Swimming Pool System

[Pat James]

I have finally got around to start to work building my AP system. I bought two 55 gal barrels and eight 275 gal IBC totes a few weeks ago and then the weather got cold and wet- progress stalled. At least we have had a few days

The system I now plan to build is quite a bit different than the one I originally planned. That is due to the help and advice of some of the people here.. Thank you.

I will buy the piping itself at one of the big box stores, but I can save a bundle by buying the fittings online.

Today I will begin cutting the IBC's.

[Pat James]

Not sure if this link will work,but shows my pool as it looked in October. Had my nephew throwing a cast net to harvest tilaia. He got a few catfish in the process which we threw back.https

://www.facebook.com/pat.james.73550794

[Pat James]

Jim, I'm hoping there are a couple tilapia survivors hiding in the depths.. I doubt the catfish will breed though

I'm about to try to catch a few or trap them as I'd like to try a few baked fish recipes.

I have seriously thought about adding more 1/2 IBC growbeds, but getting the wife convinced to let me spend the money is the problem. But I do plan some heavy planting a in the beds I have.

[Jim Troyer]

Hey Pat:

thanks for the update.

It has been very cold in your vicinity, did you get the ice blanket they had in Texas last week?

If I were you, I would quit worrying about the fish as you will have plenty once the spawn happens this spring with the various left overs, nature has a way of course.  I would focus on adding more grow bed area to use up the nutrients the the algae is thriving on.  When your plant load is great enough the algae dies off and you will have a gin clear pool again.

all the best,

Jim

[Pat James]

Little change in status. The cold weather seems to have slowed or stopped all plant growth except that damn algae. :D

Even the cole crops seem to just be surviving. I did plant a single strawberry and put it under a clear plastic dome to see if it would survive.

I see my conditions reflected in other's posts-fish not eating etc. I have no real idea how many large catfish survive, but I have seen a fair number of the rosy red minnows when I throw the occasional bit of food into the pool.

I am considering ordering a batch of catfish fingerlings for delivery in a month or 2. My main concern is if they would wind up being food for the larger cats or if the larger fish would just be too lazy to canniballize.

[Pat James]

Holiday update:

I'm between crops ..(starting new lettuce and a few cole crops) and since I had a few days of warmer (60 degree) weather and fewer surgeries, I decided to clean out the sludge from under a few of my  growbeds. I was surprised just how much was down there...probably 15 to 20 gallons of pretty thick gunk in each tote I cleaned so far.

[Pat James]

Thanks,Jim.... Hope you had a good holiday yourself. It sure was a busy one here. Glad it is over!!! :D

[Jim Troyer]

Merry Christmas Pat!

[Pat James]

I scooped a couple pounds of  dead fish at dawn this morning. It was chilly and I did not want to stay long.Will go out and see how many more are still on the bottom. The smallest of these tilapia are 3-4 inches long and there are very few a that size.  I assume the really small ones were eaten by the catfish when the cold slowed them down.

I have not fed for over a week for obvious reasons. The catfish are doing fine. I did scoop 2 about a foot long yesterday and they were lively. I think they just happened to turn the wrong way when the net came by and caught themselves.

[Jim Troyer]

So sorry to hear about your Tilapia Pat. They are just barely able to survive Phoenix in a normal winter, but I figured it would be warmer there in Louisiana. 

Your pool water certainly got below 50 degrees if rain froze and that is the lowest a Nile or Mozambique will go. I'm told Blues and Hybrid Blues will go in to the 40s but i don't have any experience with those low temps yet (thankfully).

How did the catfish fair?  Word is catfish handle colder temperatures. 

All the best,

Jim

[Pat James]

Well, tilapia were a a fun thing to try, but I won't be repeating next season.

This cold snap nailed them. I tried to salvage as much meat as possible but still wound up sending POUNDS of fish to the compost bins.

I had started with 50 fish early in the season. They were maybe an inch long. They grew and bred. I put away about 19 pounds of meat give or take. Some were obviously the originals, many were their progeny. I could have frozen alot more if my kitchen sink had not plugged and by the time I got the plumbing problems squared away, I was NOT all that sure of the meat quality.

I did do an ammonia test this afternoon and found it is just a trace above 0. so I am not worried about my remaining catfish population. I had thought that the water temps would have held longer being I had 20k gallons inground to work with. lesson learned.