Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all,

First, I want to thank everyone who's posted information on these boards. It probably goes without saying, but the information here is invaluable. Especially for beginners like me.

Here are details of the AP system I've begun since moving home from Japan. I'm temporarily living with my in-laws (by choice) in Orlando. I'm not limited by space (1 acre of land), but since this is my first attempt at building something so complicated I thought it best to keep it small and simple.

I worked from a small, unused half-barrel my M-I-L has in her garden (pic #1). I used the barrel as a base for a 30gal FT, then added a 50gal RuggedTote for a GB, and buried a 24 gal flower pot as a ST. The FT and GB get direct sunlight until noon, while the ST is shadowed by the GB and some trees all day. Everything is plumbed with 1" PVC; the FT and GB are sealed with a Uniseal. Because the sump pump moves about 20x too much water, I built-in a diversion that redirects most of the flow back to the ST. The GB is filled with red lava rocks. Washing the rocks was not terribly difficult. I washed one bag at a time in our lake using a recycling bin (pic #2). It probably helped that I needed only 11 bags. The GB drains via a standpipe drilled with two 0.25" holes. 90% of the standpipe is removable so more holes can be drilled if necessary. Because the current maximum water level in the GB is too high (pic #3), I intend to either cut the standpipe down a bit or add more rocks. As you can also see, the GB has become quite misshapen after only a short time. I'm not certain if this is something I should be concerned by. Anyone have experience with their GBs exploding? I'm think I ought to place a strap to prevent further bulging.

Starting values of the water are 0-0.25ppm NH3, 0ppm NO2/NO3, and 8.2 pH. The pH of the water from the hose is 8.0. Adding 10ml of 10% NH3 caused the NH3 to surge to 3ppm, where it has remained even 24h later. I intend to fishless cycle for at least the next three weeks or so, then contemplate adding some fish. Hopefully everything goes smoothly, but if not you can expect to hear about it here.

Thanks for reading.

-david

Hi David,
Good work on your 1st systems.

I have the same issue with one of the tubs on my test system too. We ended up putting a wire across the top to stop it from bowing out to much. See pic below

If this works you can add more rock to the tub to cover the water, the water needs to be a bout 2 - 3 cm below the top of the rocks.
You may also want to place some sort of cover over the FT to stop algae growing. I've covered just over half of mine with a piece of sheet polystyrene and drilled holes in to put some more plants.

Welcome to AP, there's no going back now!

Brett.

hay there and welcome!!!! I'm just up in Mount Dora and there are several other central Florida APers around (some not on this forum though.)

Definitely get more rocks to cover the water in that grow bed.

And yes, you might want to strap that tub. I would put a couple 2x4s along the long sides and then either ratchet strap them in or cut shorter pieces to screw together to kinda box the bin to keep it from busting out any more.

I'll warn you that one draw back of a super small system like that is the heat here this time of year. You will definitely need to cover that fish tank before you put fish in it or you might cook them.

I've got a 300 gallon system that doesn't get much shade (though I mostly cover the fish tank with filter material) and the water temps in that system easily reach 95 F. My bigger system stays much cooler, I don't think I've seen water over 90 F this summer in that one.

30 gallons of water sitting in the sun in a black tub will likely get quite warm with the weather we have been getting lately. Stick you hand in and if it feels almost like bath water, it's probably too warm for all but a rare few types of fish.

Anyway, you have started. Be warned, this is addictive. My first barrel ponics very quickly moved onto a 600 gallon hole in the ground and eventually over 1400 gallons of gravel beds (system has changed much in two years though.)

I do condone building a small system though. It is a perfect way to practice cycling and using the test kits and of course, it gives you cycled seed gravel for you next bigger system all good things

Thanks Decal and TC for the helpful pointers.

I've made the suggested improvements to my system since my last post. As you can see from the photos, I beat back the bulge using an all-screw anchored to two 2x4s. The holes in the GB are just above the high water line and sealed with aquarium silicone, just in case. This fix actually incorporates both ideas. I've also built a pvc frame for some shade cloth, which has helped a lot with the high temp. Previously, my FT was routinely hitting 88F (31C) during the day, which I understand is close to the upper limits of the temp even tropical fish can tolerate. With the shade, my tanks has now been topping-out at 83F (28C). I still haven't settled on what fish to add to my system (food vs. decorative), but the lower daily temps should help them to survive. Finally, I added another bag of media to the GB.

The system has been running since 24 Jul @ 15m/h, 24h/d. I've been adding 3ppm of pure NH4 every four days, about the time it takes the NH4 to drop to 0-0.5ppm. Only in the last few days has NO3 been detectable; they are now at ~30ppm. NO2 are ~5ppm, so the system is not yet ready for fish. With so much NO3, I believe I can and should add plants. I had intended to plant various vegetables, but my brown thumb and I failed to get any seeds at all to sprout over the last two weeks. I was told that it might be too hot here (daily highs of 95F+ (35C)) for the seeds to germinate.

Anyway, because I fear the high NO3 will fuel an algal bloom I convinced my mom-in-law to donate to me some of her garden plants (see photo). I'm not one to let a small detail like 'not being able to grow plants' stop me from enjoying my system. I am embarrassed to confess that I don't even know the names of most of what she gave me If and when I ever get my vegies to spring to life, I will return these loaners to the Earth.

My biggest concern now is the pH of my system, which has been 8.2-8.3 the entire time. What are the downsides to having such high pH? I understand that NH4 is more toxic to fish than NH3- and that Fe and other cations are less available. Would using red lava rocks mitigate the latter? Mineral availability aside, how much does high pH affect plant growth/ health? If it's bad, can I expect that once my system is cycled the NO3 will lower the pH significantly? I suppose this depends on my water's dH, which I have not measured. Thanks in advance for any advice.

TC, it seems I am situated right between you and David from St. Cloud. I'm in Williamsburg, just a lava rock's throw from Sea World. My wife grew-up here, while I'm from LI, NY originally. I've been following the boards and your systems for several months now. I particularly like the simplicity of your latest (300gal Rubbermaid). There's probably something to be said for not having to build FTs and GBs, especially for the non-handy like myself. I think if I ever 'go large' I might venture to build a circular, brick FT and ST, similar to what Brian Tanner has done, and then link them to a few 300g rubbermaids. Although, I'm intrigued by your vertical towers. If I may ask, where did you get them from? Are they from Nate (n8)? How are they working-out for you?

Thanks,

-david

Hi David,
Looks good with all the shade cloth and the GB full of plants. I've had a high PH for a while too but not as high as yours and I think it has locked out the Iron to the plants.
Once it has cycled the nitrification process is supposed to bring the PH down. As for your other questions I will leave that up to some more qualified than me.

Looking Great!