Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've been posting here and there but have decided to keep a bit of a time line because if this works if like to encourage others to do same. Don't want to jump the gun tho in case I'm a massive failure. So here goes...

I had issues maintaining my pool, I would get it blue, then I would let it go green and then spend lots of money getting it blue again.. It was always green over winter cause I could not justify adding chemicals and letting the pump for pure aesthetics.

Having gone onto my AP adventure last year I started eyeing off my pool much to the disagreement of the rest of the family., however I'm quite a seasoned nagger and really there was no other way.

I researched and researched DIY biofilters but didn't really understand the designs, it was getting hot, the kids wanted to swim and I was under pressure so I went to the local fish hatchery where I bought a ready made biofilter/UV steriliser combo. Big mistake. For $1300 I was told I would get filters and umbing, everything I needed. When I went to pick up unit there was no plumbing, but the guy told me what to buy. $100 later and a 4 hour round trip with 3 kids, dinner etc, we get home and realise the bloke told us to get the wrong diameter stuff.

So hubby gets right stuff the next day, hooks all up and one of the UV lights doesn't work. 40 min trip back to the store and they tell me to bring unit back in before they will replace light (worth $28). I have since found biofilters on eBay, my set up would have cost $600 same brand. I had previously been a very good customer of theirs too as I have a marine fish tank. It wasn't do much what went wrong, just was the constant comments pointing to it being my fault, I got it wrong not them etc. ANYHOO my system...

I read the intro only to find...


nothing

We await the next chapter.

Day one filters installed

Ah few technical issues here...

Day one filters installed

One week layer and some of you will know I am getting impatient, losing my credibility but I am told to hang in there. So I proceed to buy some aquatic plants and some baby koi.

A couple more taken today

...and my system

We figure one of the reasons it is taking so long to clear is that we have the outlet right near the inlet so the clean water was being re filtered. We've half rectified this and after we buy more plumbing we will move the other outlet.

I'm going to try to find a tarp in the garage to cover some of the pool for a couple weeks just to help it clear.

Floating pontoon is for the production of duckweed which I hope to feed to the fish. It also acts as shelter for kookaburras. Hopefully.

Since this is your thread can you describe the rest of the system.

For example how much media filtration do you have installed?

I think my pool has 10000ltrs ish of media for filtering.

Uh right yeah... I have those 2 biofilters which the shop says would provide enough filtration for 100 large koi. There are 2 x 18 watt UV lights in the middle of them. My plan was that those filters (and the SA of the pool etc) would house enough bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate. My pool is uphill from a 50 m2 soil veg patch and I was hoping to put in an IBC halfway down the hill and gravity feed pool water into it at the rate of 1000 L per week. I would then use gravity to water my veg patch (which I hope to convert to wicking garden bed in the future). Then I would top up pool with dam water. That is how I plan to remove & utilise nitrates.

Was I silly to trust the koi experts on the filtration requirements?

Where abouts are you dufflight and how many fish do you keep?

Hi Coulours -nice big fish tank you have there!

A few questions to get the discussion rolling perhaps?

What is the total volume of the pool? This helps us understand if 1000L/week of removal is a small amount or a substantial amount.

Are you looking to put other fish aside from the 100koi? Like edible stock?
Keep in mind that koi eat and poop a lot, and grow a lot: those numbers could be more than your small filter can handle.

Do you have space on either side of the pool for some growbeds a la 'The Puddle'? This would immensely help with filtration and clearing the pool.

Other reads of your interest would be DandM's (they swim with their fish!!), dufflight as previously mentioned, and someone else I can't recall right now - will add to this later

Thanks for the links I plan to swim with my fish. When I make a statement with ? It's because I think I know the answer but actually I could be completely wrong so please feel free to correct me in the usual manner.

I keep from 500 to a 1000. Are your UV lights turned on. they might kill a lot of your bacteria.