Melko
Chirping
- Jan 4, 2023
- 21
- 27
- 69
Introduction
I've finally finished (not really) what I call Quackuaponics - turning dirty duck pool water into plant growth.
This thread is to document my experience, things I learned along the way, and possible improvements in the future.
Overview
I started this build following more standard Aquaponics setup but was faced with some issues I'll discuss later. The current iteration going from lowest to highest elevation follows:
Pool (pump) >>> Media Bed (Rocks and Hydrostone) >> Floater Bed >> Pool.
The speed of the water flow is not limited by the pump here, but rather the outflow of the media bed. If the pump is set too strong the bed overflows.
Early itertions of this I attempted to use a circular flow filter to collect debris leaving the pump in a sump to avoid solids flowing through it but the major issue with that was the lack of height difference between the pool and the filter leading to poor flow to the filter and sump. In a standard aquaponics setup the stock tank can be situated quite high, meanwhile a duck pool needs to be at/close to ground level.
The current setup has the pump inside a plastic bin, covered in filter media (nylo net) to stop leaves and such getting in.
Results
The water is -clear- and the ducks love it. I only add water ~ once a week which is probably around 50-80L.
Plant growth is seriously great. I currently have Water Lettuce, Duckweed, and an Umbrella Plant.
The WL has been multiplying like crazy, when it gets too much I just grab a handful and chuck it in the pool and by the time I'm back it's all eaten.
All in all, I'm quite happy with it.
Caveats
There's a bunch of small issues with this setup that all stem from the same thing: sludge.
There's just a lot of sludge in this system and it builds up. Every few weeks I have to open the cleanout valve in the media bed and wow does it reek.
It also builds up in the pipes and outflows, so I've found I have to open up the media bed and pump outflows and wash them down to get the sludge off.
It's a big issue and I'm not sure I can find a fix for it besides building some big settling tank taller than the media bed. It's an idea, but not my favorite.
Future Work
I talked to a local farmer who's had a lot of luck with Azollas as feed, so maybe I'll add that to the floaters tank.
An overflow from the media bed in case the normal one gets blocked would be a good addition.
Thanks for reading. I'm open to any thoughts or suggestions you might have for this setup.
Additional Photos:
I've finally finished (not really) what I call Quackuaponics - turning dirty duck pool water into plant growth.
This thread is to document my experience, things I learned along the way, and possible improvements in the future.
Overview
I started this build following more standard Aquaponics setup but was faced with some issues I'll discuss later. The current iteration going from lowest to highest elevation follows:
Pool (pump) >>> Media Bed (Rocks and Hydrostone) >> Floater Bed >> Pool.
The speed of the water flow is not limited by the pump here, but rather the outflow of the media bed. If the pump is set too strong the bed overflows.
Early itertions of this I attempted to use a circular flow filter to collect debris leaving the pump in a sump to avoid solids flowing through it but the major issue with that was the lack of height difference between the pool and the filter leading to poor flow to the filter and sump. In a standard aquaponics setup the stock tank can be situated quite high, meanwhile a duck pool needs to be at/close to ground level.
The current setup has the pump inside a plastic bin, covered in filter media (nylo net) to stop leaves and such getting in.
Results
The water is -clear- and the ducks love it. I only add water ~ once a week which is probably around 50-80L.
Plant growth is seriously great. I currently have Water Lettuce, Duckweed, and an Umbrella Plant.
The WL has been multiplying like crazy, when it gets too much I just grab a handful and chuck it in the pool and by the time I'm back it's all eaten.
All in all, I'm quite happy with it.
Caveats
There's a bunch of small issues with this setup that all stem from the same thing: sludge.
There's just a lot of sludge in this system and it builds up. Every few weeks I have to open the cleanout valve in the media bed and wow does it reek.
It also builds up in the pipes and outflows, so I've found I have to open up the media bed and pump outflows and wash them down to get the sludge off.
It's a big issue and I'm not sure I can find a fix for it besides building some big settling tank taller than the media bed. It's an idea, but not my favorite.
Future Work
I talked to a local farmer who's had a lot of luck with Azollas as feed, so maybe I'll add that to the floaters tank.
An overflow from the media bed in case the normal one gets blocked would be a good addition.
Thanks for reading. I'm open to any thoughts or suggestions you might have for this setup.
Additional Photos:
