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Comment by Scott Bloom on August 10, 2012 at 10:40am

Aquaponics Backyard Garden - $700 (Cave Creek & Greenway)

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/grd/3183367793.html

Comment by Scott Bloom on August 10, 2012 at 10:02am

@Bob - Thanks found them,

Pumice stone, 1 cubic ft $11.+

Baker International Nursery Inc. 3414 N. 40th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85018 Phone: (602)955-4500

Comment by Bob Campbell on August 10, 2012 at 9:27am

@Scott  - As I recall there is a really nice nursery by Indian School and 44th.  Sorry can't remember the name. Maybe something like Baker.

Comment by Scott Bloom on August 10, 2012 at 9:08am

Ok, is there a place in Phoenix to get pumice?

Comment by Bob Campbell on August 10, 2012 at 8:52am

@Kent - Thanks for reminding me of the venturi. I looked at the Kaldnes® K1 media you mentioned and watched some videos.  Looks like an easy to clean media.  This one on YouTube looks expensive but I like the way it back flushes

Thanks to both you and Sheri for your input on tank depth.  Looks like I'll go ahead an do this. The fish are now in just 10" of water, and they don't seem unhappy. They are very calm and friendly again.  I have not had contact with them for quite a while as they tended to lounge deep in the tank most of the time.

I'm still a little concerned about the amount of food they eat.  I may have to try some other product.  They used to aggressively eat this general fish pond food, but for the past couple months they have shown very little interest in eating it. 

I have an idea that they may have become used to eating Midge Worms and these hard pellets are not quite so tasty.

BTW I really like using pumice.  I think it was Bob Rowe who brought it up in a discussion a while back.  I've been using it ever since.  

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on August 10, 2012 at 12:32am

Wow, interesting concept, Bob. As for the depth, it depends on the type of fish, I believe. I had always heard that Tilapia prefer water at least 3' deep, and after watching their social behaviors, it's a matter of survival. More passive fish might do very well in shallow water.

Comment by Kent Biswanger on August 10, 2012 at 12:32am

@Bob from what I've read the reason for having a minimum depth of 3' is to keep the fish safe from predators. Since your tank is inside I don't think that is a concern so your plan to fill in the bottom of the tank should be ok.

I have been pumping to the botom of my grow-beds and have experienced several syphon problems, my most resent cure happened by accident and seems to be very reliable. In an attempt to increase aeration I installed ventures on my pump lines just before they enter the grow-bed. This coincidentally also provides the perfect syphon break if the pump fails or loses power.

Another thing to consider is to create a shelf that you could use to contain filter media below the fish. I've been researching a fluid media filter as a way to increase the bacteria capacity and found a product that would seem to be perfect. Its called Kaldnes® K1 media and with the correct design you should rarely ever have to clean it and it will provide all the bacteria you will ever need.

Just some food for thought.

Comment by Bob Campbell on August 10, 2012 at 12:00am

I have been thinking about what I want to do with my Current 3' wide 10' long, 4' deep fish tank.  
It's a nice tank,  but I can't see my fish, and I can't catch them in this deep dark tank.
18" deep sounds about right to me, but rebuilding is a rather large commitment, and I'm afraid I may be making a mistake.  Common opinion seems to be that 3' is the recommended  minimum depth, but I'd prefer to know why before settling for that figure.

I have plenty of water elsewhere in the system, so I'm not concerned about loosing a small portion of the volume which provides thermal storage.
If 3' minimum depth based on growth rate, then I guess I'd like some facts to back that up.

It may sound a little crazy, but rather than rebuild the tank I'm thinking of placing perforated pipe on the bottom, and filling the tank with pumice.
This would allow me to fill the tank from the bottom, and circulate water up through the pumice.  As I see it the added bio filtration will be very beneficial to the system.
I have used this type of bio-filter on my pond for many years.  I replace that gravel every 4 years, but there is nothing between the gravel bio-filter and the pond so it gets all the waste solids.

There is one problem I have yet to figure out.  If I run a pipe from the pump to the bottom of the tank; I then risk creating a back siphon if the pump fails.  I've had pumps fail for many reasons and feel that a it may be necessary to use an anti-siphon valve, but I don't trust them in a system that pumps water that may contain small particles.  The other option would be to provide siphon break with a stand pipe slightly taller then the head pressure of the pump.  My current pump has a head of about 14 feet.  Luckily I have the ceiling height to do this.

I'd plan to use pumice because it's light weight, easy on the hands, inexpensive, it has a lot of micro pours,  and the light gray color will show off the fish better.
I'm a little concerned that the light weight pumice may stir up too easily, so I am conducting tests in a small container to determine if this is a valid concern.
This will also have the advantage of being easier and much faster than rebuilding the tank, plus if I wish to adjust the depth it will be a simple matter of adding or removing light weight pumice.

Comment by John Malone on August 9, 2012 at 7:51pm

@Zach : If you seem to have very energetic fish, I'd say that they got into the RockStar!

Comment by Zach Moler on August 9, 2012 at 7:30pm

@rick stephane at local roots aquaponics grows catfish and sells em here in Tucson
@Scott mine held rockstar energy drink syrup and I just rinsed them out with plain water and had no issues

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