Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

From the MT run a line from it to where you want your nutrient rich water to go,now in the MT you have a drain line that you set to allow X amount of water out let's say 20 litres. From your RFF you have a drain line that feeds the muck laden water to your MT,so in operation you switch off the MT and let it settle,then open your tap to drain from the tank and close the gap when complete,now go back to the RFF and open the tap to top up the MT to its operation level and switch it back on,job done.

You don't clean the MT,just keep topping up daily.

Bottle caps won't work as a mbbr they don't move around enough,but they do work static.

I would run a RFF and MT tank,I then have full control of the remineralisation process,I know you can just leave the gbs to do there thing but I would rather see it done externally.

If everything was present in fish feed the need for supplementation would be hugely reduced but unfortunately it isn't,by remineralising solids maintaining the correct PH,water temp etc,you do get to that place where you need to add a splash of iron and then what ever supplements you require or use to maintain your PH.

I am limited to available feed but I have found a fish farm near by and he sells me the sacks of feed he uses himself,it's at 32% protein and everything else is written in Thai so I don't know what else is in it.

Hi Guys,

Quick question, can i use aluminium profiles as frames for cladding and lid? Will i have problems with run off and such??

As for the cladding, i was thinking of using composite wood (if i still have the funds) from what the data sheet is showing i am assuming it is safe to use.


If not for the composite wood, i was thinking of just recycling wooden pallets, what type of weather proofing is effective in a tropical climate? Or is there another/better option of wooden planks?

Thanks in advance

Regards

Hi Guys

@Anyone - Anyone with experience in regards to the post above? Am I safe to assume that any paint that is listed as green or with no heavy metals is safe to use?

@dasboot - How do you prep the bottle caps for use? Do you remove the rubber gasket that is found in some of the caps?

Regards

Hiya curious, I've seen fts & gbs clad in everything from pallets to tin and generally as long as it's not going to come in contact with the water it should be fine, paint included. The composite wood, is that the plastic one?
From memory the seal in the bottle tops should be removed as they could come out in time and get into the pipe work, forever....

@skeggley - Thanks for your input, and you are right, composite wood is the one with plastic mixed in. What i am thinking is to nail/screw the lip of the ibc to the wood/aluminum to strengthen the IBC while creating a structure to hold the cladding in place. Was thinking of making a lid the same way for the FT.

As i live in a tropical climate which will see its fair share of rain will i have problem with leeching or splash back? If i am painting what type of paint can i use? Nippon Paint is one of the brands i have access to.

Regards

@Anyone

Hi Guys, with the deteriorating GB and the recent rainy season i am getting mold/algae/fungus (not sure which or all) out break. I am also noticing root rot in my DWC/NFT hybrid pipe.

If i am planning to reuse the hydroton, can i just bury it into my new GBs where they will be out of the sun or do i need to nuke them with bleach or dry them out under the sun for a few weeks?

Regards

That looks like a mixture of moss, algae, and fungus. (Ew. ) If it was only moss and algae I'd say it would be fine if you just washed most of it off and then buried the hydroton, but with fungus involved I think something a bit more extreme is called for. Personally I'd scoop out the fluffy section and throw those balls away - just drying it out won't kill all the spores and if I bleached it hard enough to be sure I'd got rid of the fungus then I'd worry about contaminating my system.

@Mel - Thanks for your feed back, could you clarify the amount for hydroton to throw away? I am assuming the fluffy section you mentioned is the area around the white looking thingy. Do i need to get rid of the entire GBs worth of hydroton about 100L worth as well as the fish and plants currently planted?

I have 2 GB but the white stuff only appeared in one of them. The other one only show signs of the dark and light green growth.

Regards

Oh heck no, not the whole GB! Just, like, a scoop around the white fluffy stuff, a couple of handfuls at most. Just enough so that you're sure you've got all the balls that have white fluffy stuff actually on them. There are fungus spores everywhere in the world, so you can't get a completely spore-free system, but getting rid of the section where you can actually *see* the fungus growing will stop it from multiplying in your system water to levels that are dangerous to your fish.

Are you running salt in your system? About 1 part per thousand salt in your water will help take care of spores in the water without causing problems for most plants (though strawberries hate *any* salt).

I left the caps as there were,but for peace of mind I would remove anything that wanted to come out,I got to add that in the time I used them I had nothing get out,there was only a short run from the up flow to the sump,there was nothing in the sump or in the pipe work when I took it apart.

@Mel - Was wondering instead of throwing away the hydroton can i just chuck them into a pot and boil them after soaking them in salted water?

@dasboot - Thanks for the feed back

Regards

Yup, that would work I think.

@Anyone - Recently my state government conducted a mosquito fogging in my neighborhood, anyone have similar experience? What is going to happen to my system in the future? How can i fix it?

Regards

What are they spraying? Do you know if the fog has already hit your system? If you can figure out a way to cover the water and plants beds somehow.

@boss - No idea what the chemical compound is, but they are using the ones that produce thick white smokes. The fog definitely drifted pass my system but i am not sure how much of it hit my system, for they are doing the fogging on the outside of my house without entering. No way of covering, already done before i got home.

Regards