My Redneck Aquaponics System

[badflash]

No matter what system you design, be sure it is easy to clean out clogs any place in the system. The system will eventially clog up. You can bet on it.

[jackalope]

Well, here it is the end of November and all that stuff has been taken down and scrapped. I had to abandon the aquaponics stuff for the Winter anyways, and the "gurgler" system crapped out on me so onward and upward! For the Winter, I am just doing totally Aquaculture. I've got two 30 gallon FTs going right now, I'm having trouble finding stainless steel drain for the fiberglass bath tub .... I'm thinking of just using bulkhead fittings instead. That will give me about a 65 gallon grow tank. I'm also planning to put the 50 gallon rubbermaid back into service to get more tank space. I'm having a little problem with my 30's because I can't keep up with the fish and their waste like I could when I was hooked up to the aquaponics growbeds.

My water is pretty cloudy in the tall tank .... I've been doing 30% changeouts every day (I dump the old water on the compost, where it becomes a block of ice before long), but by the next morning, it's just as cloudy as it was the day before ..... these things sure poop a lot!

It's funny, I did a 30% change-out in the long tank and it cleared up right away and it's got more fish, and they are twice as big as in the tall tank, and it hasn't clouded up in two or three days, but the tall tank won't get clear . I can only do 30% change-outs at a time because I heat the water in a spare aquarium that I have that I will be using for a fry tank if ever I get some fry. I've got another spare aquarium, but I'm short on heaters.

I really need to expand to a 300 gallon stock tank, but everything is on hold until I get the MH remodeled so we can move out of the saloon. Then I've got to build a wall or two in the saloon where we have a concrete floor, and then I can put the stock tank and all the aquariums in there because the wood floor won't take all the weight I'm going to be putting on it

I'm just wondering if I can get away with putting styrofoam insulation under the 300 gallon stock tank, that will be over 2500 lbs on the styro ..... otherwise, I'll have to build an insulated platform under it which puts off the project that much longer. That floor gets ice cold during the winter here, stuff will freeze on it if left over night .... trust me, it will (voice of experience) ........ I saw a thing on the internet somewheres where a guy glued styro to a smaller stock tank for his animals, but I'm concerned about the weight crushing the styro on one side or the other and causing the FT to list like a sinking battleship. Any ideas?

[stucco]

Howdy jackalope, I don’t know much, but I know the styro will hold the weight. As long as you have the weight dispersed evenly. In this pic[background] I have a pallet and a half of tile and travertine [it’s ridiculously heavy] on styro on top of corrugated storm panels. The styro is holding up to the weight just fine .good luck with the build and the cold, stucco I typed this before coffee, edited it during coffee and edited it again after coffee

[badflash]

I used to have a 6' kiddie pool 2' deep in my basement. I put styro under it and bubble wrap around it to hold the heat. After 2 years I took it down and the styo was perfect. If there are sharp points or edges, they will crush, but once it hits a flat surface it will hold.


The pool was $15 and lasted 2 years before it started getting pin hole leaks around the waterbed heaters.

[jackalope]

Howdy jackalope, I don’t know much, but I know the styro will hold the weight. As long as you have the weight dispersed evenly.

Thanks stucco and badflash, I'll get some of the dense styro then (like that pink stuff in badflash's pic) ..... I didn't't think that beadboard would hold up tho, unless you guys think so ..... it's much cheaper, I guess when I said styro, I should have said beadboard styro .....

A question for badflash:

I gotta ask, is that your famous (or infamous ) DIY filter in the kiddie pool? That would be great if it is internal rather than external in a pool that big

[badflash]

That was the 1.0 version. I hadn't discovered beads yet. That had a pond filter in the pool for particulate removal and a ball filter in the tower for a bio-filter. I was raising prawns and Endlers, so the bio-load was much lower.


My bead filter system is essential for tilapia. No reason it wouldn't work to put the bead filter on top of the ball filter. That is what I'm doing with my tilapia breeder setup, only it is in a sump rather than in a pool.

[catfish]

Do you still raise prawns?

How hard is it to do this, that seems like a neat thing to raise?

Thanks

[badflash]

I don't recommend them in an aquaponics system. Out of 1000 fry I ended up with 1 male and 200 females. In a pool the males kill each other off until there is only 1. I no longer keep them. Red Claw crays are looking like a much better fit.

[catfish]

I don't recommend them in an aquaponics system. Out of 1000 fry I ended up with 1 male and 200 females. In a pool the males kill each other off until there is only 1. I no longer keep them. Red Claw crays are looking like a much better fit.

Do you raise them now?

If so how large do they get and are they good to eat?

[badflash]

Yes, delicious, but not economical and I no longer raise them. The male (of which there can be only 1 in a pool) will be a body of over 12" in a couple of years. Females max out at around 5". You need a true pond to dedicate to them. They will eat everything in the tank with them too.