Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

ok... let it go but got to do it...

what's a "ugf"

Under gravel fliter or Ugly Girl Friend but think its the former as the latter is all in the viewer.

Is that a subterranian butterfly????

It (shite) gets broken down and fed to plants.

I'd totally agree it's not something you'd want to clean. But with AP, a UGF becomes a 'solids remover'. Without the UGF the DWC would not have enough gravel for bacteria. Without the AP, I'd be cleaning it once, maybe twice, then advocating something else too.

That's why I like the idea of growbeds followed by water culture, it works in this set-up, but it's rich, requiring fruiting or flowering plants to keep it clean. Add plants in the gravel filter (replace ugf with growbed) methinks we're cookin.

So frustrating, lots of time on hands and no funds. They come in 10 days or so.

Still, I've cleared a large area in the bush while waiting, so lots of room to play gardener in now.

LOL, Fa-Ill-Ter

Cool AA, that goes some way to explaining it, but (sincerely) indulge me, why does the solid waste not get broken down in a normal non AP connected fish tank?

In a conventional aquarium UGF - It does get broken down, but only to an extent, the water is recycled, but not filtered any further.

Eventually the silt accumulation requires vacuuming, and even (ulp) cleaning it.

In the above photo you're looking down through half a barrel of water and see the gravel and hydroton and shell bits clearly. There's no muck, never any build up it just chugs along reducing large solids to particles small enough to be pulled through the gravel and out into the plant sites.

Clear?

sorta, can you sketch your system set up? aren't the plant sites DWC? wouldn't the silt just stay suspended?

This is being pedantic methinks.

It works just fine and I never clean it. DWC.

Ends.

Sorry for hijacking thread Jamie.

Actually,

i just wanted to visualise your setup in block format as it obviously works and i was curious,

but whatever man!

AA - I like others here no doubt are having some problems understanding exactly how you have used the UG filter and how you have achieved such a clean version of it - that's all.

Perhaps in another thread you can explain in detail the DWC setup that you have pictured above and that we know grew some magnificent plants in your previous life. That would be helpful.

Fair call. Sorry Steve I was tired and feeling grumpy so was a little short. Bit better response than in a previous life... but I could've done better.

The memory of a certain poll designed to discredit me has not gone.

I'll get over in the secret room thread and jot out some details and sketches as time allows. I really do want to share this technology with the group, and sometimes get frustrated (with myself I think) when my explanations aren't clear.

Lack of scietific background sometimes I feel a bit dumb too trying to explain this stuff in laymans terms. Time to pull in the ego again and get on with the sharing.

Group hug?

I'll jump into this thread for free hugs.

Sign me up! I want a free hug, AA!!

AA, I understand how you might feel frustrated by not being able to use all the technical jargon. I'm faced with that alot, too. Remember though that concise descriptions that everyone can understand are a true gem, and that means intentionally avoiding the technical jargon.

Sign me up for the schematics. I love looking at what people are doing, how it works, trying to figure out why, and figuring out if it can be incorporated/modified to apply to my interests/needs.

Technical jargon has its place, but don't be frustrated for not using it, or for not understanding it. This is a place to exchange ideas and see what does work (and why) what didn't work (and why), and help each other through the difficulties and/or unknown problems that come up.