Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi there, Im a newbie to aquaponics. I have built myself a setup using an 1000L IBC and by picking the brains of people at BYAP. The system was just finished today, the main growbed is up and running with 4 more smaller ones planned. All I have in the tank at the moment is some marron as I didnt want to kill anything just yet. I will post photos of my setup soon. It is great to be able to use the side of the house for something constructive instead of just storing old crap.

Anyone know how to clear the water ? After I connected the pump to the growbed for the first time the expanded clay (which I didnt rinse enough I assume ?) made the clear water brown. My wife and daughter cant see the marron anymore, which will lead to decreased interest and therefore decreased support.... Help

Hi and welcome,

I have not done this my self but others have suggested filtering the water being pumped from the FT through material like an old sock to get the suspended gravel dust out. Might take some time and you may need to change the sock a few times.

Hope this helps

Welcome... I am in Southern River as well... Well as long as it is not too brown, it should clear up over a week or two. Just keep the water pump pumping.... and your pump should at least be capable of turning over your tank of 1000L once every hour.

Well sorry to disappoint you but as the system cycles, I notice that a browish layer of slime tends to coat the tank surface making it difficult to see the inhabitants. So in short, if there is decreased support and interest at this stage, it may not get better in that area as your system cycles... Although you could still see the bottom, but probably not as clear as when you first had it filled with water...

With the eating habits of marron, I am not sure if you will be able to get sufficient ammonia to cycle your system. But I could be wrong...

I had the same problem with mine, but alot worse than yours by the sound of it.
I couldn't see down past bout 15-20cm.
I ended up rigging up a filter using a cheap 9l bucket (even a pot will do, anything that will be able to take the water flowing out) and used some filter wool which i had lying around, but can pick some up for $10-20 at a pet store.
I've had to clean it out twice in bout 2 weeks and prob gonna clean it out again soon and retire it. It worked a treat. I had really clear water within 2 weeks and a significant improvement thru the first week.

Thanks for the tips, I will get onto it

I finished my corflute beds this afternoon so am leaving them to dry for a few days and will post some pics.

Gday Exorphin,
I was reading about some bloke who said he goes to spotlight and buys the stuff that you put in doonas. He said it is cheaper than the filter material at fish shop and does a great job. Save a few bucks!!

Yep... Dacron.. from spotlight, will do the job...

Yeah i know a few ppl who have done that, and one guy uses it for part of his bio filter as well.