Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

am currently using a set of my tubs as a biofilter.....both top n bottom are filled with gravel with an air gap inbetween......sortta doin the job but need to polish the water better......maybe something other than the gravel lol

I guess the roots in a planted GB help with that polishing BK??

BK - for my in shed biofilters, I place some filter wool under the inlet to the biofilter. The crud that builds up on this can be rinsed out regularly (preferably in system water so as not to kill the bacteria that will populate the wool also).

yeah probably would lol.....i might try the layered method like stevo's dads.....want to get something sorted and as soon as i find out whether i got the lease here for another yr i will get stuck into getting a trout tank running...just dont want to have to provide lighting for plants in a gb/biofilter so i can keep the environment nice n cool for the trout "all" year lol

see my post above BK - got it in while you were posting.

your too quick amigo lol......that should work a treat

BK, your water is plenty sexy. if you're talking about the slight cloudiness then thats probably just a bacterial bloom while it cycles properly. Anyone who has cycled an indoor aquarium from scratch might remember that milky looking water that all of a sudden clears up one night.

The crap builds up on it pretty quick for sure. If you had no problem with transferance between systems - you could rinse the crap out into your outdoor system so as not to lose the nutes.

lol by all accounts that is a good thing steve

the KNO3?

finally some one got it!

Steve, I was waiting for a response at the top of the page

che?

? as above

I have seen similar filters done on large saltwater systems but they place them on the return line to the tank. I don't see why it wouldn't work on a AP system. Here is a basic description.

The basic system is a five gallon bucket that has a lid that will seal the top. Pop in 2 bulkhead fittings near the top of the bucket on opposite sides of the bucket. Fill the bucket 3/4 full(just below bulkheads) of medium to fine sand put a bit of course sand on top attach to a pipe that allows water to flow across the top of the sand. Outflow should be equal to inflow and about 150-200gph.
It takes a couple weeks to get established like all micro-organism filters but really will pull alot of nitrates out of the water column. Couldn't find a good picture to add will keep an eye out for one.

Robert

This nitrate filter doesn't look too hard to make. I think it is charcoal in the first chamber, sulfur in the second chamber and sand in the last chamber.