1st ever post! please help with filter and setup feasibility test!
Hey Everybody!! I am so excited to be apart of the network! I know that it will take me months and months yet of reading until I ask the REAL important questions. Nevertheless, I am designing and drawing up plans for my Aquaponics Set up and could use experienced builders advice. Bear in mind its a lengthy read and I have not yet added pictures. If you take the time to read it all and comment, I greatly appreciate it!
Here is the dream:
Imagine at the heart of the system and the highest ground elevation, 4 x 3,000-gallon fish tanks producing hopefully 12-15000 lbs of Tilapia fish per year. Situated but 6 meters from these tanks, slightly downhill on a flattened area are 4 concrete rectangles of identical size in parallel, connected to one another like so: incoming from fishtanks north side of Box1, South side box 1 connected with south side box 2, north side box 2 connected with north side box3 etc...
Each box outfitted with valves to completely shutoff or control flow rate. The first is the solid waste remover, the second is the biofilter, the third is degassing, the fourth is undecided possibly for growing duckweed, or used for filter system expansion later.
I wonder what capacity these tanks should be cumulatively, compared with the 9,000 gallons of fish tank water and unkown amount of hydroponic sump and possibly other tank water?
Ill discuss the construction of this filter in a little more detail. The rectangular box is for solid waste removal and is constructed with a sloping bottom lengthwise (maybe 10-20degrees), to ensure constant flow. A PVC pipe, runs the length of the rectangle and is cut in half horizontally, sunken into the bottom of the box in the center, with sloping sides, to easily allow solid waste particles to settle within. Imagine side view looks like this \u/ , though the "u" would be sunk down to the bottom. This pipe leads to a drain which removes sludge with the turn of a valve.
After water passes through this box it continues on to box #2, also sloping to ensure good water flow. It contains bioballs, fishnet, or biological material. Water then continues onto the third box which is filled with airstones for degassing. The final chamber can be used to grow duckweed to feed the fish, or used as another filter compartment if needed due to expansion. It can also be used as a place to adjust PH or other parameters.
Water, once passed through this filter and hopefully clean, will run downhill again and fill a tank of undetermined capacity with filtered water, which will help to regain lost pressure for the home stretch. It will also operate as a failsafe in the event of power outage (explained later on).
Sunken slightly downhill from here are the hydroponics part, 6 long rectangles parallel, slightly sunken underground, which utilize the floating raft method. They are operate like so: box 1 has the input from the filtered water reservoir on the North side and the south side of box 1 is connected to the south side of box 2. The north side of box 2, 4, and 6 run downhill again to the sump tank possibly 3,000 gallons (really dont know yet) and returns water with a heavy duty pump, through individual lines back to each original fish tank.
The consideration for a rectangular filter tank is based on the fact that I will already be pouring concrete and feel like my design will provide superior water treatment vs cylinder clarifier tanks. Everything is gravity fed from the main fish tanks, through the filter stages with the help of sloped bottoms, to the filtered water reservoir and even through the hydroponic raft beds all the way into the sump. Note: Additional pumps to aid in flow and aeration will be placed in the hydroponic tanks as well as other strategic places.
In the event of a power outage a gravity fed system can literally drain all the fish water from the tanks. My only solution to this problem thus far is the addition of the filtered water reservoir, let me explain. In addition to the sump pumping water back to the original fish tanks, it will also have a pump run on solar and/or wind power which in the event of a power outage is designed to keep the hydroponic system flowing. From the filtered water tank through the hydro system, to the sump and back to the filtered water reservoir. Solar and Wind energy may also drive the aeration devices in the fish tanks, providing them with a longer survival time in the case if power outage.
My only real problem now is deciding if this filter design has the capacity to treat the water effectively.
My other option would be to change to a raised cylinder tank design with cone shaped bottom, to remove solids. Either way I am in the planning stages and have not yet even purchased the land. Of course, there are design factors which play into geographical ones, climate and whatnot but im trying to leave most of these elements out until my basic design concept is analyzed.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! I hope to upload a couple of pictures of my design, just to help in understanding some of the concepts, since my rambling is usually incoherent to everybody BUT me!
Thanks again if you are still here with me!!
Yours,
- Jacob M. Brettler
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Originally Posted by aquapoolman
