A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Cleaning the system

Hi,

5 months later my indoors system seems to be doing ok, the carps are growing as well as the plants. Soon I am going to move it to garden and thinking of replacing the bathtub with a pond (any comments on this?). Yesterday I had a problem though. Water was overflowing of the bathtub on the floor because the overflowing system was full of sediment. Moreover, my bathtub is full of algae (not hairy, just a green film). Is this bad? How do you clean your systems? I am thinking to implement a sedimentation tank with snails for less maintenance...

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tony Gilliam on April 2, 2012 at 8:26am

Valentina, What diameter pipe did you use for the overflow. I'm still in the design and gather parts stage of my system. It is my intention to use 2'' pipe for the overflows with crosses and tee's so the internals can be cleaned on the run.

As far as your algae goes, I would cover the tub to keep the light out for a while.

By the way, I was born on Valentines day so i think your name is cool as hell.

Permalink Reply by TCLynx on April 2, 2012 at 8:28am

Where is the pump? Looks from here like the bath tub is on the bottom so I don't understand how it would be overflowing from a clog? But with any tank that you are trying to drain through a small drain, you have to regularly clean what ever grate or screen you have protecting the drain. A settling tank won't save you from grate or screen cleaning and you would just have to also clean the sedimentation tank.

Permalink Reply by Sheri Schmeckpeper on April 2, 2012 at 10:29am

The algae on the sides isn't a problem. In fact, your carp probably munch on it a bit.If you want a nice clean tub, you can get a plecostomus, which is an algae eating fish, and it will clean your sides.

There are lots of options for ponds. The first thing to consider is the size, then look for a container that is the size you want. Be careful of anything that might leach bad chemicals into your system. This include anything the container was originally used for. Chemicals can permeate some materials, and regardless of how much you clean it, those chemicals can release into your system.

We use worms in our grow media, but I've heard mixed things about snails, mostly bad. I've heard they can clog the system themselves, which contradicts your goal. I can't speak through experience myself because I've avoided them.

Permalink Reply by TCLynx on April 2, 2012 at 3:36pm

LOL. I clean snails out of the feeds to my towers pretty much every day. The snail shells are perfect shape to clog a round hole.

The best bet for avoiding algae problems is to block all the sun light to the tank in question.

Permalink Reply by Tom OBrien on April 2, 2012 at 9:30pm

How are those LED lights? I'm using flourescents, but the LED lights look interesting.

Permalink Reply by Sheri Schmeckpeper on April 2, 2012 at 10:11pm

I guess that answers the snail question! :)

Permalink Reply by valentina karga on April 3, 2012 at 2:28am

Thanks for the feedback!

I use the bathtub's overflow, connected with a 1" hose. Never heard of a pipe with crosses and tees before. How does it look like?

I have a sump behind the bathtub, it is a little lower and the pump is in there.you can see in this attachment.

Is nt darkness bad for the fish? I had them covered and I thought they became completely pale because of the lack of light! Now they seem a bit more brown, but I am not an expert in fish. And apart from the algae, my water is also very brown. Is there any sense to try to clean it? In my new system I will put more plants and worms in the grow beds.

as regard, what I said for the snails, I just saw the system of somebody here is germany, where he had a separate small tank only with some aquatic plants and aquatic organisms such as snails. He told me this is the sedimentation tank, that the snails and plants clean the water. I am not quite sure, I could ask again.

As regard the pond, there is already an old pond in that garden made of a sail and not a container. I was just thinking to clean it, make it a bit deeper perhaps and reuse it. I was thinking to put pebbles in the bottom as a bit more comfortable environment for the fish. Shall I leave aquatic plants inside, or this is not a good idea for aquaponics?

The LED lamps worked great for me! and they were very cheap, no special brand.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Gilliam on April 4, 2012 at 3:37am

Valentina, Crosses and tee's are just like elbows, with additional openings that can be opened and cleaned without taking the pipes apart. Hope this helps.

Permalink Reply by Sheri Schmeckpeper on April 4, 2012 at 1:29pm

Most fish do fine in dark environments, just give them enough light to know day from night. If you breed them, it can be more important, depending on the species.

Re: brown water...Has it just recently become brown? An algae bloom will turn the water green. An addition of peat or iron can change the color to brown, as can unwashed media. Normally the color of the water isn't usually a concern. It's more important that the water is pretty clear, regardless of color. But maybe someone else knows of concerns with brown water.

Are the snails in the guy's sedimentation tanks the little, common, black water snails or a larger variety? Two questions I'd ask him are: how long has he been running his system with them, and how does he keep the snails confined to the sedimentation tank?

As for the pond, garden ponds are aquaponics systems. Being outdoors you'll be exposing your system to natural problems like diseases, freezes, predators, etc. The more you move away from a controlled environment, the more risk you take. If you think the process through thoroughly, though, your choice is a calculated risk and could reap great benefits.