Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I done a drawing of what i would have liked that be the BF and RFF with a canister in the middle containing wool and a mesh wall it was a really good design theoretically because the canister had a screw on lid to easily remove the finer particles that make it past the RFF but before reaching the BF

but the budget blew that design out of the tub, over $150 without media however maintenance would have been a 2min job unscrew cap pull out wool wrap new wool around plastic mesh slide back in put cap on all done, no washing the BF media simples

Barra, the bio filter you have linked to is basically a baby miniature version of what the others here have suggested you build. What isn't detailed (and Im not surprised) is what a filter like that can support, which is pretty much the main thing you need to know.

The filter you have found can and will do the job to some point but it will depend greatly on stock density. If you break that filter down into its components its basically bio-balls and filter matt, nothing special, I could make one for probably $30.
The other very crucial point is NFT requires crystal water quality and I doubt that this filter alone will give you what your after.

Another point to consider is you have mentioned you want to grow peppers/chilli and alike, somthing you may not be aware of is AP plants unlike HP plants grow very thick long masses of roots which can clog pipes/channels very quickly and these plants will need framing and to be suspended to support them. Also NFT is very reliant on temp, you may be lucky in Sydney as I know Rupert did well (although he only grew lettuce and basil) but still something to be cautious of when designing the layout as you will probably need shading in the raw of summer. All theses little things add up in cost.

Personally, (and I don't mean to be a downer) is NFT is the last method I would use to grow AP produce. But thats just me and what Ive seen over the years.

I came across online media calculator and based on my 135 gallon FT it said i only needed 6 litres of K1 media, does this sound right? would it be silly putting 6 litres of K1 media in a 60 litre drum?

Sleepe u can keep that shop a secret

Not sure what calc you used but unless you know your intended stock density, feed input and BSA then you its impossible to determine the amount of K1 required.

Sorry Charlie i didn't see your earlier post

NFT is just more user friendly to me than the GB type, on my down slopping hill if i was to use the GB it would be around 1.4-1.5m tall i'm only1.65m my self the NFT keeps things really low and easy to work with as its only around 100-150mm above the FT

I really want to at lease try the NFT system, if its a try and fail at lease i can say i tried

What would u guy say about a K1 moving bed 60L drum with the inlet pump pushing it around in a circle motion? air pump is a option but i see people say on Youtube to use 2/3rd media in x size container that is 40L worth of K1

I will be using the IBC container 1.2x1x.45m people on BYA have mentioned i can stock 20 Silver Perch but i am thinking maybe around 12 would be less of a handful is there a better media calculator on this forum somewhere i can calculate it?

I dont know how u guys are getting it done for $50 i know Sydney cost around 20% more but geewhiz all this just cost me close to $70 and its 1" or 25mm i was looking at 2" or 50mm the bulk heads crazily priced like $26 each

Have a look at uniseals. They are much cheaper then bulkheads.

http://www.bitsouttheback.net/p/bits-ou ... e.html?m=1

signore i was advised to spend the cash on bulk heads over uni seals the 4 bulk heads were about $12 each i guess they are better in the long run as i can re-use them or plug holes and move them up or down

still undecided on what media i'm going to use i watched one guy with sludge all over his bio balls what a mess than i tossed up getting K1 media this option looked really good i liked where u just drain the filter than refill and its all taking care of

than started looking at the pellet type media this is supposedly the best stuff with by far the biggest surface area of all media but its pricey

i ducked into my local aquarium shop here in Sydney and asked about K1 and he was all sold out f everything, the guy mentioned he can order in the big bags of K1 (bag looked around 50x35cm) for $50 but it wont be in untill the end of the week

i'm doing a lot of head scratching, i don't know weather i want a small amount of media with a huge surface area or if a huge amount of media with lower surface area is better, than i dont want to be sticking a small amount of media in a rather big container (60L drum 2kilos of media) than i dont want to go too small on the media container i have flooding problems

Not sure what's around now but when I bought my k1 I got it from here

https://freshbydesign.com.au/aquaponic- ... bio-media/

I did get 120l though so it was much cheaper then the per liter price. Keep an eye on gumtree I saw a few months back a guy in prestons was selling 20l boxes of k1 for $30.

Thanks i would really like to use the K1 for its self cleaning and low maintenance, i will keep a eye out

Prestons is just around the corner bad timing i guess

there are a lot more posts on this site about uniseals leaking than there are about bulkheads leaking.....
Often possible to go Bulkhead to nylon and screw-on to PVC, particularly on inside where thread leaks don't matter much..

As soon a you are talking Bunnings or local/small suppliers the price of plumbing in small quantities is generally costly.
Pretty easy to spend $70.... probably going to get worse with the NFT's I would have thought ?

There are couple varieties of bulkhead as well - including a full screw thread with two 'nuts' version.
But depends a lot on suppliers and whether you can access a decent trade/bulk pipe retailer
versus relying on Bunnings or a local hardware where the large diameter fitting market is quite limited in turnover. The one many use in Perth is often 1/4 to 1/2 price Bunnings and has a wide range of 50mm/90mm stuff etc. But that doesn't help you in sydney


I wouldn't use too many bulkheads but I would use them where it counts... or where its going to cost a lot of effort to manipulate or fix later. I think that is the consensus of many threads on the site. And they do re-use much easier for the inevitable Mark-II version.

[edit] Hansen is not the cheapest brand either but it is definitely amongst the better ones in terms of quality.

[edit] + 1 for Rob Bobs Bits out Back- his uniseal prices are about best locally but need a few to make the P&H
work. With the current A$ to $US buying from US is less attractive. On the flip side I know of a few
places where Uniseals are not particularly cheap....

Look

In every build I have done only about 5% consists of new materials and if you want the ultimate check out Food and Fish, I don't think Milne has ever bought anything new.

Two blue barrels $10 each couple of dollars for a white pail for the RFF (eg from a donut place) pipes and fittings from you local tip (bugger all) Plastic recycling place for the bottle caps (you don't think Andy buys them new) pay by weight.
My GB consists of 800-900l of bottlecaps as grow media, and the guy was interested in what I wanted them for and when I told him he gave me them for free.

Bugger I let the side down I bought 2 NEW cool room panels this morning for my beds in the glass=hot house
Sorry HA HA

Thats saving a dollar sleepe i wish i had those resources


looks like there is a major shortage of K1 media in Sydney i went back to the shop today to order the $50 bag and was told its no longer available, i went to two more shops one was closed the other didnt sell K1 media

unsure what to do

Ok i will go with clay balls and the GB but am i able to cut off a majority of the legs on the GB section of the frame? my GB with the frame and legs are 52cm tall i think that is far to high