Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Not sure how close you are, but I have a supplier in upstate SC that can get you some nice clean totes for a good bit less than you are paying. All the ones that I have bought from him have been very clean. He is located near Anderson, SC.

Send me a PM and I will send you his phone number, if you need some.

Thank you for the offer but i can grab some from a company called almond oil here for 125$ new and that would out weight any savings traveling so far. I am finding myself wanting to expand already but I am still too nervous to put my big koi's in the system. I need a solution to move the pump out of the tank and it is most likely going to be a sump as the solution. I am going to have to order some uni seals, since no one is carrying them around here, most people give me a blank stare when I ask if they have them. Tank has cleared today from spiking it this weekend will have readings shortly.

readings are almost nil for the nitrites and nitrates less than 5ppm. The up side is I really have a job to do this weekend I have to plumb in a sump tank and pickup some test subjects..... retention pond here I come!!

I washed my inside fish filter out and had about 5 pounds of fish waste and water to put in the system. So far my koi are not showing any signs of distress from washing the filter in the outside tanks so we shall see...

I got some Silver Nile Tilapia today. I made the trek about 30 minutes away to a lady that said she had some tilapia for sale. cooler and dip net in hand my Saturday afternoon underway. So 10$ USD got me two fish about 6" long and 20-30, 3-4" fish. Pretty much what I could catch out of her sunken swimming pool. There were so many fish in that thing only 18' diameter 4' deep and every where you looked there were 3' koi and shadows(tilapia). The water was like black glass until my net dipped into it. I didn't have a mobile aerator so I was stopping about every 12 miles and splashing the water in the cooler from an empty cup.

next thing on the happy trip I get home and I can't hear the spray bar working, the water is not flowing through the overflows. the pump is not functional!! new fish in the cooler and NOW~ my system wants to take a break! UR kidding me.... threw an air stone in the cooler and promptly took apart the HF pump. Thing is the motor is still showing a short through the ohm meter so it's still functional just the shaft is not rotating. I was not liking the idea of replacing the motor or the 45 minute drive both ways to get one. I got the casing off and put power to the motor the impeller is not moving but I can feel/ hear the coils are charged inside. I did the next thing "you should never do this" moment i spun the impeller by hand with two quick twists. pump starts, I am a hero, and the world at least to me is a better place. It never seems easy when your doing all of that and there are four kids wanting to know "watcha doing daddy??"

P.s the fish made it fine and some are already eating the few pellets I put in there for them.

The new fish have picked clean every scrap of growth they considered edible I have a very clean IBC now.... I put a flower pot in the container and used some mesh to prevent them from exploring the pass through to the other tank. They all seem to gather around the Terracotta pot at the bottom. When I feed them I am noticing they swim in circle in the tank and launch, at random, a few fish to snatch pellets but not the feeding frenzies I have seen in other videos. The prior owner of these fish was using catfish pellets to feed with which are sinkers so I hope they all adjust to the new feed. The biggest fish in the tank is the size of my hand and normally finds a corner when I am over the tank. I have yet to see this one fish eat at all.

How about an update, CLM1981? Are your fish eating more voraciously now that they have had a while to settle in to their new home and are on a better diet?

They are eating better and more aggressively now. I feed them everyday when i get home a hand full of pellets. I have been using my koi food which is a floating pellet from the local mega pet mart. The peppers are fruiting out now with some already showing peppers. I have been getting worried becuase the temps have changed very quickly from 70-80 degrees to 50-60 in the mornings going to have to look about a heating system for the tanks within the next few months. I have been getting distracted by a new purchase. I got an aluminum boat with a 50hp motor at scrap price which I have been steadily working on and it's taking alot of time. I had to rewire the entire interior of the outboard... which I have no exp doing. Youtube is a great resource btw. I will snap some shots today and upload the aphid problem disappeared so I am hoping they stay away after the fruits setup.

The heating on the tanks is heavy on my mind atm with fall/winter approaching. The mesh stopper is working like a champ on the pass through no one has made it through to the other tank. It's a simple cone made from hardware cloth 1/4". If all else fails I got a 90 gallon aquarium from craigslist which I resealed. I need to make some bracing for the glass though and I still don't know how to make it the top bows out 3mm when I put water in it. it needs a top brace i think more youtube is required.

pictures as promised. all be it late...

more photos of growth and bloom.

Fish tank photos.

Sump area has no fish and is a breeding ground for duck weed inoculated last weekend after a trip to one of the many springs around here. It's pretty fast moving water in there so will be interesting to see if it can reproduce in that type of setup.

The fish are expectant now when I come over the tank. They flip the surface of the water.

Repair tip on aluminum boat. Remove aluminum from epoxy, then reinforce epoxy with Fiberglas cloth and more epoxy

the thing is from 72' so get them to have a divorce is hard enough....

fruits are still growing only two over 2" size. Going to be 90 days to harvest fruit.

BTW the HF pump I bought that was fixed before broke again and it has high torque screws installed from Japan on the pump housing which USA doesn't normally have standard hand tools for.... searching for local supplier for what looks like a three blade Philips connection. Can't break into the housing to fix the motor until i get that tool since some of the screws are recessed into a plastic housing I assume for water proofing.

the whole system is being run by a 200 GPH pump I happen to have on the shelf as backup until I can get this fixed.

thinking of integrating the fish tank setup outside and re purpose the two 264GPH pumps I have on that system to finish the grow out. but then I risk shocking the plants attached to the inside system due to the extreme temp change.

and to top it off the biggest fish I had from the round up in Bell,fl I found dead outside the tank covered in dirt this morning . have to setup a cover didn't think it would be a problem with only a 12" opening.

Sigh, fish Jump. My first jumper managed to get out through a 2" gap in the cover. I once had a fish some how manage to get up on top of the cover.

Your pump eating fish problem, have you thought about making a basket for the pump? I don't know how big your pump is but I've done pump grates using those square pond plant baskets using zip ties and cutting a notch out where the plumbing and electric come out.

Then again, if you are having troubles with that pump. Think about how energy efficient that current pump is before you put too much effort/expense into fixing it. You might be able to get a new pump that could save you money in the long run by using less electricity. Assuming you have the money to buy the new pump right now that is.

you mentioned having an aquarium that you needed a brace for.
I've done that on a smaller tank. It wasn't really pretty but here you can see for yourself.