM 5100 Series Slurries for enhanced performance." The 5100 series might fit.

If it'd been running for a year without a problem, there is a good chance it'd be fine.

With the bad looking veg, what specifically was bad looking? Colour? Bad growth? Leggy?

Thanks everybody for the replies.

There may have been an "L" in acupane that I missed. But the number is definitely there. I am pretty sure its the same thing you are referencing.

As far as how the plants looked, it was kind of strange. There was a tomato plant growing but not producing anything (it looked ok), but then he had some grassy looking stuff (yes like grass from the yard) that was growing well in some spots but dead and brown in others.

The IBC currently has thin layer of algae covering everything the water touched. Its empty now. I plan on cleaning it up in the next few days so I'll check to see if its been stained any particular color.

But based on what I'm hearing, it sounds like it should be safe to use if cleaned out well?

As far as cleaning goes, I was thinkng about just taking it to the car wash and scrubbing it real good and being able to get some pressurized water to rinse it off.

If it's algae, then it could have caused a few problems. However, bio slime builds up over every surface naturally, it's what converts the ammonia, so you want it there. However, algae is different.

Scrub and pressure wash should be fine.

With the growth, it could be many things he was doing wrong. Just make sure you put it in good sunlight, and follow the directions in the IBC of AP at the top of the page.

I think they're probably right, just give it a good clean and rinse a few times. If this was a brand new IBC, I'd have doubts without knowing more about what it held.

+1
as the IBC is cut open for AP it is much easier to clean. High pressure hose initially and then scrub.
and then leave in the sun for day or so. It has been used for a year and the product information does not suggest anything too serious - provided all traces have been removed.

**If it is AcuPlane** - "ACuPLANE™ LK393c4 Advanced Barrier CMP SlurryUse LK393c4 non-selective copper barrier slurry in semiconductor wafer polishing for barrier removal during the chemical mechanical planarization process"

Note that some elements adsorb to soil particles (ie. media) so hopefully the guy you got it from cleaned it before using - but it has low food chain residual and toxicity. Maybe someone is familiar with these products ?
http://www.dow.com/en-US/markets-and-so ... lane&t=All
http://msdssearch.dow.com/PublishedLite ... age=GetDoc
[ hopefully the links work , second is a product PDF]

else

cannot get the data sheet despite the links

Cerium oxide seems to be relatively non-toxic and silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide are both commonly found as rock and gemstones (ruby / sapphire). I'd say the "minor components or additives" are the only concern here.

Yea I came across the same product safety info you found. I agree that the "minor components and additives" are the sketchiest part. But at this point, I'm feeling allot more comfortable using it after a good scrub. It doesn't look like anything I would want to drink, but I read somewhere in there its disposed of into the waste water treatment system so it can't be too too toxic and doesn't look like something that accumulates or persist to much. I'm most concerned now with the grow media and what it could have absorbed.

Today I have time to get it all cleaned up. After making a judgement call on whether to reuse or replace the grow media, I should be able to get it set up next week.