Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

No dead spots in mbbr. I replaced the shade cloth with more orchard netting, and have been cleaning more often.
Fed moderately 2 times yesterday, and back up again this am. No feeding...again! This isn getting beyond aggravating. At the rate I'm going, it will take 2 years plus to raise tilapia to harvest stage. The calcs for the K1 say that I have enough for 12 plus pounds of feed a day. I haven't even reached half that amount. MBBR media look great, water in mbbr is very clean, plenty of O2, I just don't know. KH is now around 150-160. Temp is back up to almost 80. Everything is right from what I've been told and researched, but something is wrong.

You have done the calcs for the amount of K1 you have but you are still pushing the retention time down by the amount of fish tank volume you need to turn over through it so you really may need a larger volume of MBBR to handle the amount of water flow you are requiring of it.

Do you have any additional containers you could put into service as another MBBR to take some of the flow?

Yeah, thought of that also. It would be a P.I.A to replumb, but it may be the only option.

How much muck does the orchard netting catch? Can you make that the second MBBR? And then just add another polishing filter split from the pump in the sump..

Paul has been busy with a build here in the US. Perhaps send him a message to see what he may recommend.

Can you just transfer some of the flow into something like a venturi, and slow down the speed going through the bio filters?

I'm working on a few designs. 1 has the water from the large tanks coming into a separate IBC/MBBR and then moving to the sump. The other has the additional 1" pipe from sump going to an IBC and then back to the sump. I can put appx. 20 -25gpm through that. Which would give me closer to the 10-12 minutes retention time in the new mbbr, as well as increase the retention rate in the existing mbbr by a few minutes.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seek-Bamboo-Vin ... 1844772062?

i know there were a few in the US who were looking for the wood vinegar link. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seek-Bamboo-Vin ... 1844772062?

I've been impressed so far.

What do you use the wood vinegar for?

Salad dressing.
No, if you follow DasBoot's thread, he's been using it for a while now. It's a pretty amazing product. Bug killer, disease control, over all plant health. 250-500/1 rate...goes a long way. Seems easy on beneficials, but is doing a good job on the bad guys.

thanks for the link Coach

Awesome. Glad to hear it works for you Coach. I may have to get some. Seems affordable especially considering dilution ratio

So, we're adding another 265#gallon mbbr to the system. Hope I have enough air to run it. We used the 1" line from the sump that was previously ran into the netting filter. I think I can run about 25 gpm through it and still keep the rest of tanks flowing properly. This Will give me over 10 minutes retention time in the new mbbr, and should slightly increase the time in the old mbbr. Just using 2- 12" stones for now. I'll take out appx 50% of the K1 from the old mbbr, and combine the new in both mbbr.

Wish me luck.

Filter in place and leveled. Return line installed. Now just have to replumb the 1" line from netting filter to new tank, and add air. Just picked some Romaine and a few cukes for dinner. I thanks Ryan everytime I eat 1 of those delicious cukes.lol

Very nice coach.. You don't play.