All sorts

[waterrancher]

Hello Codi,
Thanks for the welcome. I have never done Ap any other way. I think the advantage of pea gravel is that it filters the water while providing O2 as the water is flushed thru and back to the tank. No need to get rid of the solids as the beds become a little eco system with worms to eat the left overs. More closed loop in that you just feed the fish and eat the veggies.
All sorts of ways of doing it. The least amount of work or daily involvement would be my choice.
How do you handle solids then? Inject O2 at all?

Waterrancher, as I said, I have no experience with pea gravel or any other medium material for that matter. Sounds like you have a handle on your choice.

As how I collect the solids, I have a sump waste collector as seen at the following link:

http://diyaquaponics.com/aqua_plans.php

In fact, that is my design you see in the graphic.

Also, since my system is a constant flood system with the plants constantly submerged in the water, I have my own design of an aeration system installed at the inflow end of the fish tanks. I had not thought of it until now, but maybe I should get JCO to include my aeration design on the same page. I’m sure he will so I will send you a PM with the link when he does so you can take a look.

[waterrancher]

Codi,
How do you remove the waste, once it collects in the bottom of the tank?
What type of cost are you seeing with the air system, ie operational cost?
I have always understood compressed air is the highest cost in any business.

Waterrancher,

I don't really get in a hurry to remove the collected waste from the bottom of the sump tank. It really isn't hurting anything sitting there and is actually somewhat beneficial in the bacteria continue to break it down into Nitrite which in turn, naturally give me more Nitrate for my veggies/herbs.

When I do decide it is time to haul the waste, I have a bypass system set up to route the water around the sump tank. After the water is routed, I open the valve on the bottom of the sump and allow the waste to flow into 5 gal buckets which I then pour onto my worm bed. After this is completed, I re-divert the water slowly back to the sump until it is fully operational, then close off the diversion valve altogether.

Slightly labor intensive but not that often.

[waterrancher]

Ahh dumped from your sump, that works. Have you had any problems with that method? Smell etc.
I never considered it was your sump that collected the solids, good one.

The sump tank collector system works great and as for the smell, well the worms don't mind the smell as much as I do, so I put the collected waste down as a thin layer on the worm bed and then cover it with worm dirt already collected from the top of the bed. Thus it is buried and only the worms get to enjoy the aroma.