Looking for Duck Weed and Bio Balls

[jrocker1]

We're setting up a hydroponic system at our house. We've got a pond for tilapia growth already up and running, but we need to expand our filtration setup for the winter months. I'm looking to get inexpensive bio balls and duck weed. Does anyone have either they're getting rid of?

Thanks!

 

[jdavid]

don't you mean aquaponics? using the ammonia/water from the fish tank which converts to nitrogen due to bacteria in the substrate for plant food? and then the substrate serves as a filter and good water returns to the tank. Pretty cool stuff, you get veggies and fish. These systems could potentially sustain entire villages in third world countries, end world hunger

also they can be built in a vertical style like on top of tall buildings to save space

fascinating. way way cooler than hydroponics IMHO

 

[jrocker1]

Indeed I do mean aquaponics. I suppose I use the terms interchangeably even though I know that's a faux pas. We're really excited about it.

We've got a 500 gal "pond" hooked up to a swirl tank for large particle settling which drains into a breeder tank, which then goes to a sump (which needs the bio balls), and finally heads back to the pond. When the weather warms up, we're going to pump water from the pond into a 12' x 3' grow bed with 9'' of hydroton clay pellets. We'll have an ebb and flow setup draining from this bed into another identical grow bed. This will flow into a large sump that flows back into the fish pond. The sump keeps the water level in the fish pond more or less constant.

We're still planning but getting close to building. Ideally we'll have lots of extra to give to friends and maybe make some money on the side. Maybe, you'll see me posting on here to trade some fresh veggies for corals and other awesome tank stuff this summer.

 

[jdavid]

Awesome! you might want to consider running off to a couple other substrates by drip, with no return. You can collect rainwater to replace total gallonage. The reason why is because you can drip to more nutritious (wow I had to look up how to spell that...) substrates that can handle more complex plants like tomatoes, strawberries, etc. I believe the grow rate for tomatoes on coco coir (you can buy the compressed bricks for reptile cage bedding, brand eco earth is good stuff) is like 3x faster than soil.

Edit: I'm sending you a friend request

 

[jrocker1]

Interesting idea. I've read a bit about the pros and cons of coco v. hydroton. Hydroton isn't a soil though if that's what you're thinking. It's an artificial substrate of porous clay balls. If you knew that, would you point me to where you are getting your comparison info? We'd definitely be interested in alternate ways to achieve optimal growth. What is the lifetime of coco coir? Can you reuse it? If so, how much work is preparing it for the next year?

 

[stickx911]

I think I have some bioballs you can have, but I doubt they're worth the drive.

 

[jdavid]

jrocker1;839900 wrote: Interesting idea. I've read a bit about the pros and cons of coco v. hydroton. Hydroton isn't a soil though if that's what you're thinking. It's an artificial substrate of porous clay balls. If you knew that, would you point me to where you are getting your comparison info? We'd definitely be interested in alternate ways to achieve optimal growth. What is the lifetime of coco coir? Can you reuse it? If so, how much work is preparing it for the next year?

I know what hydroton is. I wouldn't reuse coir. It's cheap. The thing is that unless you use coir or some kind of compost as an alternative substrate, then you are limiting what you can grow to plants like lettuce or other green leaf plants that do not require a complex variety of nutrients. The hydroton will not support a plant such as tomatoes or anything fruit bearing. But the water will return brown like tea from the coir, that is why a good solution is to simply drip water to coir substrates and not collect it for return, instead, build a rainwater collection system.

Edit: as for preparing it, you take a brick of coir and put it in a bucket of hot water. It expands to a perfect substrate which may be squeezed or strained to field capacity

 

[jrocker1]

I see what you're saying. My dad and I are planning this together, so I'll bring some of these ideas to his attention. I've heard that hydroton is great for a wide variety of plants including fruit bearers, but we'll definitely look into this more. It would be quite a drag to spend all that money and effort just to eat lettuce all summer .

We don't really want to go with a full drip system though b/c we want to take advantage of the water filtration that's going on. Rain water definitely has plenty of unwanted chemical and particulate components.

 

[mc524]

Where are you located? I have two grocery size bags of Bio Balls that I took out of a sump I will be using. The Bio Balls will not be used. If you are close by, you are welcome to them.
PM me.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2

 

[djatl]

I ordered a small amount of duckweed from ebay for my son's 20g freshwater tank. It was around $5 delivered. Since it seems to propagate pretty easily, he has more than he needs. But it's probably not worth the gas for you to come pick it up.

 

[jrocker1]

Hey, thanks for the offer, but I'm thinking cumming might be a bit of a drive. I'm just going to grab it from a lake. I hear it grows all over the place.

 

[coral_hog]

I have a ton of bio balls.. Approximately a 2 foot wide by 3 foot tall box of the stuff. PM me if interested.