Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

how in chicken flock do i get it to stand up in the bottom of a half barrel? does the media just hold it in place?

i just held the guard in place until i had enough rocks piled up around it to hold.. i prefer "slots" to holes in media guards,.. my attempt with holes plugged up pretty quickly

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I used a pipe end cap - the IBC is round though - the pipe cap might be able to straighten out the curve with the use of a bulkhead screw fitting but might change the shape of the whole thing.

I would do what Keith has suggested and even cut the bottom at a slight curve to accommodate the barrel curve (if there is one).

One question Rob... (or possible problem for later) in your photo on previous page it looks like you have square 'wells' out at the sides of your FT. There's the circular one in the centre but a couple (one per side) of square ones suggesting at least one per side.

It seems to me these will become sumps for fish poo and other waste. They will also be outside the flow of aerated water, and I think they may become anaerobic traps - I'm not sure how bad that might be but it seems to me to be a potential source of contamination of your water.

One possible solution might to look around for some fresh water shellfish (we have some excellent water-cleaning mussels in Australia) and fill the holes with sand/fine gravel and plant the mussels in there.

Or it may not be an issue even if I am right about them becoming anaerobic traps. Just a thought...

Keith and Jay, YES DONE!!





and before i get yelled at, yes the rocks are low and media guards are high, i plan to add more media on payday and then ill make the standpipes taller, for now its perfect and flowing 1" below the media.

DANGIT IS IT PERFECT NOW?????

journeyman- correct! I was thinking about covering the bottom of the whole tak with something or just filling those with shellfish as I live near an oyster farm actually i thought about filling them all but one, and making my sump suction draw from that one

Ok so i have my test kit, i want to put plants in asap as they are suffereing in the greenhouse at this point.

readings are

nitrate 10

nitrite2.0

ppm hardness 175

ppm alkalinity -? its a color not on the strip or chart??

PH 6.0

im happy nice work

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You don't give an Ammonia reading but with NO3 at 10 and NO2 at 2 you are on your way to being cycled. pH at 6.0 in a new system may be an issue - pH tends to drop as a system matures and from all I have learned on here and elsewhere. a pH of 6.0 is about the bottom limit.

You may need to dose things with builders lime (think that's the right type) to lift it, but I would wait until you are cycled and let things settle down for a few days. Keep an eye on the pH in the meanwhile and just kick back with a few beers while Nature does her thing.

seems my kit doesn't have ammonia on the tabs petco website said they carry the master kit but the store didn't, all i got was the strips. the d**b red lava rock is still got things pure red even after serious rinsing so i just changed out all water for the 2nd time and now its mostly gone

Search (Amazon)... for the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.... used/preferred... by nearly everyone....

Stop wasting water... leave the red water circulating and after a few days to a week it will clear up as the media filters the fines. If after a week or so the water is still discoloured, hang a sock full of fine filter material under the outlet into your FT; when this becomes clogged with fines, simply rinse it out in clean water or ditch it and hang another one. When it comes to AP, you must have patience.

its not just color in the water its a thick dusty floating material and i was worried it was going to start clogging fish gills or something so i got the tanks low enough i could shop vac the thick layer off the bottom, worked out pretty nice its alot better

The fish are eating, pooping, the plants are in, and our fingers are crossed..










THANK YOU BYA !!!!

my 110 gallon tank, when i first got it going, was cloudy with dust from the gravel.. i took a raw egg, whisked it up, and drizzled it into the tank.. it acted as a floculant and most of the dirt settled..

my ammonia is at .25 is that ok?