Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello,

I am about to start my system up tomorrow. I have been cycling water through my system for about three days. Tomorrow I'm going to add clean riverbed rock as my grow media and a few goldfish to my main tank. I'm trying to decide if I should use 1/4" pea gravel or would 3/4" be a better idea? I feel like 3/4" would be too big?

I would like to start planting a few days later once the fish have been in the tank creating the essential Nitrites/Nitrates for the plants.

What I am really wanting to know, is if one didn't want to start with seedlings and just wanted to plant seeds, how do you go about that? I have my flood line coming up to about 2" below the surface of my media. Do you plant the seeds at the flood line? I'm worried that they'll get drawn down deeper once my siphon kicks in. If you don't plant them low enough they'll never germinate, right?

Any info you have would be GREAT!!

Thanks,

3/4" is what I've got in my system (20mm for the rest of the world), and it works a charm. You don't want it too small, the more surface area, the more bio filtration you'll get, the more conversion to nitrites/nitrates.

Planting seeds in the gravel is extremely simple, just sprinkle the seeds over the top. Everything from tomatoes/lettuce/onions/cucumbers have shot up without fail. I don't dig them in, don't make little troughs, just sprinkle.

Thank you so very much!!!

You have made a couple decisions I needed to make very simple.

Just an FYI, I found your 20mm statement very funny!! I am in the ONLY country that doesn't use the metric system, which I think is dumb that we don't...

Everybody else thinks it's dumb too

I had to do a quick google conversion to figure out the size, seems far more annoying to work stuff out in imperial, but I suppose it's what you get used to.

And don't worry, you've still got Burma & Liberia on your side.

Yes a bit of a giggle really for the rest of us, you got rid of the English but kept their antiquated system

A lot of people like to cycle their systems without the fish. Plant some seedlings, add some ammonia (can be urine), add some nutrient/fertiliser like Charlie Carp (a fish emulsion fertiliser) and get a fresh water testing kit to keep track of pH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. Once you're cycled you can add the fish and stop adding Ammonia. These are just basics to get you started and help you with the learning curve in an easier fashion.

You can use your own urine for ammonia? Interesting....Lol.

I'm taking my first aquaponic setup nice and slow. All I have is a empty 20 gallon tank, a grow bed and a container for the sump tank. I have no tools, so that's the first thing I need to come across first.