I love that setup Cecil. Is that yours or is it from the book?
No, all ideas and know how came from Steven Van Gorder and his book Small Scale Aquaculture. I wish I was that smart! I will tell you if I can build it anyone can. And if at first it looks complicated don't be scared away. It's actually a simple concept. Fish tank, biofilter, clarifier. That's it!
Originally Posted By: surfsteve
It is incredibly brilliant! OK... forget the gravel entirely. I'm hooked on the idea of the deer net clarifiers. I want my fish outside so I probably would need to build them with black drums so they don't get clogged with algae.
Actually if you have it outside you will have to deal with algae even with black drums. That is, unless you use some type of ultraviolet clarifier in your system. That said the algae is not necessarily a bad thing as it works on ammonia and produces oxygen during the day.
Originally Posted By: surfsteve
Do you use an inverted milk carton for your settling area and drain excess waste off the bottom of the clarifier?
No see my response to MrHello.
Originally Posted By: surfsteve
If so how often? Also what is the cap on the siphon for? Can you somehow start the siphon by putting water in there?
No and Yes. Also see my response to MrHello.
Originally Posted By: surfsteve
What's going on with the rotating drum? Is that green film over that white stuff only on the outside of it or does it go all the way through the cylinder? Looks like it was made from a solid cylinder of styrofoam. Is that correct? That goes directly in your pond? I don't think that would work outside. Could you explain what it is and how it works better? RBC... Rotating Bio Cylinder?
It goes directly into the tank of fish but I will be moving it out ASAP to a connecting tank. It is getting a little dirty with particulates which reduces it's effectivenes.
It's a series of alternating plates made of fiberglass roofing and polystyrene plastic that provide surface area for the bacteria that will detoxify your water. The foam is only for flotation and is four pieces a couple of inches thick if I remember right. There a couple of PVC axles inserted into each other in the middle.
You really need to see the book Small Scale Aquaculture to see how it's done and how to build it. The book has specs and everything. There a couple of minor errors on measurements, which I cover in the Pond Boss article.
[quote=surfsteve]In the greenwater tank culture system I read about they only used aeriation and clarifiers. No filters. The clarifiers looked huge and expensive. I think they used a 350 gallon one on a 20 foot diameter tank. Do you think using six or seven 55 gallon drum deer net clarifiers would be just as good on a swimming pool of the same size or would I also need additional filtration?
I don't know much about greenwater culture systems so I'm not qualified to answer that. I will say if you have a tank outside and you develop an algae bloom you have a greenwater system. However all those drums sound like a lot of trouble and expense to me. I'm a KISS guy. (Keep it Simple Stupid.)
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 07/26/1004:43 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
