A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners
The Biggest and Best BioFilter?
My Koi fry grower was out here on a visit and took time to visit me. I told him of my expansion plans to 4 – 2000 gallon grow tanks from 16 Aquaponic IBC grow tanks, for pond quality Koi. And asked his guidance on a skid mounted filtration system to hand that kind of volume. He looked over at my catfish breeding pond and pointed to it and said, ‘’you have the best biofilter sitting right there growing catfish. Pump the water from the pond to your 4 – 2000 gallon grow tanks put the water through your venturi aeration PVC piping, circulate the water in the tanks and return the water from the tanks to the pond. But when you get it to the pond run the return water over a sluice way filled with course lava rock. That will aerate the water. That is good for the pond. Why spend the money on a filtration system, let Mother Nature do it!” That is how he filters and circulates the water in his indoor tanks.
My pond is about ¼ acre and soon will be 1/3 acre and an average depth of 6’. It holds about 500 fingerling catfish that are doing their best to make the pond ''work.'' Since I stocked the pond with cats, they have gotten the weeds and algae growing.
What do you guys think of his idea?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by TCLynx on
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Yea, you just have to monitor the water quality in the pond and make sure it doesn't choke it's self out with algae or have a DO crash. Now if you want to grow some veggies with the water you just circulate it through beds of lava rock and grow your veggies in that.
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Permalink Reply by Phil Slaton on
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I do watch it and I do circulate it in my IBC fish and veggie grow tanks.
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Permalink Reply by RupertofOZ on
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Yep... media grow beds provide good filtration...
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Permalink Reply by Margaret on
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It sounds great. There is a saying in the permaculture circles that water that runs over three rocks is alive again. (I suppose it means oxygenated) I am having a wonderful time learning from you.
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When we get the grow tank farm in we are going to be circulating water direct from the pond to the grow tanks. We are then going to be returning it by 4'' ABS pipe back to the pond. The water coming back to the pond will be released over river rock spillways and that will aerate the water returning to the pond.
The catfish in my pond are really there only to maintain the pond as an excellent biofilter and make little catfish.
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