Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey guys,
i got into aquaponics a few weeks ago and i really love this kind of growing system.
i wanna biult one on my own in my garden.
I started to make a plan and im done with the grow bed size and the tank size , what kind of filling i wann put in my grow beds and which fish i wanna use.
Here in detail:

-1000l fish tank with 60 fish in the beginning. (that i have in the end of the growing year around 30 kg fish, found this information online..... )

-2 grow beds with the size 2,35mx0,7mx0,5m ( wooden) + for the 2 beds pontfoil in total 14m²

- 99L of substrate( lavastone etc) ( maybe a bit more pls help me if you have another point of view)

now im coming to the point where i wann know what kind of pumps i need to buy? someone told me i need a filtersystem aswell, what is the filtersystem for and where do i have to place it? what is the siphon for?
( i wanna have to pumps for every grow bed)

it would be perfect to get the pumps running by a solarpannel system does someone has built a system like that and has some ideas for me how this works in general? how the electricity from the solarpannels come to the pumps etc.?

Im sorry for all the questions but i wanna learn something new

Thanks to everyone who can help me.

Kathi

welcome to the forum Kathi. You came to the right place to ask questions.

>> 1000l fish tank with 60 fish in the beginning

60 fish is really too many for a new/beginner 1000Litre system.
Starting out you want to stay around 20-30 (depends on fish type and size)
That would suit your 2 grow beds which are good size.

Lavastone is fine. If you can test it before hand to make sure it is not going to affect the pH of the water.

with a 2 grow bed 1000Litre system with reasonable fish numbers you wont need filters initially.
(the grow bed media is the filter and solids breakdown with worms hence having water running through it)
However if you go to high fish numbers later you will need to then add a filter.


>>now im coming to the point where i wann know what kind of pumps i need to buy? someone told me i need a filtersystem aswell, what is the filtersystem for and where do i have to place it? what is the siphon for? ( i wanna have to pumps for every grow bed)

You describe a 1000Litre plus 2 grow beds - so you only really need a 2000-3000 Litre per Hour rated pump.
if running off of mains power that is pretty easy as they are around 40-70 Watts and you only need one.
A 3000LPH will give you a bit of excess that can be used to provide some return splash to the tank.
I am assuming that the net head is 0.5-1.5m as is typical for most systems (lift + pipe losses).
That gives you around 1500-2500 LPH actual.

If running off solar (see below) then you will probably be stuck with a lower wattage pump. So you ideally need to be delivering around 1000 litres per hour to the grow beds (1 Fish Tank volume per hour), plus you will need additional aeration in the tank.

the siphon is optional. If you run a pump continuously (large power draw) then it allows the grow beds to flush out and be replaced by fresh water from the fish tank.

If you run solar you may want to run a timer. Then a siphon is not required and you use less power.

>> it would be perfect to get the pumps running by a solarpannel system does someone has built a system like that and has some ideas for me how this works in general? how the electricity from the solarpannels come to the pumps etc.?

yes people run solar panels here. If you search for 'solar panel' you will find a lot to read.
You can also use the advanced search to find threads rather than posts - instructions here viewtopic.php?f=4&t=27201

would be handy if you post some images or sketches of what you plan.
How to post images - instructions here viewtopic.php?f=4&t=21754

look around and you will see various ideas, once you know what you like and what you need people can give you better advice.

for some ideas you can read this publication by FAO about small systems. They have a few ideas and pictures.
They also talk about reasonable fish stocking rates. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4021e/index.html

Hey Darren, thx for your answer.

Ok so if i start with 20-30 fish( Tilapia) win a 1000l tank do the plants get enough nutrition to grow?
Would you recomment Tilapia? im living in Malta where most of the year the weather has the perfect condition to grow outside with the sunlight. ( 5,5h-8 in winter and up to 12 h in summer)

So the lavastone filters everything out the plants dont need.? after the plants took all the nutrition they need the water runs back into the fish tank and the fish + the food for the fish creat the new nutrion for the plans right?

So i actually need just one pump with 1500-2000LPH? is it possible to pump into the 2 growbeds at the same time or do i need to seperate it? or i figure a way out to do it solar and just need 1000lph which would be also enough, because i would let them run for 15 min every h.?

i tried to make a sketch of the system i had in mind....if you have any comments or tips pls let me know, i dont wanna make mistakes:))))


How do i check the best the PH ? can i use simple watertestsystems?
And how much food would you recomment for the fish per day? with the 60 fish i was planning with 300g per day..so with half 150g per day??

very happy about your help

Hi Kathi,

what you draw there is pretty much what the Backyard Aquaponics courtyard system looks like.
This is a reasonable design to use. eg. the entertainer system on this page http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/syste ... -installs/

will your fish tank be a 1000 litre round aquaculture tank (like in the entertainer system) or a square IBC ?

I will edit your pics and put in next post.

Pic 1: basic system with one pump (2000 to 3000 LPH rated) running on mains (50-70Watts).

with your return to the fish tank it is usualu to go through the bottom of the grow bed as shown.
(however this is not essential) that is what is known as a standpipe configuration. .



Pic 2: if you go solar and need to use a lower wattage pump then maybe you get 2 and set them up like this.

you can easily run one and then the other to reduce power draw on your system.




note that there are lots of different ways to set a system up.
The one in your picture is a proven design and there are lots around like it.

any system can be upgraded, expanded or modified in the future so it is not important to get it 100% correct in the first time. In fact making your system able to be reconfigured can sometimes be a good idea as everybody learns a lot from their first time.

As you can see on the web page - for a starting system with a moderate fish load (20-30 fish) you could get away with one grow bed. However you can easily run two grow beds and just don't put the plants too close together in the first year. Having 2 grow beds provides a few options for planting and making sure plants get lots of light and are not too crowded.

your other questions....

>> Ok so if i start with 20-30 fish( Tilapia) win a 1000l tank do the plants get enough nutrition to grow?
Would you recomment Tilapia? im living in Malta where most of the year the weather has the perfect condition to grow outside with the sunlight. ( 5,5h-8 in winter and up to 12 h in summer)

Tilapia are a good warm area fish and would be suited to your climate.
Many AP people grow them and they are very easy fish to raise and breed.
Else some of the better eating carp would be suitable (silver or grass carp for example).

>> So the lavastone filters everything out the plants dont need.? after the plants took all the nutrition they need the water runs back into the fish tank and the fish + the food for the fish create the new nutrion for the plans right?

Yes that is correct - in the simplest systems such as that you have drawn you must have a balance between number of plants and number of fish. There also needs to be enough rock media for the bacteria to live that convert the ammonia to nitrates.

If you do the style design in your picture.
Basically you remove all filters off the pump. So it is just open pipe.
The water and small solids are pumped up into the grow bed.
The solids break down in the lava rock and provide food for worms and the plants.
Ammonia in the water (from fish respiration and urine etc) is converted to nitrates and the plant roots take this out of the water. The water returning to the fish tank is therefore 'clean' - however it takes a few cycles for this to happen. This is why it is important to pump at least one fish tank volume through your grow beds every hour.

>> How do i check the best the PH ? can i use simple watertestsystems?

You need to test the pH and in a working system the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
Most people do this using the API Freshwater Test Kit that is easy to buy from eBay and many aquarium shops. They cost around US$40 for a kit with the test chemicals and the test tubes.

Some people also have a digital pH meter. But initially the API test kit would be fine.

you also need to read the water temperature.


>> And how much food would you recommend for the fish per day? with the 60 fish i was planning with 300g per day..so with half 150g per day??


it will depend upon the fish and how big they are. I am not sure how much people normally feed tilapia as we are not allowed to grow them in Australia. However many members on this forum have tilapia and I am sure someone can answer your question. 150g a day is about a handful which sounds about right.

finally you can easily start with the system you have drawn and get it all working to learn and research.
Do this for 1 to 2 years and then add a bigger fish tank in the future....

This is quite easy to do and would look something like this.... then you could grow lots more fish.



you can see then that the basic Level one system has now expanded to be a level 2 system which is a bit more advanced but still incorporates much of the original setup. You would just need a new larger fish tank and a drum/s for the filters. But if you just do a simple level 1 to start you don't have to worry about the filters etc until you are ready to expand.