Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

two questions ...

1/ is it essential the grow beds are not exposed to rain and direct sun ie ... roof cover via clear pvc sheeting or just shade cloth as opposed to nothing ... i am not sure what effect the rain will have on the system if left exposed ..

2/ does the system need an overflow ? if yes in the sump ?

here are a few snaps the work is not completed yet , i had to source what i could locally and make up the rest, living on an island has its drawbacks , using a chop mk2 system , 3 grow beds , 500l tank plus sump ...adding an aerator with dc switchover .... plan to stock with barramundi ... any feedback greatly appreciated as this is my first attempt

ok today i filled the final tank with gravel , filled the sump with water and starting the system up , believe it or not the only adjustment i had to make was on the water inlet pressure , the auto siphons work a treat , no leaks and i am a happy chappy !!! so will run it for a few days then dump the water to get rid of a bit of debris form the gravel .... still appreciate if anyone has any comments on the roof question

cheers

Today added the aerator for the fish tank ....

progress ..... appreciate any feedback on the rain issue i posted earlier ..cheers

I have shade cloth over mine - only because it is on the east side of my house and the sun makes the house very hot in summer. Ie its not really there for the plants.

An overflow is not really necessary. I have installed one in my sump only to keep the maximum water level below where my siphons exit my growbeds (I had some problems with the siphons starting/stopping when the water level was above the bottom of the pipe).

Nice looking system by the way.

My systems don't have any shelter from sun or rain.

However I would think that Perth has less rain than Thailand.

Make sure you fit a correctly-sized overflow so any torrential downpours don't result in the fish floating over the top of the tank. Try and keep plants covering the growbeds so that the top of the media doesn't get direct sun if it is too hot. If you can grow the plants in dirt gardens without shade then they will grow in AP without shade.

thanks fellas , yes i agree i will instal an overflow in the sump, it does get heavy at times ... i am in Phuket by the way ... born in Freo but lived here for 5 years fulltime ... cheers

update on my first system , built a shade cover for the grow beds and also for the sump , waiting on my Barra arriving so decided to buy a few koi to get some nutrients for the plants ... water is clear and ph around 7.2 , fish happy and hungry .... i had a difficult time finding Barra here but as luck has it an aussie supplier buys his babies from a farm in Bangkok ... contacted the guy and should be here next week !!

few koi lurking at the bottom waiting for a feed