Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Good score on the bio diesel! It's coming together. Looking good.

This weekend I'll decide if I want the photovoltaic panels on the roof or build a little stand on which the axis can be adjusted. I've got five little PV panels, combined they don't produce as much as one of the new ones does. That's what I have, and I'm grateful. I may just chuck them on the roof and see how this setup handles running my pumps for a while.

Damn gout is kicking my ass this morning as well as, for the last couple days. The doctor did say allopurinol may trigger an acute attack, grrr, but two months later? I'm already out of Colchicine (didn't think I needed it anymore) and our Medicaid ran out. Sorry for the rant, just hurts like hell.

The first cucumber transplanted from our dirt garden looks so great in the grow bed I thought, even with this pain I'd do another.
I still need more clay pellets to bring the media to the top of the 12 inch sides of the GBs.
My buddy isn't able to make it today with the used beads, so that'll need to wait until tomorrow.

Damn, I'm finally up after one of the most excruciating weeks of my like. Long story short our insurance lapsed and the renamed colchicine once one of the cheapest drugs on the market got named Colchys and now costs about $15 dollars per pill. We were willing to pay it, but since I'm now on Allopurinal I did not have a prescription for any longer. Finally after my wife broke down in tears to the specialist he sent a prescription in to our pharmacy. Whoa. That weekend was hell.
So I'm more or less back and not hallucinating, and I had some wild ones too.
One was I had become an outlaw aquaponics pipe modder? Right? Don't know how, somehow I remember sneaking around under grow beds laying insidious pipe for dark reasons.

I did find a lot of relief and comfort in sitting on our boardwalk soaking my feet in our pond. I recently added an inside / outside digital thermometer with the outdoor probe tied to a porcelain ring to keep it submerged. I am happy to report my temperature variation at six foot (2 meters) of one degree Fahrenheit around 65 degrees (18.33 degrees Celsius ) anytime of day and we have had some scorchers
So here I am for the first time vertical in five days. I'll try and go back to work tomorrow.
This afternoon I did a long overdue fish-less pond tests

Looks to me like I've added enough ammonia to get the ball rolling. Also it looks like I better add some more Maxicrop liquid seaweed plus iron

Alrighty, I felt well enough last night to send off a message to Riverbend Trout farm asking for 150, 3 (76mm) to 6 inch (154mm) fingerlings I've also stated that we'll be up in Monte Vita Colorado for a wedding and have the means to transport ourselves if they think it wise. Also I have sent an email to: DGF.Permits@state.nm.us for an importers permit.
Yesterday my order for Kaldnes K2 biomedia arrived. While I have not properly plumbed either the swirl filter or the MBBF I cleared out the Aspen media and the big bio-balls from my 200 liter barrel a stuffed in 76 cubic liters with an air hose tied to the bottom inlet. Finally got my air distribution sorted out.

Still need to create a better setup something like this:


Next I will completely upgrade the air delivery with larger pipes and get rid of that wimpy leaky 8 valve to 1/4 inch aquarium hose bottleneck in the system


I made a mistake adding the red scoria to my beautiful pond, the silt from that covered every edge and bottom of the pond. So I ordered a Pool Blaster Catfish battery powered vacuum, and I have to tell you the cleanup is going slowly. I can once again see the bottom, what a pain. Plus the wife is nearing the end of her rope on my pond project expenses

a few more pics of our system this morning

Yesterday, I cleaned the Koi and Comet tank's filter into this filter media in an attempt to transfer as much Nitrifying bacteria from the active fish tank to the bio-media for the fish pond.


the water temperature has been stable at 65 degrees, meaning I got much comfort from a severe gout attack by soaking my feet in the pond

Hi Brian, sorry to hear about the health problems, hope they're over and done with.

Think through your filtration real well (the measure twice cut once principle). The one you put up in the most recent post was the combo filter so the low outflow requires the riser to set the water level. By the way, I used arms rather than slits at the top of my combo filter. Need to get some K2 and get the tank hooked up.

Cheers

Morning Brian.

I do not want to ruin your day and week end, but since we are so to speak in the same neck of the woods, have you read the El Nino forecast.

They compare it to 97, if that holds than we are in for a rather harsh winter, with 150% to 180% of average snow fall. I think it is worth while to take that into consideration.
I remember 97 very well, it was a rather rough ride up here on the Farm.

"I do not want to ruin your day and week end, but since we are so to speak in the same neck of the woods, have you read the El Nino forecast." uncertain which part of my day tons of snow would ruin

My letter to the New Mexico permits department
...
I live at 5 Rodgers Road, Sapello, NM - 87745 phone 5056591375

We're nearly ready to stock our indoor 2600 gallon recirculating aquaculture system pond with 150 3 to 6 inch brook trout. We have contacted River Bend fish hatchery in Monte Vista Colorado. Have not heard back yet but there is another approver vendor in Monte Vista as well, and we are going up there for a wedding on September 4th and will be prepared to haul them ourselves if delivery is a problem
Please let me know what I need to do to obtain a special use permit to import trout
I thank you for your assistance
Sincerely,
Brian Rodgers
----
I just read the confidentiality agreement nope can't reproduce.
Anyway the gist is they'll have permits ready August 27th, yay
Heard nothing from Riverbend trout farm, sheesh these hatcheries have zero Web presence. I've got a list of phone numbers, time to get archaic

Thank you. my foot hurts a little this morning, but I did manage a full day working yesterday.

I have made one breakthrough in my head on the filtration: I converted a 5 gallon bucket with a hole in the bottom for an 1.5" bulkhead connector in the middle of the bottom. This was used as a trial of my bell siphons.
Here to be clearer. I drew the barrel I'll be using and the penetrations it has. It has a stand pipe and an elbow, but everything inside can be changed.

As you can see the penetration in the bottom is only one inch, which I can change (a little more work to drain the 200 liter barrel) to match what you've or someone has drawn, here:

Brrr, that water was cold!

I'll fix the leak above the window and fix or replace the underwater LED spotlight

So this is the second filter and the flow is out toward the sump. Looks like a straight MBBR type filter, which is good. Depending on how the pipe goes from the outflow to the sump, you may want to to vent the pipe above water level as it may trap air. You know this but I'll say it anyway, all the drains need some kind of screen to prevent the media exiting. By the way, the media if it packs into one of the pipes, will dramatically slow the flow so if for any reason one of the covers comes off, check to see if this has happened.

This is where I think you should be headed

RFF - MBBR - MBBR

With as many MBBR units as is needed to filter the water for the number of fish you have. The 2 cubic ft of K2 you have is good for roughly 42 pounds of fish (based on manufacturer claims) and I'm not sure of your grow beds but figure this and then figure roughly how much more MBBR space and media you'll need to grow out the trout to whatever size you intend but add a fudge factor in as protection against problems. Keep in mind that you'll be eating some along the way as Ryan mentioned and they won't all grow at the same rate, you have some leeway.

If you have problems with suspended solids then you might wind up here

RFF - Static upflow - MBBR - MBBR

The static upflow filter is just to control suspended solids. As long as suspended solids aren't a problem or you're willing to change out some of the water to control them you can do without this. You could also use a different type of filter like a sieve, a netting filter, brushes, etc. to control them.

Scotty is the back flush done with water or air? Here is my proposed layout for the K2 MBBF. I forgot to show the backflush outflow before the valve to the ST

Brain, sorry to hear you weren't feeling well. Hopefully some nice, fresh greens will help you feel better. Keep plugging away!