Tilapia and ducks

[Mother ducker]

New to the forum. Have two lovely ducks (Cayuga and a Pekin) as pets. Built them a sweet set up with a 110 gallon plastic stock tank with a ramp and a deck (taken from here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Duck-Deck-Backyard-Duck-Habitat/.)

It's drainable. Have a garden hose threaded into the plug so I can "water" the roses and such. Works fantastic. Problem is these animals are just so FILTHY! Even draining the tank, cleaning it out with vinegar and a scrub brush once a week, I have algae (or some sort of scum) that takes over by day 5. My sis is a vet and I got a "safe" amount of bleach in the water (1/4 cup) to discourage mosquitoes and hopefully the funk….but its still a mess. Would adding tilapia and getting the whole "biospharm/aquaponics" thing going work to keep the water clean? Would the fish eat the duck poop? I wouldn't really care about eating the fish (unless they got big enough) I just want the water to stay cleaner for longer than 5 days! Is there any hope for this idea? They are SO HAPPY when they jump in a clean bath! Who knows about these things?

 

[Starfire669]

I too am looking into talapia and hydroponics with ducks and geese. Talapia don't eat poop, they eat plant matter such as algae. If your ducks eat nothing but grass, maybe that would be plant matter, but I don't know. Talapia is also banned in some states as they are highly invasive, check your local/state laws before trying to get talapia.