Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

That would have to suck

It ain't pretty,,those effects of stratification,,,,but not that hard to stop from happening,,,water moovement (bottom up-lift) or just keep the ponds around 1.5 metres deep.

Cyara,,,if it's a raceway,,the water moovement will stop that from happening.

In ponds, often an aerator is all that is required to deal with stratification. If you are pumping from the bottom of the raceway, then you are pulling out the water from the bottom and the incoming water will mix things up.

feed water in the bottom and drain off the top
or
feed water in at surface level and drain water from the bottom
these work for me

I thought a "race-way" was an area within a continually circulating system,,usually circulating reasonably fast.The one system I saw usingwhat I thought was a race-way was in southern Vietnam and actually used the flow of the Mekong to push water continously through a semicircle. In one end,,,through system,,out other.

that would eliminate the problem of waste water
Let nature have it back!

Thanks so much RupertofOZ. Very interesting.

heh. No. That's the main problem with a lot of fish farms. Releasing the nutrient-rich water into the environment and causing huge algal blooms.
(or, are kidding, an I totally missed it? )

I think those people in Vietnam where more worried about their almost starving children,,rather than an addition to the waste in the Mekong.

I still have their address if anyone would like to donate an non-polluting system for them???

One of the things I like best about AP is the fact that we are super-fertilizing our plants, but without the environmental damage that typically causes. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is getting larger every year because of nutrient runoff from our farms. Red tides are making shellfish toxic in places that never had any trouble when I was a kid. I really hate to see these valuable nutrients lost to our use and, instead, set loose to destroy ecosystems.

We have become as gods and better get good at it fast.

...exactly what a venturi drain does. Pull water from the bottom. Solids removed and stratification avoided. Neat.

Hi Chappo.

Going to keep my depth to 1.5m I have decided anyway. Cheaper to build and I need to move my fish asap. The local African Fish Eagles have finally spotted them this last week.

I called my design.... still on paper..... a raceway because I want an oval shape to the fish pond circling an island in the middle. I am building a greenhouse to go over it all - in electrical conduit - and want to strengthen the roof of the structure with poles in the centre. Still pondering this all though. The venturi drain must be correctly placed.

AHH,,ok a circular pond ,circulating water with centre island,,,,the solids will tend to collect around the "shore"area of the island,, opens a lot potential ideas fortheir removal.

Hi Chappo. I thought to slope the circle down to a catchment area where I would place the venturi drain. Input of the cleaned water would be at the top just a little further on to encourage circulation again around the island. The catchment only needed to be a slight drop in the floor I thought. I want 2 long-ish raceways that turn at the ends. I know that I must have twice the volume of growbeds to fish water so still working on exact measurements in terms of costs. I am sure this ratio applies to full load of fish carried by the water - ie enough waste to support the plant life.... he! he!.... I know I will not be bored when setting up.