Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I recently pulled my old decommissioned marine aquarium and mud crab grow out tubs from storage,
and are curious if anyone has used protein skimmers in their system and the results ?

in marine systems they are extremely effective with the removal of fish waste and uneaten food as a pre-filter

and i am thinking of using both of them in future(2X 1000Lph reef octopus skimmers) if my bioload increases past the systems capabilities.
with the brown sludge used in a mineralisation tank for the winter configuration of the system or for the bosses vermiponics nft system.


The backyard main system compromises of a split configuration for summer and winter. and will eventually have a standing stock of about est 120kg

4X1000L ft> 200L swirl filter> 200L solids mesh filter>60L k1 bio-media filter in pool poly filter with return line to >140L winter sump with 1000w heater and 3000lph pump to secondary return lines to ft via zeolite polisher.
the k1 pool filter when switched to backwash feeds both 1200L 5m long sump/ raft bed and secondary ibc buried sump>15000Lph pump to 5 X 350L gb, 8 X 20L dwc dutch buckets, multiple towers, nft and propagation raft bed and primary return line to the ft


any other uses,experience or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
rossco..

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It is interesting how some days you see that clear oily scum on the FT..
I OFTEN see it and wonder "why today"

Perhaps it is always there, but sometimes not as obvious..

As you know, the Skimmer does what it says, so they would likely not be that good on solids, other than floaties.. :-)

In my AP system, the SLO is open topped, in one courner, and an air-stone in the opposite courner conveniently pushes the film to the Skimmer.. you do see things happening there..
In the AC system, there is no Skimmer, and oddly, I don't see much film.anyway..
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Happy New Year

Ohhh.... What is that oily film called? What is it exactly? I see it from time to time in my system too...

protein skimmers work very differently to the std skimmers.
they contain a venturi enclosed in a multi level cylinder, the bubbles created by the venturi bind with solids and form a smelly brown foam that is forced upward to a collection cup/ drain line and the clean waters is passed out a return line

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And.. just an obvious correction..
I feel that an aquarium type SKIMMER, is not really a Skimmer.at all, IMHO.. in that it floats the proteins and solids on the raft of bubbles, as distinct from a more typical AP Skimmer, that does exactly what it says.. skims the surface..
The beauty of your Skimmer is that it will provide a high degree of aeration.. a plus-plus....

And I see your post.. now that is a serious device.. (brought down from. AirlieBeach I assume)..

How would you use that under real pressure (ie pump).. I could see it working after a SLO or an overflow to sump..
Just curious..

My feeling is that if you are truly running an AP, then even the proteins are good for the GB's..

Again in my AP system that film is really obvious and at times, even affects the sump, but. .. it really does not last in there and moves on ..

How is the constructing going... Did you manage more IBCs

I'm still elated with the performance of the AC system.. Still not 100% sure how it works, but assuming that my thoughts are correct on the Zeolite and Biocenosis..
The predictions of the zeolite bags flat-lining and.ceasing operation, or worse, stumping the nitrates back to the system, has still not happened ..
So my belief of anoxic de-nitrification seems to be holding up..
I am looking forward to graphing the N levels when I get to over two months.. I have given up on close testing and just do it every three or four days.
The busy-bees have been busy.. added more frames. To keep them happy..
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Have you considered that by removing proteins you'll also be removing a potential source of nitrogen and micronutrients for plant growth?

Whether you use this probably just depends on your stocking rates and whether you do water changes. I'm not sure how effective this is for freshwater but apparently these are used in commercial RAS systems. AP is a bit different so you should take into account how your system is running and whether you want to be removing a potential source of nitrogen and micronutrients that the plants could use.

thanks for the fast replies everyone,
with the intake of the skimmers each unit has its own pump 1000-2000Lph attached and operates separately to the system, only require placement in a shallow sump 200-300 mm deep with the return line placed into the top of mesh solids filter
in regards to potential loss of nutrient source for the gbs, I am considering only running the skimmers during winter when the gbs slow down and to keep the nutrients aside for later use in a aerated holding tank, this mix could then be added to the primary sump as required to feed the plants.
The ft's will be run as a ras system for only a few months at most in order to keep to prevent any water temp loss as i would like to keep barra over winter.
as to stocking rates that is yet to be decided, at the moment i am running 3 of the 5 gbs, 8 dutch buckets and sump raft bed from the bio load of about 2 1/2cups of feed per day with the jp, goldies and mullet.
there is still another 3 X 1000L ft still to be stocked in the next few months and another raft bed,2X gbs and 128 X 80mm net pots currently unused in the towers and nft systems.
the plan is to stock 100 jps in feb to be eventually divided between 2 tanks, I a have 90+ red claw cells in production at the moment for the secondary sump similar to http://www.ebay.com/itm/ex-R-D-Crayfish-Yabby-EDU-CELL-1-Pair-Culture-System-for-Aquaculture-/151347945000?hash=item233d0a5e28:g:j5QAAOSw91NTuTLW and the other remaining ft will most likely hold more local mullet, for the barra.

as to the question of ibc availability, i found a supplier an hour away at a good price and quality and a kiwi courier with a truck who doesn't want cash or beer for delivery, only taro, watercress and Okinawan spinach

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EDU tubes.. at $50 a pair.. that's $25 per yabbie .. = seriously expensive yabbies
I am not surprised the seller has them available as they could never have made a profit from them.
I can't imagine what a chore it is to feed a rack of them... (as shown in that commercial jig)

I was most pleased with my RAS/AC System yesterday.. did a water test after a week of being slack.. :-) or perhaps busy over Chrissy'
0-0-0. ... and that as the 100 plus fish are getting bigger

Kinda makes me wonder about suggestions of "water changes".. and whilst the system has been running for a good time, the biocenosis bags have only been there for a bit under two months, and I would have thought that the predicted wall would have been hit by now, if the predicted zeolite saturation was a fact. Again 0-0-0. That is actually unbelievable IMHO

Back to your protein Skimmer..... I am unsure just how well it will work as my early attempts with them in fresh water, was a total waste of effort.. all good with marine.. just seems that there might not be the density in near fresh water.
So I will be most interested in your findings.as to the benefits Vs the power usage
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Protein skimmers don't work effectively in freshwater.