pump question

[Michael Osman]

Hi, I'm building my 1st system. I'm using an IBC, pumping up to the grow bed on top with a submersible pump. Should I remove the filters to get the fish waist to the flood & drain grow beds? Seems to me, as long as there are no rocks to get in there, it should be alright. Am I on the right track, or way off base?

[Jonathan Kadish NYC AA Chair]

Yes, you want the waste to go to the grow beds unfiltered. Good luck!

[Jim Joy]

You should absolutely remove the filter foam from the submersible pump.  It will clog up very quickly with solid waste.  

Whether you pump the waste into your media bed is a different question.  If you do, also add red wiggler worms to help break down the waste.  If you overload your media beds, solid waste can create an anaerobic mess.  1:1 tank size to media bed size is the minimum filtration for aquaponics.  For instance, I have a Rubbermaid 150 gallon tank for the fish and three 50 gallon feed trough's with clay bead media.  Closer to 1:4 water to media is better.

You can setup a swirl filter, settling tank or mechanically filter waste if you want to control solids.  It can be as easy as putting some green scrubbers pads under the fill pipe in each media bed.   Rinse when it gets clogged.   

With fairly light stocking of my tank, solids pumped into my media beds does not seem to be a problem now.  I plan to add settling tanks when I expand the system this winter.

[Michael Osman]

thank you...I'll likely add a sump tank to pump from when I expand my system...but for now...the simpler the better 

[julian]

airlift pumps are better since it increase dissolve oxygen in water. 

[Michael Osman]

Yeah Julian, I've been looking into that. Which one do you recommend. I've been leaning towards the Ben & Glen aqua zen system.

[julian]

Michael Osman said:

Yeah Julian, I've been looking into that. Which one do you recommend. I've been leaning towards the Ben & Glen aqua zen system.

I dont buy air pumps I made them from salvage equipment. I'm a professional handyman. there are plans on the net if you want to build one. I think geyser has an airlift pump.

[Murray Hallam]

Yes, it's a great idea. You can remove the filters to get the fish waist to the flood & drain grow beds. This will really help you for the batter growth of your plants in your aquaponics system.

Regards,
Murray Hallam
Consultant in Queensland
https://www.aquaponics.net.au