Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The rain might be charged with positive or negative ions which attract particles in water?

But I'm just taking a wild guess.

I can't wait till this weekend to do my next photo update everything just seems to be going really well, I also bought a mini greenhouse from Big W, and it's excellent some of the spinach seeds sprouted after two days.

I have to do a search but apart from wrapping the fish tank, is there anything I should put in there to battle the algae, it's not too bad yet just a light spread on the wall of the tank but I know it can get crazy real quick.

If you cover the top and the sides of the FT the algae should die off by itself (turns brown, then disintergrates). I don't think this will cause ill effect in the small quantity you currently have.

Before I put the colorbond cladding around the frame of my smaller system the algae was growing into big long fronds in the FT, like you see in rock pools and streams. As soon as I covered it, the algae went away as described above. Now there is only a very tiny bit of aglae growing (no fronds) near a crack of sunlight at the back of the tank.

Thanks Doc,

Yeah i will have it covered up this weekend and its already under the patio so it never gets direct sunlight anyway.

I need some advice on expansion, it seems even with the expanded sump I wouldn't have enough sump water to manage another grow bed. Right now at time the water level gets close to the top of the pump.

I have been looking for a solution such as those valve things that allow you to fill beds at different times, however some say these are no good for gravity feed which I have.

The other thing I'm thinking about is making grow pipes or flt? Out of 90 mm pipe and perhaps just have them flood and drain and use smaller pipe to feed these say 25mm and smaller again at the drain end back into the sump? No idea if this would work or even if the water capacity would allow it.

If anyone can review my system pics and any ideas are welcome, I can get another IBC top for a grow bed no problem but I can't see how I could accommodate one with my water volume problem.

Advice is welcome

I skimmed your thread and it looks like you've got an IBC fish tank, 2 growbeds and a pair of sumps that are linked with the pump in the sump tank. The existing beds are using Affnan Siphons from what I can tell.

Just make the new bed Constant Flood (using only a standpipe without a hole to set the water level, have a gravel guard around this so you can change the standpipe length if needed) and you should be able to do this no problem. Fill the new growbed with water before starting the system back up, so that filling it doesn't empty your sump (top up the sump to keep the pump from running dry once your flow is making a complete circuit). I hope this makes sense.

Thanks Scotty,

I am a bit slow on the take up mate, lol I just got it. So the bed is at the height of the standpipe even when tge pump is off? So if that is the case how high should the standpipe be? The same as what the affnan's are or should it be lower because there is always water there?

Yes, sounds like you have the idea - water retention in the bed even with the pump off.

The siphons I have used caused the water to go much higher than the top of the standpipe before the siphon kicked in. Based on this you probably want the standpipe slightly longer than what you would use for the Affnan siphons. You're shooting for the same water level - about an inch or so below the surface.

See so simple yet I couldn't get it without someone else explaining it. Thanks heaps mate I'm not ready yet fo the extra bed but at least I know how to go about it

Thanks again

Hi all,

I just realised there are tadpoles in my sump,is this a problem? Should I get them out?

Cheers

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

Anyone with a good frog clay pot recipe?

Frog clay pot recipe?

I'd leave them in. Can't say for certain but tadpoles turn into frogs. Frogs eat insects so probably a good thing. Anything else in the sump with them that you don't want the tadpoles eating?

Good point Scotty, as long as they don't turn into cane toads. Lots of green frogs around our place though so it's probably them

unless they are black black toadpoles you are fine