Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Really! Gosh Darn in! Remind me to have a word with my mate who recommended I do it He's got a few aquariums and said I should wipe down the walls to help stop it coming back

Even with my aquariums i keep the viewing side clean and let the other 3 walls do what they want, not what I want

Gross! I'll have to come around with my white glove

Is there any natural way to control algae from reoccurring in an AP system? Besides covering the tank that is! I have shade cloth over the top, but it seems like I'm going to have to modify that to get better all day coverage. I was thinking of getting some aquatic snails to keep things a little tidier like I had in my old pond... but I doubt the redfin would just let them go about their business...

My overflow pipe from one tank to another is 40mm pressure pipe. I notice the silvers are always having a nibble at it. I presume they are eating the algae. Might be worth getting a few to see if that helps.

i assume you mean more the suspended algae ken?

Honestly, shade is the the way. no direct sunlight and its clear as. hence the diff between dads system and mine

Yeah mate, little from column a little from column b The snails, and by the sounds of it, SP, would get rid of the build up on the walls, but the free floating junk is what I really want to keep down! It's quite clear at the moment, so big success with the 'algae massacre of '08'

I turns out I have 10 big goldfish! I didn't think I had that many, if any, left! At least one from the first batch must have survived, as there is one big mother in there, and about 9 the same size. I lost the white one, Marylin (Manson), the second day of the black out, it was the only one we named But the rest seem fine. Still can't see the redfin as they could be a foot under the water and I still wouldn't see them! I went out the other night with the torch, sneaked up on the tank and shone it in the shallows and saw a couple of reddies, big buggers! During the day though I haven't seen one, timid fish.

Well my plan now is to cover the middle section with 90% shade cloth, and maybe come down the back a bit. I also plan to put up some permanent trellis and grow something on it, a nice thick climber to cover out sun from the sides. That should help keep the blooms down I think.

Kenour 'Weed block' works just as good for shade at a fraction of the cost.

To bad you dont have a clarifier filter to put on fora couple days.,

CB, how does the weed block do for UV resistance?

I'm hoping that the watercress I plan to plant at the base of the waterfall would in someway take this role on They're only little at the moment, I'm waiting until they're big enough to plant in the pebbles I'm going to put at the base. I'm not sure how efficient it will be, but I'm hoping that the whole bottom section of the water fall will become covered with watercress and it'll filter our fine particulates on the way back to the pond.



That's what I was thinking, I have some left from the roll I bought to put under the waterfall, but I don't know how well it would go in full sun?

Commonly known as irrigation grid or halo.

I have been using the weed block for under 4 weeks, therefore I cant talk from experience just yet, however, the research Ive done shows its made from UV-treated polyethylene and should stand up to the sun's harmfull UV rays.

One concern I had is if there are any nasty chemicals used in there to keep weeds at bay but that would kill the desired crops also. lol, so i dont think thats much of a problem.

Upon inspection it looks like shade-cloth without the holes, and much much cheaper.

I will let you know if i run in to any problems.

Ill have a look at the B and see how much it is here

lol! how far back did you go to find that! 'Water thingy' is just as valid, as there is no definition in the oxford dictionary that describes halo as having anything to do with aquaponics, so screw you and your defacto terms buddy! (a bucket load of jest intended!)

No worries Cheers!

Tam and I had a bit of a brainstorm last night about it all, and we came up with a solution! We're going to put an enclosed arch over the water fall and grow the kiwi fruit over it. I'll also replace the middle section of the shade cloth with block out, I would do it all but I have pomegranates and under there that wouldn't appreciate it. This should keep light to a minimum, especially the midday sun! I'll have to get cracking at it over the holidays