Small Scale Sytem I put together

[Cecil]

That book is actually on my Christmas list this year. Hope I get it!

Absolutely love that RBC. I'm planning on building one for my new system. I have lots of winter work ahead of me.

Get with me before you cut some of the PVC pieces. There are some minor errors in the book due to changing from one model to the next but the changes were not made in the book. I.e. you need to cut the paddles out of 4 inch PVC vs. 3 inch., and some of the frame measurements given are incorrect. But still the book is worth its weight in gold. Also don't even think of cutting the fiberglass roofing without a bandsaw. I used a hand held jig saw and I went through not only several blades but it was really really hard work that way! Also it's imperative that your 4 allignment holes are perfectly square from each other. Otherwise you will have problems when you rotate each piece of fiberglass 90 degrees. I made the mistake of using a line that was part of the angles and was slightly off. It made for problems although it all turned out fine in the end.

I'm sending a copy to Gary to do an overview. I've never sent anything down under. This is exciting!

One more thing: There have been some outrageous prices listed for the book on the net. You shouldn't have to pay over 25 or 30 U.S. dollars for it. Amazon.com has some copies and I've seen some copies for sale just under 20 U.S. dollars.

[fishfood]

What book are we talking about!

[Cecil]

What book are we talking about!

[Cecil]

Here is where I messed up and it caused me some grief. I drilled some of the alignment holes in line with the marks that were originally made by the protractor to set the positions of the paddle wheels. I should have redrawn lines perfectly perpendicular of each other instead to form a cross. As I rotated each piece of fiberglass 90 degrees they didn't align perfectly and I had to make the holes larger in the fiberglass for them to fit.

I love the pattern the PVC pieces that produced the paddles made though.



Here's a close up of the RBC itself although it is temporarily backwards on the frame. (Hey I was learning ) At that point I was just happy to get the thing completed! The paddles are in the middle.




Here is the frame minus the filter itself.




The frame actually floats somewhat and the RBC ideally submerges about half way or slightly less initially before the bacteria film weights it down. I had to suspend the frame over my tank as the tank is less than half of the diameter of what it should have been. This RBC was designed for a 12 diameter swimming pool. It's supposed to be able to handle over 100 pounds of fish and has 600 square feet of surface area. This RBC is essentially the same one that was used in the Biosphere II project in Arizona years ago.

[kellenw]

Thanks for the tip Cecil. I remember you mentioning something about this on PB also. I can imagine the initial grief with the hole issue. Thanks for saving me a little stress! Unfortunately, I don't currently have a bandsaw, even though I've really wanted one for quite a while now. This might be just the excuse I need to get one finally. I guess I could try using my table saw with a ripper guide and fine toothed blade IF the blade adjustment will go high enough to fully cut through the pipe.

While my new system will include growbeds, fish are the primary focus. Growbeds are really just a part of the overall water quality management strategy, so I almost hesitate to call it an aquaponics system.

I'm also considering trying my hand at a prototype I've thought up for a pressurized coil oxygen/air injection system. If it works the way I am hoping, it could REALLY increase my carrying capacity.

I plan on pushing my new system to the limits with incredibly high density fish stocking. I'll get a lot of forgiveness from tilapia when it comes to water quality, but I'm also planning on growing out some of our more familiar pond fish (yellow perch, bluegill, smallmouth bass and white bass) if it works well. They will be a lot more demanding than tilapia at higher densities.

Cecil, I don't suppose you know of any US based white bass suppliers do you? It seems like I've searched everywhere, without any luck at all.

[Cecil]

Just a note Kellenw, cutting the pipes wasn't so bad with a chop saw. It was cutting the 50 fiberglass circles that was a nightmare! I would strongly advise getting a bandsaw! I may end up building two or three more and joining them together as in this system in the book Small Scale Aquaculture. If so I WILL have a bandsaw!



Don't know of a source for white bass. I know where you can catch a boatload of wild fish but most likely you couldn't bring them into Missouri due to it being in a Great Lakes state and the VHS threat.

Did you contact any suppliers of hybrid striped bass and ask if they would sell you any white bass?

Have you tried talking to a biologist named Bobby Glennon of Malone and Sons in Arkansas? The guy answered a lot of my questions for me when he had no ulterior motive. He's the one that has experimented with Magnolia crappie, triploid crappie etc. Malone and Sons were the first to come out with triploid grass carp.

[GaryD]

Hi,

While rotating biological contactors (RBC) are not new in aquaculture circles, they are rare in aquaponics......and particularly those that are DIY and cost effective to make.

I'm looking forward to learning more about them.

Gary

[Cecil]

Hi,

While rotating biological contactors (RBC) are not new in aquaculture circles, they are rare in aquaponics......and particularly those that are DIY and cost effective to make.

I'm looking forward to learning more about them.

Gary

Some say they are obsolete. However I see this as gaining valuable experience so I can make intelligent decisions in the future to decide what system would be better for me for a possible commercial system. And like you said it's much cheaper to build things yourself.

I've been looking at protein skimmers and don't see why one could not make one of those too.

[GaryD]

Hi Cecil,

My understanding is that protein skimmers work best with salt water.

I support your position on water quality but I tend toward solids removal and nitrification devices that let gravity or particle attraction do most of the work.....like sedimentation tanks, clarifiers, swirl filters, mineralisation tanks and trickling bio-filters.

Gary

[Cecil]

Hi Cecil,

My understanding is that protein skimmers work best with salt water.

You're absolutely right but I think I saw one used in freshwater the other day in an RAS set up for brook trout. I'll have to look again. From what I gather it's imperative to get the water cleaner in an RAS for the trout than most other species. I do know from personal experience their gills get irritated easier than my other species of fish.

I support your position on water quality but I tend toward solids removal and nitrification devices that let gravity or particle attraction do most of the work.....like sedimentation tanks, clarifiers, swirl filters, mineralisation tanks and trickling bio-filters. Gary

Makes excellent sense. Why use electricity when you can make gravity work for you. I use that principal in my outdoor ponds. The well (borehole) is at the highest point of the property and I can move the well water anywhere I want for filling or flow through by opening and closing underground gate valves at junctions of 4 inch PVC buried underground.

I'm looking forward to reading the book you are sending me. Sounds like lots of good information.