Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

http://autopot.com.au/default.aspx?Page ... 1d98874672

Saw this last week. Jim gives BYAP people a discount - just mention aquaponics.

Humm... interesting....have you had some input to this project Nathan?


I assume, with above in mind, that clear plastic tubing is used because black poly pipe wouldn't allow for the algae to grow....

Which leads me to wonder how long will the tubing last exposed to sunlight and heat.... anytime I've down a similar thing the answer has been not long.

Is it a special type of UV stablised tubing???

Other question is just how much algae build up happens in the tubing and just how efficient is it at removing/converting ammonia and nitrites...?

If it's purpose is in some way to deal with solids, then how long will it last before becoming clogged??... or is it backwashed at intervals



Thats from 2 x 1500ltr tanks with an unknown number of fingerlings (pdf mentions adding another 100 Jades) so I'm assuming about maybe 200 Silvers etc at the moment.... that's a 66% water change on hot days.... 50% water change on cooler days.

Wondering then with that degree of regular water changing, other than heating the water... does the tubing actually acheive anything.... couldn't it be dispensed with??



Seems a bit like a hydroponic dosing system.... curious what "supplementary nutrients" are added, what quantities, how it's determined to add what and when....

Is all this neccessary because the natural AP process of nitrifaction that occurs in a gravel bed has been short circuited by the quick algae merry go round trip and water removal/replacement???

Suppose the 1000 odd plants do their own nitrification process though...

Something just doesn't sit right with me about this... yet it intriques me...

Comments people????...

Edited again lol :

Checking the PDF file the diagram shows fish tank top up being done by ball float valve activating a switch to straight tap water !!!

What about the effect of the chloride/chloramine in the water supply


Just an aside the Marbled Goby (Oxyeleotris marmoratus) is predominatly a Southeast Asian fish known here as "Sleepy Cod"....

The article references Murray Cod several time.... they are not one and the same fish

Now that really does have me wondering.... I was going to be nice and civil and offer support for inventive ideas but really.....

The statements that gravel bed aquaponics is "a lot more difficult than we have been led to believe". "Plants need to have a close proximity to the fish in conventional aquaponics". You pump water through a clear 13mm hose filled with Algae? How long is that going to keep working for before it clogs? There are many statements on here that either seem incorrect or porely thought out.

Now I can't for the life of me comprehend the statement on the second page that has come from "a website" It doesn't seem to claim that conventional aquaponics is at all difficult..

Personally I can't see how this is at all simpler than more conventional methods, and the fact that it has only been running for two months doesn't give me any warm fuzzy feelings about the durability and long term practical operation of this system... Personally I won't be forking out what they are asking for a system..

How does the algae in the clear pipe filter the water? Is the algae growth in the flowing water as well as on the pipe wall? If it is then a filter feeder (tilapia) could use the algae as a source of food. If not then having the algae in the pipe donsn't achieve anything since it dosn't represent a nutrient sink. ie at some point algae will stop growing. If the algae does grow in the flow and the FT is stocked with a non filter feeder then the algae is just being flushed to the plants. Would there be an advantage to feeding plants algae rather than straight NO3?

I can't see how this system would be easier to operate than many of the systems that members of this forum operate. At best I would say it would be just easy.

The more I look at this (while the idea has an appeal) the more it doesn't add up....




Assuming 5 days to install I make that an all up inital cost of $5,500...

Assuming a 1000ltr tank and 100 autopots......





... that's an average water consumption of 1.5ltr/plant.... times 100 plants

=> 150ltrs per day x 365 days => 54750 ltrs of water/year !!!!!!!

That's got to make for a very small amount of very expensive fish and vegetables....

er ... thanks..... but no thanks....

I reckon I grew more food than that system could in my soil garden with a hose which used a darn site less water than 54750 litres.....

Reckon it cost me less than $500.... seedlings, compost, water, stakes etc etc ..... phew!!!

Does anyone have accurate records of water required for topping up their systems? Relative to GB's off course.

F&F How big was that tub of yours that took about a week to empty?

Yep, seems crazy to me.

were they growing water melons and bokchoy...
thats a lot of water, talk about embedded water.Phew!
How much water would you add EB? say per year?

Check out the menu products

It seems that all the systems (Several at least) have filters installed in the flow. How long would it take to for them to clog?

Stuart if you mean the "smart valves" in the various "auto-pot" systems...

then apparently people have found that they don't readily clog up at all....

mind you I don't think anyone is feeding them directly with tank water ... at least not without some other form of intermediate bio/solids filter.

most of the "systems" shown are based on straight water or feed hydro-nutrients..... no solids like AP.... cos ... no fish

Not the smart valves. The diagrams for the systems listed in the products menu all seem to have filters. The 8 pot system has a small round filter, the larger system has a "13mm in line filter" and the diagram for the large system has a larger filter stuck on the side of the feeder tank (resivoir tank after the fish tank). The resivoir tank (where the extra nutrients are added (why do you need to add extra nutrients anyway? How would you know what you need to add?)) could also function as a settlement tank but in any case how does the system deal with solids? Such tiny filters couldn't deal with fish poo in any quantity? So are they removed manually from the fish tank or the resivoir tank? Fomr the brochure diagram it would seem that they stay in the fish tank.

I don't like it when things are not consistent but especially when they are not even internally consisent.

Have to remeber Stuart that those systems aren't AP systems as such... they are just feed with either normal water or hydro-nutrients... but point taken they would probably eventually clog....

Whole thing doesn't make sense to me either Stuart... also as I said...

The average (really slack) home uses about 700-900 litres of water each day.....

150 litres per day to grow some veges is an equivalent of about a 16% increase in your daily consumption....

That's why I like the concept of AP.... I believe (given I've always been a soil grower) that AP will reduce my daily consumption....

Add the cost of the extra/excess water to the cost of the system.... nah, even buying blue barrels @ $35 each would work out cheaper

stuart i think the tub you are talking about is 350 litres i add to the fish once a week but remember i use fish water to water the dirt garden glasshouse and the orchids under the gum tree every second day As for the auto pots untill you see them dont judge them this bloke feeds hundreds of plants up to 300 meters away plus all his vegies around his shop including pawpaw trees in heated tubs he would have nearly as many vegies as joel i am going to use auto pots around my verander possably 30 fed with filtered fish water the beauty you can add extra nuets if you like I am a fan of auto pots as they only use water as the plant needs it if it rains they dont come on

Wel ..

IMHO .. autopot is a nice idea ... I think it could work ...

Probably does ..

but we all know about biofilm build up.

I cannot imagine one of these "valves" servicing say 20 capsicum or 20 tomato plants for the duration of seed to crop.

Small holes are liable to blockage.

If Austopot want to trail a few plants .. in an aquaponic environment .. to feed offf my tanks .. lemme know!



Cos if it works .. I would buy it!