Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I figured as much...still a nice trick to keep in the bag!

Mark

+1
If you were to vacuum the bottom I can't see why it wouldn't work although as Chillidude states you will probably have a hell of a lot of silt
It would be an interesting experiment and like you I'm into shortcuts providing that the shortcuts don't end up creating more work in the long run.
Let us know what you end up doing and the outcome

I can be talked into just about anything....might just give it a try. Worse case I could just open the valve on the bottom of the IBCs and drain and flush them out. The water would do the yard some good, so not really a waste. Would even be willing to sperate out the yolks and freeze those as they would not contibute to solids removal. Maybe just a large container of egg-beaters.

Mark

Just try it in a small scale - wash a couple of bucketloads of rocks in a bathtub or something, add eggs, see what happens. Then if you end up with a rock hard sediment you know it's not suitable. If you can vaccume it out then it might be a good'n.

Yeah, go for it - you're not exactly risking life and limb !

+1

probably work well with a sock filter on the GB outlet while you wash the rock - at least the egg might floc it so the clay doesn't block the filter as fast
John

Chainsaw
I totally agree with your statement
1 test is worth 100 expert opinions
and in regards to AP an expert is a drip under pressure

"X" is an 'unknown'
or
"ex" is 'used to be'

but "Spurt" is still a drip under pressure.
Cheers IanK

This thread looks like leaving egg on my face

So long as its only the yoke

this may just be a beat up

very interesting thread and would love to hear how people's experiments go as i'm slowly getting to the stage in the expansion that I will be adding gravel. I will definately try this myself. Maybe not as a substitute to washing gravel but definately if it clears the water quicker.
And maybe I'll fast track the chook enclosure!

When I started I had coco peat on top of my GBs (BIG mistake) water has been brown ever since, slowly coming clearer with water changes. But thought would give the eggs a go, 3 large eggs in 3000 litres (incidently crack the eggs into a bucket of water, gently, and then the yoke will lift out, no yoke.) after 2 days water is clearer will have to try it again.

I might give this a go myself, my water has got 'murky' with all this rain. You can see the sediment on the bottom of the fish tank, goes to show my gravel wasn't washed as well as I thought.