Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Or you could use the trailer you brought it in placed on an angle, a metre of guttering, a large container of water, and a pump and hose in said large container.

Now recycle!

Murray, I use a sponge to pull out the stone dust then stick it straight back in my beds as minerals and particulates for the bio-film. It is already seeded with bacteria from the filter. 2 -3 days to clear the water without really removing anything.

The hosed off dirt can remain hosed off, the little bit that comes off a settling bed is mainly rock dust, like people buy to add trace minerals.

Joyce will read this and think we have gone off on a tangent again - more demerit points

Soundslike fun... set it up in the back yard/veg garden/on the lawn and water the plants at the same time (and topsoil tyhe lawn too )

Thanks Aquaddict, I collected it (the gravel) in the ute and washed it in back of the ute, but I will have to try a collective of VB's and your idea and see if I can get it cleaner for the next one.

The system is chugging along really nicely now, each cycle taking around 30 minutes. I have done some more fine adjustments to the float switches and the ball valves in order to slow it all down a bit.

Muzza

Muzza
I think VB's idea is the best way to save water.
The amount of water used to wash media seems to contradict the main benefit of 'Aquaponics' (to save water).
Maybe we should just sieve fine particles out of the media and place directly into the growbeds. Have an extra tub attached to the system with a material to catch small particles (dust, etc). VB's polywool idea or some other media.
If you allow a small flow rate to this tub the small particles should settle to the bottom and remain stuck within the filter material.
I suppose we are talking about a settling tank/filter which others are already using in DWC systems.
Thou this can be only a temporarily addition to clean the media

Hi murray looks great for flood and drain do you only need flooding pipe around the out side of the grow bed is there an advantage with the criss cross method like joels [just a tip dont put to much gravel in the ute at one time]

Food & Fish,

Here is a shot of the grow bed inwards water pipe grid which is working just fine. The bed floods right up to the top as can be seen in the pix before. It appears to be working really well. As per Joel's book the pipes are not glewed together so they can be easily taken apart and cleaned if necessary.

Muzza

HI LB,
Yes I think you are right, I am mulling over things this afternoon to come up with something I can use to set up a filter of sorts, to hook into the return water to give it that filtering action before the water returns to the fish tank. There is bound to be some thing around here I can use. I might even return to using the flower pot filter I was using on my 200 ltr system.

I can't do much about it today as I have a tank to finish for somebody, and a grow bed, and a boat that is overdue!!!!!!! (I am looking at the forum while eating lunch)

Muzza

thanks all is clear now

If you were not so far away Murray I would have gotten a tank and some grow beds from you a month ago, or at least tried. I love the look of them. Nice work!

I think you are filling your beds with water to a higher level than EB advocates. This will help I guess to get the small plants going, but in the long run may cause problems with algae. Maybe after a week or so you could adjust the float again so that a bit less water goes into the bed. I think you would find a lower level would still ensure beds were wet enough towards the top for the seedling to take root, so perhaps you could make the change anytime.

I agree with John, that is one of the nicest grow beds I've seen. I have a bed from a hydroponic shop, but it is only 4 ft. long, (almost 122 cm)

With the auto siphon i've been playing around with, I set the pipe at 250mm mainly cause I didn't know how high the water would rise above the end cap, the level is going to the top of the end cap leaving 5cm of gravel that won't get wet - is this too much or should I adjust it higher??

Should ask EB what is working for him Ell. Maybe a PM to alert him to the question - because I am also very interested as am hoping to get my big gro-bed hooked up in next few days.

Murray those growbeds are pure sex!

Great to see your priorities you plant like I do - strawberries then, some more strawberries....