Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,

i've been away for a couple of years, but the garage rebuild took me alot longer and life got in the way abit.

I was wondering if there are many people with garage systems i.e. completely indoor?

I have partitioned some space in my garage and wanted to make a multi-level frame, tank on the bottom, growing on top.

I have a little under 3m length for this, both sides of the garage, would need to be 2 seperate systems to avoid pipes across the floor. Would like to start with one side first, then add the other.

So is this possible indoors? there are windows, so there will be some natural light but i'm intending to keep it as controllable as possible.

The plan would be:
2 x 1.5m width tanks side by side as deep as required.
2 x 3m width growing containers. 12" deep one above the other with 12" gap between the two.
2 x 3m length grow lights above each one.

So would that work?
is it worth it for the size?
will the output be of benefit?

I actually home brew in the same area, my intention is to grow veg, and possibly fruit in this area.

So the desired products would be:
Carrots
Onions
Garlic
Peppers
Strawberries??

I'm not too sure about the fish side of it. Don't know if we want eaters or not. Recommendations there would be cool.

based in the UK.

Hmm, try to maximize the space as much as possible using gravity to flow the water.

I wouldn't stack the grow beds. It would be hard to get to the plants and then light would be an issue. If you can't find grow beds or upcycle something then plywood grow beds would do well in this situation and can be customized to any dimensions. You could use gutters or towers on the wall that flow into grow beds.

I would put a FT on the ground or a cinder block height off deck. FT would drain into a sump. The sump would feed the grow beds. Grow beds drain into FT. Have the grow beds positioned like a T over top your tank.

You will most likely need grow lights. I recommend LEDs. They are getting pretty cheap now days. They have LED lights that can screw into standard bulb sockets. You make grow light hoods pretty cheap I made 4 for like 60 bucks. Each good holds 2 bulbs I get the full spectrum LED lights. I thinks it's 56k or better. They bulbs are what are the most expensive. You can get special LED bulbs but they are more expensive. I have an LED light arrays on my main grow bed for suplimental light then the hoods on my tower and herbs. They do really well. I am on a shaded back porch and not a garage. light arrays and specialty bulbs are good because they can Veggie or Bloom modes. You can get a pretty powerfull LED light arrays for about 100 bucks US. The 56k regular LED bulbs are about 30 bucks a bulb for a 300what bulb. Specialty LED bulbs are more like 45 bucks for a 100 what bulb. Hence why I just get the full spectrum 300 what LED bulb. You can get Mylar (emergency blankets) or cheap tinfoil and run it around the wall at the tops of the grow beds and what ever else you plant or mount to the wall so it reflects your light back at the plants and will help penitrate the foliage canopy.

With the appropriate and quality of light anything will grow and do well. Just be mind fully of things they get bushy and take over. I had to pull my squashes because they were light hogs and made a dense canopy over everything. Any and all leafy greens should do well. Put flowing veggies like your pepper s in front of the windows. Red lights for certain time frames is what makes your fruiting crops bloom. So you will have to research your specific crop. Only thing I have had problems getting to fruit is tomatoes. They get huge, but never fruit for me under artificial light. The peppers get the most natural light and fruit all year. My cucumbers only get white light and are flowering now.

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