Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm a newbie about to set up a system. I'm in Thailand and can get chipped coco husks/peat very cheaply.

Do other members have experience with this media? I'm inclined towards the husks on a continuous flow system (as I'm having trouble finding timers out here). I tend to think the peat will get a bit too waterlogged, whereas the husk will stay moist, but still drain well. Any opinions?

Thanks!

About right with your assumptions Plachon (welcome by the way).... the cocopeat will most certainly remain wetter than the coco-husk chips or husk fibre.....

Possible problems with either...... commercial products are sometimes soaked in salt-water, esp those from India or Ceylon....so they'll need a good rinse....

Coco-xxxx tends to clour your water with the tannins it releases... not a real problem as such to the fish (some may actually like turbid water)..... and will take a while to clear... so you'll have difficulty observing your fish behaviour....

Both tend to run ph 6.5.... some down around ph 5.5 - 6.5...... bear in mind AP systems (over time) trent toward that range anyway..... so you'll probably have to think/run some buffering..

Calcium Carbonate... shell grit.... are the most commonly used... some use potassium bicarbonate to supplement possible potassium deficiencies....

Both retain water really well... so if you select plants that prefer drier feet then you'll have problems running continuous flow....IMHO....

You might get away with Flood and drain growbeds, even if pumped continuously... as long as they're a slow fill, fast drain....

But those that have used coco-coir products have generally abondoned it or used it on a timer based setup.... often only watering twice a day.....

Or as a "satellite" system and used hand watering, run to waste.....

Thanks, not sure if I'm smart enough for the flood and drain, so I'll have a better look for timers. I would worry watering only twice a day, especially if it's the chipped husks. It's hot all the time over here, so I worry about drying, I'd tend to go for 3 or 4 times a day and a few times at night for the oxygen.

I like coco peat because it's a waste product and very cheap. As I'm living in Thailand I doubt the stuff I'm buying is treated in any way.

Forgot about your location Plachon ....

3-4 times daily might be enough.... might take some trial and error to get it right...

You might be surprised how wet a bed of coco-coir stays....

Stick some in a bucket with holes for drainage (simulating a growbed with a "quick" drain) ....

Wait 3-4 hours, then dig into the coir and check it out....

Think you'll find it's still pretty moist not too far below the surface...

Do agree with ROZ on the shortcomings of the cocopeat,
and if I may add, have some blue barrels GB with the cocopeat,
the bottom drain pipe covered in gravel with the C/Peat on top.

I did sieved it through a (about 10mm) garden sieve, left it soaking
for few days before rinsing it twice.

Keeps moist for long time, but because being so chunky, drains freely.
Did stain the water but the gold fish didn’t complain much, nearly tripled in size.

Also during the hot summer days may keep the water cooler than gravel would.

Interesting thing on my experimental bed 4 divisions hydrotron scoria vemiculite and 1/4 bluemetal ,When you flood they all drain the same time and in the glasshouse 2 beds one hydrotron one vemiculite both planted the same both watered the same supprise supprise they are both growing the same

The amount of times per day the media is flooded doesnt really hurt the plants, twice per day or 20. The only difference it makes in our systems is the filtering of the water.

Before I got trout I could get away with a couple of cycles per day, but due to trouts eating and dirtying the water, I almost run continuously now.

Good point OBO.... the need to run short frequent cycles for filtration probably means that coco-coir would just remain too wet....

If you want to run cococoir i say give it a go the only root rot i have had in the 2 years i have been running was lettuce in the nft channel [ before i started pre filtering]

Just need to ensure we are all talking the same thing ,, coconut peat is fine ground stuff ,, coconut coir is the stringy outside of the coconut.
Coconut coir , often used for making beds, available FREE in Thailand ,, see your local agriculture centre. Unfortunately although FREE it comes still attached to pieces of broken shell ,, most efficient seperation method is ,, buy 2 bottles of Lao Khao ( VERY strong white whiskey) and place beside coconuts ,, soon willing workers arrive just like ants to honey:)

The stuff I'm talking about is both the peat and the square chunks of coconut shell. I don't think it's the coir, I think both products come from the same part of the coconut. The peat is finally ground, while the chunks look like the shell has been put through a mulcher/ chipper.

The chunks are much better drained while still retaining water. This is what I'm most interested in.

I'm looking forward to starting, checked out the Tilipia fingerling's, 100 for 40B or 50B (about $1.40 - 1.80) depending on their size. Pumps are less than $10 and the shop is about 2kms from my house.

Want quality fingerlings ,, male only and YES he's an EXPERT..
http://www.tilapiathai.com/

Thanks, he's not far from my land, but I'll have to wait a little while until I figure out what I'm doing. At the moment I don't really have a clue!

Plachon ,, I know Tilapia , I know Thailand . You may save a lot of space in this forum if you use the PM with me.
Up to you .

Just a quick question about the coco chips (I've pasted a pic below). Do the ever stop coloring the water and how does this affect the reading for PH etc? I've rinsed mine and left them out in torrential rain, but it doesn't seem to be making any difference. The water still turns deep brown.