>55 degrees is closer. 60deg. is even better. They won't eat much when the water is cold anyway, not worth chancing a die off. I've stocked tilapia as early as late April but late June is probably better. S. IN is usually a week or two ahead of my place on temps in the Spring. I can't say from personal experience about muck reduction but they will eat their own waste readily. I've seen where they put tilapia in the filter tank of a RAS to help keep the filter clean.
