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PUREFLOW BIO / ENGINEERING FIELD GUIDE

Aquaponics FiltrationSolids, Biofilters and Water Treatment

Aquaponics filtration: drum filter and moving bed biofilter, solids removal, ammonia conversion, oxygen, sizing and where sludge goes in coupled and decoupled systems.

Explore the process ↗Open the workbench
8 MIN GUIDEUPDATED NOVEMBER 2026
Concept illustration connecting fish tanks, water treatment and leafy crop growing beds.SYSTEM CONCEPT
AI-generated educational concept illustration; not a Pureflow installation photograph or an approved construction drawing.
01Understand the mechanismInspect the relevant process stages.
02Review the operating dutyKeep assumptions and measured values visible.
03Prepare the next decisionUse the guide, tools and project checks.
INTERACTIVE PROCESS ATLAS

See the mechanism.
Understand the duty.

Select a route or a stage to inspect the process. The cutaway explains the equipment and water environment; it is a teaching illustration, not a project drawing.

Swipe horizontally to inspect the equipment. Stage buttons below also centre the selected component.
Connected fish and plant treatment dutiesPUREFLOW / INTERACTIVE PROCESS ATLASCONCEPT LAYOUT · NOT TO SCALEFISH SIDESOLIDS + BIOLOGICAL DUTYCROP SIDERETURN, CHEMISTRY AND THE WATER BALANCECOUPLED CONCEPT SHOWN · A SEPARATED-LOOP DESIGN NEEDS A DIFFERENT INTERFACEMotion explains the process; it is not a measured flow rate or biological time model.
The fish side creates a solids and dissolved-waste duty that must be managed before the intended crop interface.
Selected process stage

Define the fish load

Define the fish feed input and crop-growing method.

How it works

Feed and the fish production stage establish solids and dissolved-waste loading on the fish side.

What to establish
  • Define the fish feed input and crop-growing method.
  • Review solids removal and biological treatment.
  • Balance both water programmes; plant area does not prove fish capacity.

Continue this guide ↗

Filtration mode. Wash sequence and timing are illustrative. Geometry, stage order, pipe routes and equipment configuration are conceptual. Use the approved project design, operating instructions and verified model data.

Key takeaways

  • Remove solids first so beds do not clog.
  • A biofilter turns ammonia into the nitrate plants use.
  • Size from daily feed.
  • Sludge goes to a settling tank in coupled systems, a digester in decoupled.
Reference illustration for Aquaponics Filtration: Solids, Biofilters and Water Treatment
Equipment reference visual; not evidence of a completed installation.
THE SHORT ANSWER

What does aquaponics filtration have to do?

  1. Take the solids out firstBefore they rot.
  2. Turn ammonia into nitrateBiofilter.
  3. Keep the oxygen upFish, bacteria and roots need it.
  4. Feed the plants, return the waterClose the loop.
Aquaponics Filtration - Pureflow Bio
Reference visual. Equipment configuration and project details must be confirmed separately.
Aquaponics Filtration - Pureflow Bio
Reference visual. Equipment configuration and project details must be confirmed separately.
AQUAPONICS

How do I size aquaponics filtration?

Fish tank at about two turnovers an hour, biofilter sized per kg feed a day. See biofilter sizing and drum filter sizing.

PLANNING WORKBENCH

Work with your own numbers.

Use the tools below to explore the relevant arithmetic. Enter measured values or declared assumptions. An estimate does not establish equipment capacity, biological performance or a safe operating limit.

Biofilter media planning scenario

Relate a defined nitrogen load to an explicitly supplied media conversion rate and fill share.

Assumptions and limits

Use a conversion rate verified for the media, water chemistry, oxygen, temperature and load. Example numbers are arithmetic inputs, not approved biological capacities or fill recommendations.

—TAN-N load · g/day
—Media volume · m³
—Nominal reactor volume · m³
Enter your values, or load the labelled arithmetic example. No design values are pre-filled.
FormulaMedia m³ = feed × TAN-N yield ÷ conversion rate. Reactor m³ = media m³ ÷ fill fraction.
Convert units before you calculate
Choose units and enter a value.

Planning arithmetic · inputs remain visible for review · example values are not operating recommendations

AQUAPONICS

Building blocks

Drum filterFast solids removal.
Moving bed biofilterSteady ammonia conversion.
AQUAPONICS

Where does the sludge go?

CoupledCollect and remove, or mineralise separately.
DecoupledDigest into fertiliser for the plant loop.

Pureflow Bio equipment for this

Standard drum filters (RDF) →Solids removal for the fish side.Pro drum filters →Compact pump-fed drum filters.MBBR biofilters →Moving bed reactors for ammonia and nitrite.
PROJECT REVIEW

Balance both living systems

Use these questions to prepare a project brief or an operating review. Check an item only when the information has been recorded for your installation.

0 of 3 checked

This checklist is a working aid in the current page session, not a saved maintenance record.

QUESTIONS

Aquaponics Filtration FAQ

Do I need a drum filter for aquaponics?

For anything beyond small systems it helps a lot.

How big should the biofilter be?

Sized from feed, not fish count.

Can plants be the only filter?

Only in small, lightly stocked systems.

KEEP READING
Aquaponics→Fish to plant ratio→Biofilter sizing→Decoupled aquaponics→Aquaponics Cycling and Start-Up: The First Six Weeks ↗Aquaponics Problems and Fixes: Yellow Leaves, Low pH and Sick Fish ↗

Discuss your system with Pureflow.

Share your application, operating volume, actual flow, loading and the question you are trying to resolve.

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