Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi, newbie question.
I would like to grow grass carps into an ibc tank. My idea is to keep things as simple as possible with low electricity, and my concern is solid removal. Tell me where i get wrong here :
Carps love still water, so what if i deliberately let the solids settle on the bottom of the tank, and remove them with a two-gate system like this?

Hello!
Interesting idea.
My question is, if this is in an IBC, how would your gate slide in and out, and remain water tight?
I'm curious about your idea...

In my head, it seems prone to leaks, especially with the water pressure, since it's at a low point in the tank...

I think Carp would be fine with a high turnover or movement of water, though it is true they can tolerate still water, it isn't a necessity, and they will probably end up being healthier with more oxygen and filtration.

In a closed system, the parameters of the water matter more than in a natural setting. In nature, fish can seek out what they need, or the best they can find in the situation they find themselves in, in a closed loop system, they end up being more at the mercy of the operator....

Will

Look into SLO's. They are simple, and effective ways of removing solids, and can go into a simple filter.

It stands for Solids Lifting Overflow.

Hiya Jurassic, I’ve thought about a perforated or mesh floor with a bottom drain similar to your dwg but I think a SLO as Will suggests is hard to beat with a radial or swirl filter in line with the ft discharge line.
Having the bottom with fish waste can cause anaerobic areas if left for too long and to get the velocity to clean the bottom would also be an issue.
Keep it simple, the extra maintenance required could come back and bite you on the ass.
Where are you planning to locate your pump?

One issue I am facing is that IBC generally have a \_/------\_/ shape where a central SLO still leaves a lot of room for fish waste etc to get "stuck" down two of the sides, I initially tried some fancy H and X shaped attachments on the bottom of the slow which at my flow rate turned out pretty useless.

So I agree SLO to a radial flow settler is a good way to go but make sure you still use a vacuum/siphon to get any build up in the sides cleaned out as part of the regular maintenance OR do a better design job than me

I have very good success with a horizontal pipe in a bottom corner for the SLO. Be sure water enters along the opposite top corner, and air stones are placed on the SLO side for "updraft."

Cut slots that will face downward



SLO in corner has a 90 at the bottom for the horizontal pipe, placed in long corner



Inlet water parallel to the SLO, opposite side



Actual setup in use, air stones on same side as SLO to create "updraft."



Clean bottom IBC. I don't ever do anything to clean the bottom. The current established by the inlet water, the SLO pickup and the air stones (not needed) get the job done. In this photo the SLO horizontal pipe has shifted from it's intended location, but still working okay.