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Thread: Sizing systems

  1. #1
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    Sizing systems

    One bit of information that might be useful to you all is how much filtration media is required per pound of fish. I have more of an aquaculture background than an aquaponic back ground.

    A good average per pound of fish is 20-30 square feet of surface area for bacteria to colonize on. I will use 25 ft2 for this example. Different filter medias have different ratios. You can look these up if you are building a bio filter, and size it correctly.

    A 3 foot by 6 foot grow bed that is 12 inches deep filled with pea gravel( That seems to be what most people use) has a capacity of 18 cubic feet. One cubic foot of pea gravel has roughly 96 ft2 of surface area. This grow bed has roughly 1728 square feet of surface area. If we divide this by 25 we get roughly 69 pounds of fish. This number can vary depending on flow rate, temperature, and of course root mass from the plants themselves. But this is a great starting point. If you want to be conservative you might down size, and call it 50 pounds. So if you chose to grow tilapia, and your target harvest weight was 1.5 pounds, you should be able to conservatively stock 33 tilapia per 3x6 growbed. Once you have this formula, you should be able to adapt it to other medias, although I have not been able to find the specific surface area of Hydroton so far.
    I hope this might be helpful for members who are trying to decide how many fish to actually stock. If anyone comes across specific surface areas of various medias, please post them here.
    Here is a link with some info on specific surface areas of commonly used filter medias. http://www.russellwatergardens.com/Styl ... diassa.php Also if you purchase media from somewhere like Aquatic Ecosystems, they usually list the specific surface area, and you can use this formula to size your filter to your desired stocking rate, or your ultimate harvest goal.
    Good luck guys! This sure is a lot of fun isn't it?

  2. #2
    Member Hotrodmike's Avatar
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    Re: Sizing systems

    Matt
    Very good write up for most anyone in AP . Everyone has to deal with how many beds and how many fish to match . Funny thing is my painter was at Russell's just the other week when he was on vacation . His dad makes the fake rocks for them .
    Have A Kind Day
    Mike

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    Re: Sizing systems

    how do you calculate gallons of water per fish? how do you deal with a closed system in relation to the growth of the fish, hormon secretion, parasites and disease associated with crampted quarters? the only issues i've seen addressed are the nitrification cycle and the conversion of ammonia to nitries to nitrates with nitrosomas and nitrobactor bacteria. (many other types of bacteria also help in the process such as aeromonus) also as discovered with the living reef wet dry systems, the bacterial pulled nutrients from the water to perform their task such as calcium, coral is a good buffer and it also provided the calcium the large bacteria beds needed.

    if you add fresh water to the system, what is the dilution factor and still be able to maintain sufficient nutrients for the plants. i use taro floating (gets about 4-5' tall) in the koi pond system to stabilize the system, it contains 2500 gals with 13 koi ranging from 18" to 36", all are about 4 yrs old and two yellow belly slider turtles (female 14", male 10" got them when they were the size of a quater 19 yrs ago, but then the system is also an open system. a closed system would never have allowed the growth of the koi or the good health that they have enjoyed.

    richard

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    Moderator jackalope's Avatar
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    Re: Sizing systems

    As far as calculating the amount of water per fish, I've seen several 'rules of thumb' used ...... 3 to 4 gallons of water per pound of fish seems to be pretty much the norm, however, 1 or 2 gallons per pound of fish is used by some commercial production farms - that said, keep in mind that these farms have top of the line bio-filtration, water circulation (pumps that will change the water 4 to 6 times or more per hour), well water from pure sources, micron-sized solids removal, etc. Something that most of us can only dream about ..... water so pure and clean, you could drink it straight from the FT (YUK ). So, you would want to size your fish/fish tank ratio accordingly .... IOW if you intend to raise 300 fry in a fish tank to market weight (1 to 1.5 lbs. whichever you prefer), you had better have at the bare minimum at least a 900/1350 - 1200/1800 gallon FT/GB combination of water alone (not counting the media).

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    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Sizing systems

    Hi Brier, Great post....lots of good information.

    Your right, seems like most people in aquaponics uses gravel of some form. Most seem to say, use 3/4 inch gravel, as it doesn't plug up, like pea gravel. (3/8 -1/2 inch)
    Lots of folks add red worms to the GB's to help keep them clean.
    I wonder how much of a difference there is in the surface area between the two sizes of gravel?

    We have a guy in Orlando (FL) that makes and sells pvc ribbon.
    Here's the info he gives....
    1 CU. FT. APPOX. 143 SQ FT OF SURFACE AREA/2LBS OF MATERIAL
    That seems like a conservative amount.....Aquatic-Eco says their ribbon has 250' per sq foot
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    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Sizing systems

    You can also check my post:
    Calculating your Bio-filter
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

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    Re: Sizing systems

    Heck badflash, You had already posted nearly the same info. Well it is nice to have it written down a couple of times around here, as I assume that is one of the largest concerns of people starting their first batch of Tilapia.

    Maybe The two topics could be merged, and even stickied if the mods saw fit?

  8. #8
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Sizing systems

    Keep it in both places. You never know where folks go looking.

    The biggest open question is how to figure how many plants to take up the nitrates & phosphates. Every plant has different needs, and it changes with the size of the plant.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

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    Re: Sizing systems

    Quote Originally Posted by badflash
    Keep it in both places. You never know where folks go looking.

    The biggest open question is how to figure how many plants to take up the nitrates & phosphates. Every plant has different needs, and it changes with the size of the plant.
    Wow! if you figure a formula out for that I will be impressed. Maybe possible if we were all growing bermuda grass in our systems.

  10. #10
    Moderator badflash's Avatar
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    Re: Sizing systems

    Check my signature. I think the complexity of the issue requires constant feedback. That would be the farmers shadow. Nitrates and phosphates accumulate over time. React to that.
    The best fertilizer is the farmer's shadow

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