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actually that may have solved the problem,thinking maybe two IBC totes tops can sit right on the water so they would still fit under the intake pipes in the raft tanks that come from the last fish tank... they fit inside the raft tanks perfectly..and can just have the water flow over the gravel. Do you think that would work? Guess it's hard for you to say without seeing it. .I was originally trying to raise the gravel bed a little so the water could come out the bottom of the gravel bed and splash, but maybe can just cut the top and bend down and have it overflow..do you think the water at the bottom of the gravel bed will be oxygenated enough that way?

Michelle Silva said:

woohoo, good to know. Thanks TCLynx!

TCLynx said:

Worms can survive in a constant flood bed provided the water is well oxygenated.

I've got a few constant flood beds.

great question..because I just interpreted constant bed to mean it's constantly flowing in..I think that's what it means,as I the other way would be flood and drain. I'm pretty sure ECHO has something set up as a constant bed, although I haven't seen it.

Sylvia Bernstein said:

I have basic question for you, TC.  When people talk of a constant flood bed do they mean that there is always water in the bed and it never drains out, or do they mean that the water is constantly "flooding" in and is being periodically drained by a siphon? I've been meaning to ask that question for a long time...

Well I was actually referring to a bed that as water constantly flowing in and that it remains at a constant flood height.  Basically, stand pipe with no holes in the bottom.  These work well for growing things like water cress and water chestnuts etc and if the gravel is enough over the flood height I've grown some other things in them just fine, okra, peppers, banana.

 

So the options are

Timed Flood and drain

Constant Inflow with flood and drain by siphons or other

or constant flood/flow

or constant trickle through

 

For constant flood/flow, I know people who have been running this way very well for a long time but it is important to have lots of aeration and that the flow through the beds be more than a dribble.  My beds are getting a rather fast flow through and Creative1 over on BYAP said his do about 9 liters a minute trough each of his constant flood beds.  With constant flood it is more important to avoid soil/potting mix/ peat around the plant roots since that is more likely to cause issues with root rot or wet feet problems.  The Banana plant in my constant flood bed became a beast and cracked the stock tank.

 

Constant flow trickle through might make some plants really happy but I don't think it serves very much in the way of filtration as a media bed.  (Towers are a little different since there is more height.)

 

Thanks for that.  It is what I suspected, but good to hear from someone who actually does it.  When I hear constant trickle through I actually think of what is happening inside an NFT channel.  There is more air there because the roots are suspended, and then a 'film' of water 'trickles' through.  Does that make sense?

Yea, think of trickle through more like NFT (basically less filtration but roots have all the air they need)  However, long NFT runs can really deplete the water of oxygen because the roots will often still use the dissolved oxygen from the water rather than drawing it from the air and the water tends to heat up during warm weather.

 

I think the flood and drain beds do the best for the most variety but sometimes ya just gotta work in what will fit for a situation.


Sylvia Bernstein said:

Thanks for that.  It is what I suspected, but good to hear from someone who actually does it.  When I hear constant trickle through I actually think of what is happening inside an NFT channel.  There is more air there because the roots are suspended, and then a 'film' of water 'trickles' through.  Does that make sense?

Does anyone have a list of trusted suppliers for the equipment required to build my system? In the U.S and on the mainland are the stipulations...

I want a multi faceted system...media beds, towers, and rafts...which dictates DWC Tanks for fish...

Any thoughts or ideas...I could really use the help!

David, we are primarily focused on the home market, but we do carry the towers and can help you with those. Click here to visit our website.  Not sure what a DWC tank is - one with clarifiers? - and why you feel you need one?  If you are going with a hybrid system you won't need clarifiers...

David jones said:

Does anyone have a list of trusted suppliers for the equipment required to build my system? In the U.S and on the mainland are the stipulations...

I want a multi faceted system...media beds, towers, and rafts...which dictates DWC Tanks for fish...

Any thoughts or ideas...I could really use the help!

David, I don't think there are any single turn key package systems currently being sold that have all you seem to be looking for.

I also don't think you will find all you need for such a system at a good price all from one single place either.  Some more specific details about what your system will be can help people to direct you to appropriate suppliers of different things.

 

On the medium size backyard scale of aquaponics I have found tractor supply to be a good source of 100 and 300 gallon stock tanks for grow beds and fish tanks.

 

Before I can tell you more about where to get liner for DWC raft beds, I need to know more about your requirements but Justliners has been a pretty good source for EPDM liner for me.


David jones said:

Does anyone have a list of trusted suppliers for the equipment required to build my system? In the U.S and on the mainland are the stipulations...

I want a multi faceted system...media beds, towers, and rafts...which dictates DWC Tanks for fish...

Any thoughts or ideas...I could really use the help!

Well I want to raft over fish rather than raft in seperate tanks from fish...so the tank need to be deeper than normal...DWC-Deep Water Current...

 

shouldn't I run clarifiers if i am going to remove solids?

Sylvia Bernstein said:

David, we are primarily focused on the home market, but we do carry the towers and can help you with those. Click here to visit our website.  Not sure what a DWC tank is - one with clarifiers? - and why you feel you need one?  If you are going with a hybrid system you won't need clarifiers...

David jones said:

Does anyone have a list of trusted suppliers for the equipment required to build my system? In the U.S and on the mainland are the stipulations...

I want a multi faceted system...media beds, towers, and rafts...which dictates DWC Tanks for fish...

Any thoughts or ideas...I could really use the help!

TC -  I am building a mid to large scale commercial system with a community co-op and need solid info on equipment and start up costs associated with that equipment, we have the expertise to run it, just not the start up tech info, where to secure the tech and the best combination of methods...we want a hybrid system of rafts, towers and media beds to capitalize on as much growing space and produce versitility as possible. The system needs to accomodate Tiliapia, perch and prawn maybe Trout...

Any other thought?

 



TCLynx said:

David, I don't think there are any single turn key package systems currently being sold that have all you seem to be looking for.

I also don't think you will find all you need for such a system at a good price all from one single place either.  Some more specific details about what your system will be can help people to direct you to appropriate suppliers of different things.

 

On the medium size backyard scale of aquaponics I have found tractor supply to be a good source of 100 and 300 gallon stock tanks for grow beds and fish tanks.

 

Before I can tell you more about where to get liner for DWC raft beds, I need to know more about your requirements but Justliners has been a pretty good source for EPDM liner for me.


David jones said:

Does anyone have a list of trusted suppliers for the equipment required to build my system? In the U.S and on the mainland are the stipulations...

I want a multi faceted system...media beds, towers, and rafts...which dictates DWC Tanks for fish...

Any thoughts or ideas...I could really use the help!

Well, there are several reasons not to do rafts over the fish and if the fish are in the raft tank, the clairifier won't keep the fish poo/fish food off the plant roots.

 

I currently have two fish testing the water in a raft tank for me, problem is you can't easily inspect/see your fish under a raft.  The rafts also reduce the amount of water surface with access to air and thus reduce the dissolved oxygen in the raft tanks which will need even more aeration if the fish are in the same tank with the plants.  It is hard to keep fish food from fouling the rafts if there are fish in the same tank with the rafts.  Fish can disturb the plant roots and some types of fish will eat the plant roots.

 

Most people find if far more effective to have the fish and plants separate.


David jones said:

Well I want to raft over fish rather than raft in seperate tanks from fish...so the tank need to be deeper than normal...DWC-Deep Water Current...

 

shouldn't I run clarifiers if i am going to remove solids?

Sylvia Bernstein said:

David, we are primarily focused on the home market, but we do carry the towers and can help you with those. Click here to visit our website.  Not sure what a DWC tank is - one with clarifiers? - and why you feel you need one?  If you are going with a hybrid system you won't need clarifiers...

David jones said:

Does anyone have a list of trusted suppliers for the equipment required to build my system? In the U.S and on the mainland are the stipulations...

I want a multi faceted system...media beds, towers, and rafts...which dictates DWC Tanks for fish...

Any thoughts or ideas...I could really use the help!

David, you worry me a little with the statement "we have the expertise to run it, just not the start up tech info"

For a commercial scale start up I would hope that some one has been to one of the many classes or workshops out there that would give at least the info needed to run a system using whatever method those teaching the workshop specialize in and be able to get help from them about options for buying equipment as well as knowing the parameters needed to source one's own equipment.

 

Unfortunately, there really isn't yet a standardized model for combination systems though we do have a few members here now starting to add some media beds or towers onto their raft commercial systems and other members have started up research systems on a small scale that are combination systems but I doubt any have been running long enough for them to give hard numbers about how to run/stock/feed it in different situation.

 

My large system (though still backyard scale, not commercial) Has a 700 gallon fish tank that flows into gravel beds which drain into a sump tank where the pump is.  The pump drawing from the sump feeds the fish tank as well as towers, NFT pipes, a raft bed and some other additional growing/seed starting methods.  All the additional growing spaces drain back into the sump tank.  All the solids are kept in the grow beds in the system so I don't need so much fish or fish feed to grow lots and lots of plants.

 

If you want to grow more fish and the plants are not as important, then adding a clarifyer or swirl filter or whatever for removing the solids becomes more important and that should get the water from the fish tank before it goes through a pump.


David jones said:

TC -  I am building a mid to large scale commercial system with a community co-op and need solid info on equipment and start up costs associated with that equipment, we have the expertise to run it, just not the start up tech info, where to secure the tech and the best combination of methods...we want a hybrid system of rafts, towers and media beds to capitalize on as much growing space and produce versitility as possible. The system needs to accomodate Tiliapia, perch and prawn maybe Trout...

Any other thought?

 

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