Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

if animals used to drink from it i would use it as is. or add some gold fish and see how long thay last

That was my concern, so... safe after curing?

kind of.
Best you ask the guy on the desk to refer it to the manufacturers to get an answer.

Thx for ur advice C1, I will play and see . CG's idea of volunteer goldfish researchers sounds good

like canaries in coalmines....

Poor canaries, being used for greedy raping of the earth, not like the honourable [s]sacrifice[/s] conscription of goldfish in the name of a better future

If the paint is suitable for use in potable water it will be ok. Why paint it anyway, just give it a scrub and go for it mate.....get thos fish in there ASAP.
Muzza

to true Muzza

Thought the exposed iron might present a problem, tho what I based that on is stagnant water

One of the things that starts running low on AP system is iron. While chelated iron is more easily absorbed by the plants, the iron from the tub shouldn't hurt, and firs are more tolerant of iron than they are of things like copper. I'd just go for it. Gold fish will also be good guinea pigs/canaries.

Edit - They will also help cycle your system.

Either way you wouldn't start with the table fish, although silver perch can be cheaper than goldfish at some places. And completely submerged iron will take a while to break down. Just seal the underside of the tub to make sure it can rust through anywhere, any enamel paint should be ok.

It would be interesting to see what is IN the enamel paint already in the tub. Lead springs to mind. Plus cracks where repaired with solder... again lead. But it will break down so slowly. As long as you don't eat the fish that are 3 or 4 years old who have had more time to absorb the nasties.

i think only the real old bath tubs used lead in the enamel, you know the ones that take 3 blokes to lift. If you are concerned there are relatively cheap lead test kits available on the net that measure down to a few parts per billion.

Tub took three to lift, think I will paint with bitumen paint and let cure. Fish are a month away, will be doing volunteer work at the local aquaculture farm to find out the ins and outs of breeding (silver and golden perch) and rearing. Will cycle in a couple of plastic tubs, grow worms/duck weed/yabbies and ready bathtub for fry when they are ready to adopt. Thx 2 all.

cost on bitumen paint ecosys?

I bought a 20L bucket for about $125