Aquaponics - Colander feeder

One of the requirements for a SLO (solids lifting overflow) is that you need to concentrate the fish solids with a whirl pool.

One of the issues with making a whirl pool in my fish tank is that it's a cube.

I found by pointing the powerhead, I can make the solids collect where I want, but the result is that any feed I put in tends to be removed as soon as it hits the bottom before the fish get at it.

I figured I needed something to hold the food off the bottom until the fish eat it, so I made use of a large kitchen colander.

I hung it by three strings, and then tied an extra string in a loose loop around the three.

That's the three strings going off to the right, and the loose loop going off to the left.

The result is I can pull the thing up to the surface and to the side by pulling on the loose loop to add the feed.

Then I can just let the thing go to slowly drift back to the centre, where it remains suspended a few inches off the bottom.

I found that anything sitting on the bottom was collecting solids so I keep it high enough to allow a free flow under and around it.

The result is any solids can go straight into the SLO and to the grow bed, but any food hangs around until it's eaten.



The other result is that it's driving my fish crazy as they can smell the food, but haven't quite got the hang of going over the top rather than trying to eat it through the holes in the strainer.





My new 120 things in 20 years, Aquaponics - Colander feeder fish frustrating catch cry is "They'll figure it out".