Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi since the GB acts as a bio filter to breakdown ammonia to nitrates and nitrites wouldn't it be better if i do it this way

Fish Tank -> Filter Solid Waste -> Biofilter -> GB -> Back to Fish Tank?

Has anyone tried this setup and is there a difference in its effectiveness?

Thanks,

James

Sure it would work but if you are talking about a media filled flood and drain grow bed, the "filter solid waste then Biofilter" separate from the grow bed are really redundant and will just take extra space and maintenance for something that the grow bed is perfectly able to do all on it's own. (if we are talking about any other type of grow bed, like a DWC or NFT type set up, yes you do need to solids and bio-filter separate from the grow bed and it is advisable to do that before the grow bed or you wind up with anaerobic gunking areas in your roots possibly causing root rot.)

There are a few primary functions of media filled flood and drain grow beds.
1-they support your plants.
2-they filter solids
3-they provide biofiltration
4-they do this without extra aeration
5-they are also a great place for composting worms

The fact that gravel filled flood and drain grow beds are so good and doing all of these things without much extra attention is what makes flood and drain media filled grow beds so perfect for backyard scale aquaponics operations. Flood and drain media beds might not be appropriate for very large commercial operations but then those operations have a staff to tend filters daily. I'm finding it difficult to locate a neighbor who would be comfortable dealing with filters if I am gone for more than 5 days.

Jamesto

Currently running that system, with the solids filter incorporated in the biofilter, would have liked the vortex filter but space and plumbing made it difficult.
Too early to give any comments on its effectiveness, got to wait a month or two

so as I take it... if I have a f&d system with a large ST I could take the GB filtered water and run it thru a NFT pipe? or would i need another filter such as a swirl filter or something?

jT

The water is a lot cleaner after the gb's. If I hook up a NFT I would incorporate an over flow filter to the outlet of a continous feed gb. If the filter material blocks then the water still gets back into the ft. just use a T and a bock of filter mesh.

I've just set up some NFT pipes on my system after the grow beds. Seems to be working ok so far but it is still quite new. Check out my system thread if you wish. The NFT install starts on page 75 of the thread.

I have noticed that there is some very fine solids that get through the grow beds but this stuff does not seem to cause the anaerobic problems that the fresh solids do.

Further back in the thread I had tried some NFT with unfiltered water and it was not so good as the sludge would really build up around the roots in the pipes.

Sorry I sound have added a link to my system thread there
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2640&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=1110

Wow sorry just got back anyway I guess it would be redundant because I thought it would be better to filter out the solids first.

Thanks,

James