Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

OKay this is my first form and would love some help here guys..
i live in kingston Jamaica and i am new at aquaponics..

i have two concerns :
1. there was a misunderstanding with one of the barrels used as the bio filter and i believe it was a blue barrel used for paint thiner ... i know i know it isnt food safe which is my concern. but i am looking to change the barrel out to a food grade barrel .

so the reason this happened was i was away and instructed the construction of this over seas. over a year ago . now that i am home the system has been up and running. i have 200 tilapia living in my 1000 gal system. expected the water is a little murky but i beefed up the bio media and then am churning Oxygen through it. i am starting to see the nitro-cycle cleaning up the water quite a bit.

* i am concerned as to changing the barrel out.. is my system contaminated permanently ? at first there was a scent but its no longer there.

when i do change my second concern is

2. changing the water. adding water to the tank wouldnt the chlorine kill or prohibit the growth of my bacteria ?


please help me out here guys thanks alot

That's interesting topic. I'm new to this too, so I'm waiting for answers

Welcome to the forum! I'm not sure about the barrel (how long has it been in place?) but I can help with your question about water!

First of all, are you talking about topping up your water (to replace evaporation etc) or actual water changes? Generally in aquaponics you try to avoid water changes unless you've got a water quality problem that needs to be fixed immediately (serious ammonia spike with fish in the system, contamination with something bad). Removing water from the system also removes nutrients that you need for your plants.

Yes, chlorine in water you put in your system can kill off your bacterial colony, which is bad. The more chlorinated water you put in, the bigger the impact. It's pretty easy to avoid though!

Option 1: top up from a water source that isn't chlorinated, like a rainwater tank or well water.

Option 2: add water conditioner to remove chlorine and chloramine from your topup water before adding it to your system.

Option 3: time! Run the water you're going to put into your system into an open container and leave it for at least a day; the chlorine etc will gas off and it will be safe to use. This is what I do, I have a tub that holds enough water for my usual topup and I make sure to fill it up when my system looks like it'll need water soon. When I fill it up I use a sprayer attachment on the hose to maximise the aeration and I can really smell the chlorine, but it fades quickly. You can put an airstone in the topup tank to speed things up but I haven't bothered yet, so far I've always remembered to plan ahead a day!

Thank you!

well the tank isnt supporting any plants yet, the barrel has been in place for about 1 yr

thats my concern as to change out the water because the fear of contaminated water. via the non food safe grade barrel

ill make sure to let it sit for a day or two . i am hooking up grow bed this weekend so ill be sure to update you as to how its going..


the tanish colour film is the beneficial bacteria i am assuming.... if i was to wash it over my new grow bed would this speed up the process of bacteria development?

I think it's probably a good idea to change out the barrel. Any information on what type of paint thinner this was? I am thinking that most of it would have escaped into the atmosphere and there probably wasn't much to begin with if the barrel was rinsed. If you can find what type it was you can check the MSDS to see about potential hazards (I'm not sure how much this will help but it's worth a look)

i really think after a whole year, there isnt much point changing the barrel......

If the barrel is food grade plastic, and the only concern is what it used to hold, yeah - after a year there's no point in changing it, any trace of paint thinner will be long gone.

If the barrel is not food grade plastic, and you're worried that it might cause problems (chemicals leaching out of the plastic itself), you should change it. I don't think you need to rush to do it right now, and I don't think you need to do water changes; it's got to be pretty stable plastic if it was used to transport a solvent. (Insert standard disclaimer about how Mel Is Not A Scientist here!)