New 55g drum for 25 tilapia and a few questions

[barreltilapia]

Hey guys! Brand new here and I have a few questions about my setup for some of the pros here.
What you are looking at is a diy 190gph trickle filter on top filled with poly stuffing and a magnum 350 on the bottom for mechanical filtration.
Do you think the water cascading inside and from the trickle is going to put enough DO in the water for 25 fish? (1lb+ for each 2.2gal) Will this provide enough bio filtration? I am picking up some lava rock soon to replace the poly a little at a time starting from the bottom up. What can you guys recommend for a battery backup pump in the event i lose power and the trickle does not work. I was planning on using a battery and picking up a marine bilge and run this all the time with a charge controller.

 

[barreltilapia]

I am scrapping the battery idea due to the poisons gasses and the cost of a charge controller.
Can anyone recommenced a good battery powered air pump that would recharge when the power come back on?

 

[aquaponicpaw]

Not gonna work. You would need 100 gallons of plants just to keep half of the fish you want. As a matter of fact the barrel Idea is No good while Upright.

Sent from my LG-P509 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[barreltilapia]

Well I have some time they are about 1/2".
I guess I'd have to have an incredible RAS system?
Some companys have a ratio of 1:1! What sort of equipment do you think I would need?
aquaponicpaw, Are you referring to how the plants would suck up the nitrates?
What do you think about a flow through system? (chlorine here).
I have seen many users that use a moving bed of kaldnes K1

Here is an idea i had to use kaldnes with an air lift
Any thoughts or ideas? will this suffice

 

[barreltilapia]

aquaponicpaw, I don't plan to use plants. Its strictly for fish

 

[aquaponicpaw]

Do You plan to incorporate a grow bed? are You planning to harvest fish on a regular basis? nitrates won't be the only thing that You have to worry about (growth inhibtors released by the fish), the accumalation of solid waste in the barrel because it doesn't drain from the bottom. Your illustration would definitely work. I just think You would need to reduce Your stock or go with a fish that doesn't grow as large as tilapia. Or it may work as a growout for fingerlings and then You can transfer them to something larger. But it's not something i would attempt as it stands.

 

[barreltilapia]

As far as not having a bottom drain I have already witnessed what you describe and once a day or every other day i vacuum the waste out and preform a WC. Also note that the magnum has an intake pipe running to the bottom and i have a small powerhead at the bottom aswell As of right now this is all of the space or WATER my wife will let me have in the house. We live in a small apartment on the bottom floor. As far as reducing my stock I could but I'd have to cull them or gift them. I'm really shooting for a self contained system that can handle a ratio of 1lb to 2 or 3 g of water. I can only buy them in a minimum of 25. And so far not a single one lost. I was planning for a 5-10% loss but it's still early in the game. 0NH3 0 N02 at 25ppm N03 was the test that i just did. I will be watching it very close. If i did grow some plants they would have to be very low light and take up almost no space at all.

 

[barreltilapia]

As this system stands how many will it support?

 

[aquaponicpaw]

It's hard to say what Your Max would be. I think given the circumstances it is just better to undershoot than to try to reach a certain threshold. do You have access to another 55 drum? And do You plan to harvest the fish? given the footprint that You are trying to maintain You could build something like in the photo below. That way You would have Your plant filtration, You have more media for Your bacteria colony. and You could do a 2 tier setup (2 growbeds from additional drum cut in half) Not to mention almost a third more water volume.

 

[barreltilapia]

Yes i plan to eat them! So my cycle would be fudged up after I took them out.
Is that gravel in the top? and also lettuce? this gives me some ideas. I'll talk to my wife and see what she says about adding a hydroponic system in our office This is just something for me to do its not really about having the food. I needed something to do during my days off and after work and wanted something I could eat instead of look at. we have a 10g in the main room with 12 or so Galaxy Rasboras.