Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Help!!!!! Texas Ken hereJust joined Have located 12 0f the large plastic toates. I want to go with the raft system but an unsure if water gets back to fish tank gravity or pump. I want to start with 1 fish tank and 5 grow beds. the toate size is 4x4x4 and of course will cut in too. The water is my main question now.

I'm not quite sure what your question is? How the water flows will depend on how you lay the system out.

I do have one question for you though. If you are going to make a raft system, how are you going about filtering solids out of your water and how are you providing bio-filtration for the system? Where will you place the solids filter and bio-filter in relation to the rest of the system? (Many of us choose the flood and drain gravel beds because they take care of bot solids filtering, bio-filtering, and we can grow plants in them.)

So, how to layout the system.
One option is you have a fish tank that it's high water level is say a few feet off the ground. Next to it you could have your filters so the fish tank can overflow into the filters and then the filters can flow into the raft totes which could then overflow into a sump where you could have a pump lifting the water back up to the fish tank. Be sure to add plenty of aeration into such a system to keep everything functioning well.

Another option would be to have the fish tank as the lowest point in the system and pump from the fish tank up to the filters which could then flow to the raft totes which would then overflow back to the fish tank. Bonus here is you don't need a separate sump tank, drawback is the pump is having to move gunky fish poopy water and will likely need more cleaning.

With no flood and drain, you don't need to worry so much about fluctuating water levels and the pumping can be continuous, however, you probably do need to add a good robust air pump because not only do you need to provide enough aeration to the fish tank but the bio filter will need plenty of aeration and so will the raft totes.

Thanks for the quick reply. My 5 growbeds will be appx 30 inches off the ground the fish tank wii be on the ground. My question was confusing. Do I pump from fish tank to filter tank then to grow beds then back to fish? Pumps and filter tanks are no problem. I just want to get it right the first time. I can't find any diagrams on the net showing how it should be done. I will wind up with about 160 sq. feet of growing room and I would like the first half to be raft system. Then put in the pump and drain system. With between 600 and 700 gals. of total water for fish. I will be running Tipilia. Thanks for your help Ken

Seeing as floating rafts are not the Standard operation of most of the people here, it doesn't really shock me that there are no diagrams here of it.

Truth is, having flood and drain media filled beds online first could give you the solids and bio-filtration so you could run your raft system without needing extra filter tanks.

Anyway, if your raft beds water level is a few inches above the top of your fish tank, then you can have the water gravity drain from them down to the fish tank where you would have your pump or pump intake. You can then pump up to the filters, which would flow into your raft beds. (you always need filters between the fish tank and any DWC, NFT or raft system sections or you will have problems with solids gunking up the roots and causing root rot.

I'd use the top halves of the totes as gravel / clay media growbeds , then run the raft beds off after those , before the return to the tanks .

That way youve got your gravel doing your pre-filter , plus a bit of aeration as the water sucks down out of it , plus extra growing room

+1

+1 from me too

and i would suggest that you use a larger pipe size than 13mm as this seems to require cleaning more often than larger diameter pipes do

Thanks everyone. I think I have made up my mind. I will run a min of 6 raft beds. and also 6 gravel beds. I have plenty of time and enought space, I will be putting in a 20x25 green house for all of this. Hopeful this will keep me busy for a while. With 76 years behind me I'll need all the help I can get. Will try to take pictures and learn how to put them on this machine. Again thanks. Ken

Just a tip for the greenhouse. I know here in Florida that a small home greenhouse will become way way way too hot most of the year.
I would recommend that you have your greenhouse such that it is really on a greenhouse for the winter months and that you can completely open up the sides and ends for the warm months. This seems to me much easier than trying to use vents and fans to cool the greenhouse in summer in the south.

My mission today is to remove the plastic from some of the shade structures over parts of my system and remove the plastic sides from the central section of my system.

One of the dicotomies of this great forum is the fact that both hemispheres are represented...

Both with their unique problems... and both with seasons that are juxtaposed...

Here you TCL... stripping your plastic from the greenhouse in preparation for summer... and here I am building a greenhouse and rolling out the plastic in preparation for winter...

I agree though... being able to shade the greenhouse in summer is hugely beneficial... and ventilation is important given the high humidity of an aquaponics system....

The shadecloth should allow things to breath, as well as keeping the temperature down...

thank for quick reply, I plan on doing the top or shade cloth from a pernement material and the sides with a vinyl so can be rolled up in summer or removed. The wind has been known to blow here and rain at the same time so would like to protect from that.