new tank setup. ideas on filter components

[dtd7899]

would there be any chance of a few photos ? i will post some up as i put my system together in the coming weeks.what would your thoughts be on a good bio filter? ive looked at the aquasonic range of both moving bed and fluidised sand filters but still cant pinpoint the right way to go with that.i was leaning towards the aquasaonic moving bed filter the few models range a fare bit up to i think 19 kg of food per day.as for the fluidised bed filter it seems rather large for what feed/stocking rate it can actually handle compared to the moving bed.i havnt seen the kaldness k 1 media but from the photos i would of thought bioballs would have a much larger surface area ? any ideas on thew better overkill solution? maybe a combo of both?

[Crusty]

Sure if the owner is happy to have them published online. I don't see any issues as there is no intellectual proprietary involved and I designed it.

A combination of bio and trickle filters is a good idea but essentially not really needed. You can make your own moving bed filter easily and inexpensively just using the right media. From memory, bioballs have a surface area (when not clogged) of about 400m2/m3 where as the kaldnes and kaldnes copies have 850 to 1600m2/m3. Just need one big tank that is 1/3 bigger than your media requirement. So I guess you would need to look at how much stock you will have and then how much feed you will be feeding. Then, your biofilter size will come from that.

From a overkill solution, moving bed will be your best bet. Even from a cost point of view, the bioballs would cost more for the same surface area in comparison to the kaldnes. From a maintenance view, again the moving bed will require next to no work at all. From a simple point of view, again the moving bed, one tank, less fittings, less hassle to install, less chance of leaks and blockages etc...

[dtd7899]

ive been looking at the same sort of tanks that are used on the moving bed filters so i can get ideas to make one myself,the tanks im looking at using for it are from duraplas (the r1130) model which is 1130 litres in size .this model would keep the size down in its diameter for floor space,one of these 80% to 90% filled with the k1 media should handle this system using a venturi to introduce air into the filter as due to its depth a big blower would be required (more power too).also the flow rate should be at least 9000 to 10000 ltres per hour so hoping that could do the job.as im still working out the exact tanks to use for my floor space,im aiming at a total of say 8000 ltrs maximum for this system so that i can have plenty of workspace and filter space.so if i aimed at the 50kg per 1000ltr of water id be working for an output of say 350kgs (allowing 1000ltrs for fingerlings) and feed rate being 1.5% of weight fed would put a maximum strain of 5.25 kgs on the bio filter.that being the maximum aim point but if densities go higher ,then this would be where id like the biofilter to cope with say 10kg of feed per day.but this also has to be taken into account that there will more than likely never be this load due to at least 2 tanks which could be at different grow out stages to have a rotation happening and not be forced to harvest all at once.if i went to grow them out to a heavier 2kg/3kg (2 year) harvest weight then i could end up with this load on the system.maybe id need 2 of the above tanks for my moving bed?

[Crusty]

You can just use poly water tanks for the filter, cost less. If you were planning to set up for 10kg per day, it would require at least 1m3 of kaldnes (850), so at least a 1500liter tank to hold it in. You are talking about some big fish there (2 to 3kg), what species? You will more than likely need air at 500 Lpm at the very least and a venturi would not be all that useful in the biofilter. Running 50kg/m3 is getting up there on density, the higher you go, the more sophisticated the system will need to be and your biggest issue aside from o2 is going to be solids. At this point you can plan for that density and I appreciate you have had some fish experience but I would only be running closer to 20kg/m3 until you gain some experience with these kinds of densities.

[Bubbles]

I would like to see some photos, it is some set up, I need clues... see www.Aquaponics.me.uk for my condition...

[Crusty]

Your site, conveniently spammed in all your posts, tells me nothing of you condition bubbles. Perhaps, start your own thread and someone may come and help if you at least provide some information about what you are trying to do...

[dtd7899]

i will be posting pics in the next 3 or 4 weeks im still flat out with the bannana prawn season so i will keep a track of how i plumb it all and set it up step by step.crusty i will go ahead with the bag filters for a test run ,i guess the real test will be when the fish are at a decent size to see if this will cope,ive looked into the drum filters and the smallest one is still far too big for this system so the bag filters will have to do unless i bite the bullet and build 1 to suit,ive got a really good fabrication mob who has built bigger drum filters in the past.i have been wrestling with this for a few weeks as the waste is not being subtracted from the system thus contributing to the load by breaking down /leaching.i agree that 50 kg/m3 is too much and this was just an overkill senario .im just going to stick with barramundi for now and grow them to that 2kg plus mark so my stocking will be a bit more to allow for a feed or 2 before the full grow out.im in contact with a pro fish filleter whos does some work for someone who currently stocks whitting and mullet which was a surprise to me ,im going to go have a look at this in the coming weeks.if i go ahead next year with a bigger system i will be definatly thinking long and hard as to doing a saltwater system versus fresh water to grow out high value fish ,whitting in the filleted form fetch a high price and being a small fish shouldnt take too long to grow out.its all still early days on that with alot of research to do and from people ive spoken to all have said the same they prefer saltwater fish so i will have to try the freshwater system first and see how it goes in the taste tests.i have all the contacts to sell and market any product i decide to go with which will fetch a higher price as id be selling the product retail and gaining a higher price thus making it more likly to be profitable and not having the pressure of silly stocking densities to make up the differance between retail and wholesale prices.the biggest cost is the feed so i will be also working on that issue this year.