Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Alright, first things first:

1) "C.A.B." = Cheap A$$ Budget

2) I'm absolutely new to aquaponics. So feel free to call me names when I'm doing something blatantly stupid and how to correct it. That's what I'm here for.

3) I'm trying to make a simple 1:1 flood and drain system.

4) I'm building this with my cousin. (a skeptic, but an airplane mechanic all his life. He knows tinkering. He's an older gentleman, retired, has several traditional gardens where he plants the usual stuff: potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.) He has doubts this will ever work and yield any crops, but if it does, he'll adopt the system for himself. Ah! We'll show him!

5) Like stated above, I'm doing this from garbage, recycled materials, "borrowed" old parts from my cousin's stock, etc. I'm trying to spend as little as possible, and if this goes well, and I convince my cousin that it works, we'll do 2 more systems that hopefully won't be an eye sore.
So except for the fish, seasol, water pump and medium, I'm hoping to spend nothing.

I told him once I was looking for old bathtubs and he called me 2 days later saying he had found several abandoned refrigerator "casings". I found it odd but decided to go check it out. Apart from seeming fragile, they seemed adequate for what we needed. We got 2 that weren't broken, brought them to his place and cleaned them. I used my sterilizing tools (from mead brewing I use to clean bottles) to give them that extra "just in case". We then proceeded to seal all cracks and leaks there were in the fridges and they're now perfectly sealed.

I'm getting a new pump tomorrow and probably the clay pebbles as well. Have you tried asking Portuguese construction sellers if they have "expanded clay pebbles"? No one has it! NO ONE! ...until you say "LECA". I saw a bag of it in one store where I had just asked and nearly lost it! GRRR!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be testing the pump with the pebbles and syphon.

Here's how the setup will kind of look like in the future. (That's not the final support and it's still at my cousin's place.)



Both containers take between 250 to 300 liters. And the top one is definitely higher than 300 milimitres.
The growbed on top, should I fill it up to the top anyway and keep a 1:1 ratio? Or just to 300mm or so?

Welcome to the forum, good to see you make a start, keep us posted of your progress

Hey and welcome to the forum. This is a good place to ask questions and get real world answers. And you posted pictures right away!!! Good for you.

What do you mean when you say "fragile"? Water weighs alot and it pushes against the sides of any container. Sometimes things look good, but will eventually give in to the constant pressure, bow out then break. You really don't want to start over again. Do you have a way to build a frame around these tanks?

The depth of the growbed shouldn't matter much as long as it is over 10-12 inches deep. There are people that use an entire 275 gallon IBC tank as their growbed. Just cut the top off and fill it up with gravel. I don't see this being much different.

Keep posting (with pictures) and we'll help you during your system build.

UPDATE:
Went to get a 1000 LPH pump today and 250L of LECA (5 bags).

My poor Ford Fiesta dealing with 250L of LECA in the back seat...


and 3 bags worth of LECA inside the future growbed...


that thing sure is floaty... the specification sheet says it retains 35% of its mass in water, but I'm kind of scared. Is it supposed to float so much? Do I need to switch to gravel? I'm afraid of the weight.
http://www.weber.com.pt/uploads/media/20120626_FT_Leca_L_01.pdf (In Portuguese, sorry)

Unfortunately, the 1000LPH pump was a failure. After 45cms of height, it just dies and there is no water flow. I'm having a tough time finding a decent, cheap, silent pump here in Portugal.
I contacted the guy that sold it to me, asking if there was a chance for an upgrade and he is going to OFFER me a 1800 LPH one that he is getting soon. SCORE! (I guess he really wants me to buy fingerlings from him in the future.)

Awaiting ANY possible feedback, oh wise aquaponic gurus.
EDIT: 250L of LECA: 23€
1000LPH pump: 17€

P.S. I find it an OUTRAGE that on this forum, the auto-correct function marks "aquaponic" as a typo. BOO!

Using fridge cases is something I had considered when I saw my neighbors put one on the curb.

If you're successful using them - it will add the list of resources that one can up-cycle into AP usefulness.

I know another person (sorry I can't remember who) who has a freezer turned into a FT. It is still a functional freezer too to keep the water cool for his fish.

Still functioning? That sounds wild! And somehow dangerous...