Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Think you mean hats don't you jp?

prize winning hats dont you mean C1?

yes indeed bk

MC, the channel cat will make a good option. They generally get more active in warmer water, as regards to feeding and growing. Like Tiliapia they are also more capable of tolerating low oxygen levels, but can also suffocate if it drops too low.

Janet hit on a good idea. Use some sort of cover to try to retain the water temp overnight. You might try using some pool "pillows" and a tarp or pool cover. Just make sure to remove it in the AM and put it back on in the PM. If your tank/pool is above ground you can buy some rigid foam insulation from a home improvement center and cut it to fit around the tank/pool, then cover it with 1/4" plywood and wood battens around the top/bottom and at the joints. You can then either paint it or use Dryvit or another stucco material (or even use man made stone veneer) to finish it. If you really want to go all out you could use stone, bricks or cement blocks to construct a wall.

Kevin

Corect me if I am wrong, and scale might have lot to do with it...
however, the water surface is a very important area of gass transfer. I would want to be carefull about a pool cover being right on top of the water, a tent or "hat" like EllKayBee's would be better.

MC,
through the tank is where you are loosing most your heat. Wrap it first. The cat's wiwll handle the water like you have it well, and they grow fast. I have very similar conditions (not quite as wide a swing at this time of year) and mine just don't stop, grow, grow, grow. In the9+ months that I have had them, they have gone from 4" to 16"+ and well over pound.

Matt, IMHO I don't think he will have that much problem with gas transfer if he floats the cover above the pool/tank on pool pillows. Most of them will give him a 6 to 8 inch space between the top of the water surface and the back of the tarp or pool cover. If he is cycling his system 24/7, even on a timed pump system, he should have enough flow to offset any detrimental side effects a cover could cause over less than a eight hour period.

As I said, channel cats are able to take lower O2 levels in water than many other species, however they do require it in proper proportion for healthy growth. Most of the data I have read says that the time to run an air pump for catfish is during the day or early evening. That night time operation is not beneficial.

Kevin

As long as it is not directly on the surface of the water, I agree, it should not be a problem, I have seen people try and warm their pools with bubble wrap and that's not too good for fish.

i have a few catfish now, so i know they grow fast , the tank i want to raise catfish in is 1400 gallons, i am building a 275 gallon crushed rock filter, a 1500 gallon per hour pump will run water through it. after it runs through the biofilter it will go through 60 feet of nft , then through a carbon filter , then into the pond. thats the plan anyway, my mind changes every hours so..........

i started making pvc bio filter media, got about 1 cubic foot, need about 4 cubic foot, that will give me about 1000 square foot surface area, acording to 250 square foot per cubic foot of what this stuff is supposed to be. only took about 20 mins. ill post pics later. this stuff is so easy to make i might use it when i make my 275 gallon filter........ alot more surface area then rock? very much lighter.

i really want to see how pvc biofilter media is made

I'd be worried about whether the PVC biomedia would hold up plants ok, or whether they would fall over.

it is made on a metal lathe, im making it from scrap pvc i have laying around.i got the idea here http://www.ericnewman.com/biofiltr.htm
this is my lathe and ho i do it. i just spin the pvc, it takes about 45 seconds to turn 1 foot of pvc into a pile of ribbon. i am going to cut teeth onto my bit to make ridges in the ribbon for more surface area. i found i could do the best at 360 rpm with a 90 tpi thread setting. that makes the ribbon about 100th of a inch thick i think?
[img][img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/meancoyote/100_2610.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/meancoyote/100_2613.jpg[/img][/img]

the plants wont be growing in it, im going to use nft, this is going to be in my filter. i need it light, this is how im doin it, i got a 20 gallon tub in the hole on top. goin to fill it with pvc ribbon.
[img][img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/meancoyote/100_2622.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][img]http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a63/meancoyote/100_2623.jpg[/img][/img]

Awesome!

Great idea coyote....