Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks Scott! for the links.

No Rupe. Don't get Maxicrop here. But surely I can find an alternative. In soil gardens we use a thing called Multiplex as a foliar spray for taking care of micronutrient deficiencies. It's inorganic though. Don't think I can use that very often on the plants. Will definitely affect the fish.

I have tested again tonight and I am showing my first readings of ammonia in my system
Ammo -0.25
PH -7.2
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 2 (aprox)

I would assume the nitrate reading is from the seasol ?
It is moving and I am happy

I have spoken with Troutman and I am taking delivery of my first fish next Friday (Thanks Troutman)

The blackout advice for the algae seems to be working as well. I had a look tonight while water testing and I can now see my pump. I put the tarp over the tanks on Saturday morning so this is a good result in 4 days.

I am looking at a UV-C filter as an option to combat the algae and I was thinking of setting up a separate small fountain pump and run it through the UV-C and then through some filter foam for the suspended particals. This could be run on a separate timer on an as required basis.
All thoughts and comments welcomed on the above.

Bentaz has some interesting filter ideas for the suspened particles. You could probably check that thread out. Don't see why you need that though.

If you keep the tank shaded, you probably won't need to worry about algae again in the future once this first bloom goes away. I've never really had an algae problem even though there is always a little section of tank that isn't completely shaded. Once some algae is decomposing in the grow beds, it will likely also contribute to inhibiting future algae as long as you are shading the tanks some.

Hi all
I have a question around air pumps and the absolute requirement for them.
I have the GB's draining to a sump which has good water agitation and when the sump pumps back to the FT it runs through a venturi which again provides aeration. Is this enough ?
I have read quite a few posts on the subject but I am still not clear on what people consider the right amount of air in L/Min. My tank is 3000L so would a 20L/Min suffice or do I need 150L/Min? If it is purely driven by stocking density then what would people consider the requirement be for 100 - 150 fish?
There is also plenty of discussion around the battery back up units so is the general consensus this is best?
The last question I have is what level of noise can I expect from these pumps. My system is not far from the house and although we don’t mind the sound of running water I think the constant GRRRRRR of a compressor would push the boundaries.
I would be interested to hear what some of you are currently using.

You can get fairly quiet air pumps. You don't want an air compressor for this.
I have an air pump that does 2 cfm at 2 psi and uses around 60 watts. I expect an air pump that can do that would be plenty for you even if you stocked heavily on trout.

Other benefits of running an air pump. It helps keep the tank cleaner since it adds additional circulation to the tank helping keep solids moving on out.

I find most fish eat better when there is plenty air going into the tank.

An air pump this size could be hooked up to a backup switch with a battery and inverter and charger and such and keep your tank aerated for a period of time during a power out. I have run my air pump on a deep cycle battery for over 24 hours when a CGFI outlet failed while I was away (trick is to get a deep cycle battery with enough amp hours to run the pump for twice as long as you expect it to need to run, and then get a battery charger appropriate for the battery in question that will automatically switch to float charge when appropriate.) I also learned the hard way to get an inverter that can handle being on all the time. First on I got said it was 100 watt continuous (cool should be fine for a 60 watt air pump) However, in the fine print somewhere it said the inverter was actually only rated for continuous use for up to 20 minutes!!!!!!!!!!! Now I have a 400 watt continuous inverter with a fan in it.

I recently bought one of these over ebay. I think I got the smaller one. There is a bigger one which would push more air, but of course draw more power. They sound noisy indoors when I tested them, but I think that it would be less noticable out in the yard. I have not physically hooked it up yet, but I probably should this weekend.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140340841312&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

exactly what i'm looking for ivan! Try looking at these too, i think they'r a little bit quieter then the AOC ones.
Would love to hear more about the performance of these pumps and how often do they need to be serviced.

Good day!

I use the Resun ACO-003... with six outlets/air stones in my 6000L trout tank... not completely silent... but certainly acceptable....

My air pump is pretty quiet. I might not want to have it running on my headboard at night when I try to go to sleep but it is quiet enough that outside with other noise around a person might actually have to touch it and feel the vibration to know it is on or look in the tanks to see the bubbles coming from the air stones.

Mine is the Whitewater TL66 outdoor linear air pump. They have indoor rated air pumps that cost less but I don't know if they are as quiet as the one I got. Would just need a housing for it to keep the weather off to use it outdoors. I would like to Aquatic eco systems here so you could see the model I have but their web site doesn't seem to be working today.

Hi all,
Thought it was time for some updates on our system.
I picked up 50 Trout from Troutman on Friday afternoon and after 2 and a bit hours drive with water splashing and slopping every where inside my car (poor planning on my behalf) I arrived home with all of my new fish happy and healthy. They were soon in their new home and zooming around nicely - Thanks Troutman
They got their first feed on Sat morning and after a bit of a slow start they now smash the pellets with a great deal of excitement and water spray to anyone who stands too close

I have made a couple of additions to the system over the past few weeks with a sepparate PVC pipe grow bed for Strawberries. I havent hooked it up just yet as I salted the FT to 1 ppt prior to adding the Trout so I thought I would hold off for a little while to allow the salt to dilute.

Looking good mate! Glad that those fish are happy and zooming around!

I soon realised I needed space to store all the bits and pieces so I have also added a cupboard to the end of one of the GB's. I was getting well and truely sick of going back and forth to the shed all the time.

I just realised my post regarding the addition of fish was also my 50th I am officially no longer a newbie

Well I think I am still a newbie but at least I have the Valuable Contributor status now