Greetings From the Swamp!

[Timothy Beringer]

Hi!

Tim here from KZ Farm in sunny (and quite rainy this year) Tampa, Florida.  Below is a pic of our latest effort in Aquaponics.  We are learning in baby steps with the end goal being a commercial farm elsewhere on the property.  We have 2 systems so far. Our first (on the left) is a simple IBC/Handyman model. We're picking up some fingerlings this weekend and will start them off in this tank (it has just some feeder fish right now) while the 2nd system cycles.

The second system (right) is a CHOP system: A half IBC tote for a sump with a 1100gph pump (as you can see, we originally tried to chain 3 blue barrels together, didn't quite work), 2 IBC's for tanks, using gravity to overflow one into the other, running into a 4x8x1 media bed.  We will be adding SLO's and other solids removal (probably a Radial Flow Filter) in the next coming weeks.  

So right now, it's basically just some plumbing.  We will probably erect some Arbors and will be covering the tanks with easy bamboo fence cover stuff to help with shade as the sun can really bake down here (it's been in the 90's everyday for a few weeks).  Then, we will add on DWC and vertical components.

So far everything seems to be working fine although we appreciate any glaring mistakes you can see from these pics. I was wondering however, is it a problem if my bed empties too fast?  We tried using the barrels first and the problem we ran into was the water filling up the barrels too fast, causing the barrel to over-flow before flowing into the next barrel.  We are using a 2 inch stand pipe with a 4 inch siphon and when it pops, woosh! freakin tsunami into the sump.  I read in a several places that 15-20 minutes was ideal. This entire bed empties in less than 10 minutes.

Also, will the water rushing down into the tank and sump be enough to oxygenate the water. Both points flow pretty fast and are creating lots of bubbles. I know you can never have too much and I want plenty of course.  We can add venturi(s) but I'm not sure where to place them in the flow of water.  I'm guessing between sump and upper tank?

Any advice or comments are welcome.  Thanks in advance.

-Tim

kz-farm.com

[Mr. Python]

Hey Tim,

3 Things I would change...

1. I'd paint the sump tank too - The algae are going to love that as your nutrients start to build up.
2. I'd put a bend on that inlet to the bed and take it down below the level of the media - The algae will love that spot too.
3. From point 2, if you go for this, you could drop the water into a small bucket full of holes with a lid. Inside you could put sponge or coconut fibre or something to catch solids coming from the tank and keep muck out of your beds

Hope it helps

Regards

Neil