Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

With a KH test carbonate hardness. Or with a simple ph test after water has been aerated.. CO2 can be in well water making it seem acidic but aerating water makes co2 offgas and in most cases ph will rise at that point.

cool thanks.Ordered GH KH API test kit pretty cheap

Yeah, they don't cost much. Cheers

Update...

Okras, mints, marigold, melons, cucumber have taken off!!! Tomatoes just started to pick up speed. Peppers grow a few inches then stunt. The peppers don't die off, but just stop growing. Not sure why. Can't get the greens to grow. Basil does great except for the gray mold stuff growing underneath the leaves. Overall the plants are doing very well but not GREAT.

Fish seem to be doing fine as well. Water is clear with a tan tint. The first filter (net) is aerated and full of poop. Never cleaned. The second filter (cloth) is not aerated and full of poop never cleaned. Seems to be getting clogged and passing poop to the grow bed (GB). Not happy about GB receiving poop as I really don't want to clean 7 cu yds of media in the future. The pH on the cloth (not aerated)is .2-.3 higher than the aerated net tank. It has gone anarobic at this point.

I feed 120g a day. And the accumulated poop is insane. I need to do something to stop the solids from entering the GB.

I now plan to convert over to a dual loop. The first step will be to replace the cloth with k1 and add air to turn it into a MBBR. Once the MBBR has colonized ill isolate the plants and fish. While the MBBR is colonizing, I'll prepare the system for the isolation.

Below are hand drawings of what I plan to do. The idea is not mine but a sketch up of what I plan to do based on shared online information on this forum and AN forum. Strider on the other forum is a big influence.

Constructive criticism is appreciated.

Thank you.

cleaned out the CLOTH tank (2nd filter; last filter before GB; non aerated), It certainly did not smell but it sure was full of poo. gave about 40 gallons of fish poo to the 10 coconut trees, avocado, lemon, grapefruit, and pineapple plants. Cloth back in, and refilled the tank and disappointingly watched the residual pool on the cloth float into the GB pipe! GRRRR. Need better filtration!!!

The first step to converting over to dual loop is ordering the K1 for a 55 gal MBBR. I think the recommendation is 67% K1 for MBBR so that equates to about a little more than 4 cu ft of K1. Ebay has it for 78 bucks/2 cu ft shipped. Any where else have it cheaper?

Converted the net tank to a Radial Flow Settler (RFS or RFF). The cloth tank became the new Net Tank. Still see some suspended fine solids exiting the Net Tank into the Media grow bed.

Any ideas on how to further eliminate the fine solids from leaving the final filter into the media grow bed? Ease of cleaning is important.

So you have up on the dual outflow system?

Maybe install the raft after the net tank and allow some of those fines to settle out in the raft. Then route raft to media bed. Easier to clean raft than a media bed.

*gave up

Thats an option, kind of... Raft is not up yet. I might simplify the raft build and put it on the floor. I have a bad back so thats still really up in the air. If I build the raft on the floor, then the raft wont flow up stream to the media bed.

If I build it off the floor like the GB, then maybe. The media bed is having a hard time keeping up with the 500-700 GPH flow. It backs up near the perimeter outlet grid at the higher flows. Not sure why it backup really since far end of the grid doesn't fill or drain water.

Anyhow, yea, I plan on building the raft bed when the temps cool down some. Too dam hot still right now.

Any other suggestions?

No didn't give up on dual flow yet. Slowly converting over. I believe Dual Flow has a RFF then MBBR. Next I need MBBR media.


Was looking a Ryan Chatterson's backyard system and it looks to be single loop. So is his Farm now i believe.


On the fence. What do you think?

I think Ryan is running a decoupled system now.

On the dual outlets from fish tank. Slow flow to RFF outlet from RFF to MBBR, high flow from fish tank to MBBR.

The voice is yours. Easier and cheaper with a single system like the UVI system no doubt. Pain to clean those netting tanks though. But you can probably figure out something other than nets that would be easier to clean.

Ryan CAN decouple his system, but it's a single loop system. His MT tank has an auto discharge(float switch) that dumps back into the dwc bed, but's it's a very simple and effective system. He built it that way and the results speak for them selves.

What is best practice for the MT? Vortex or standard air stones or diy pvc with holes to aerate?

I don't want to give all Ryan's secrets away, but he aerates his MT and has a mbbr for it as well. All basic, easy to install, and incredibly effective. I love the way he builds things. Not flashy or glitzy, just sturdy, cost effective, simple, and they work. I've always tried to do things the same way.

I understand. I hope one day make it to one of his classes. I'm not doing this on a commercial basis so I can't get myself to drop 1000 bucks. If mula wasn't an issue i would have been all over the first class. But...Wife, 3 kids, single income, wife in college.....No bueno. lol

I appreciate your info though. Its hard to find good solid info for the details involved with a successful AP system.