Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I agree with you 100% there buddy, AP is a tank and will withstand the elements and neglect. But basic setup has be correct. If something is fundementally wrong with the system, something like a leak or a tank rupture, then there is no coming back from that.

The other pictures and fish transfer video is in mums phone so will get that in the morning, but I love you guys so much I came back at 4 am to put up at least a few representative photos that I had on my phone. More tomorrow, enjoy.

Note the plumber, minions are fun

I go less than 10cm but it probably depends on how concerned you are with evaporation.

Mine are run at around 5cm.

I set mine as high as I can before I start seeing slime near the surface, but I also made my siphon so it had a sleeve over the top so I can slide it up and down to adjust the high tide level.

I also put a hole at the bottom with a second sleeve over that that also has a hole. When the two are aligned I can run it flood and drain with a pump rather than a siphon if I ever choose to go that way.

The only time I've ever used the hole was when I had spill to the ground and needed some water for the sump in a hurry. opening the bottom hole gave me an extra 30 L or so from each blue barrel grow bed.

You should have a weep hole, 4 mm right at the base of the siphon downtube inside the GB which will facilitate draining all the way and also allow you to run with a pump F&D if you remove the siphon bell. The weep hole always a good idea, will let you get all the water out if you need without having to run an extra drain or siphon it out.

I have the same adjustable siphon height, just left the 2" piece unglued after my 2" to 1" reducer, getting a couple of different tubes made so mom can use whichever she feels is running better.

Coming along, making slow but steady progress on getting it proper and pretty. Will post more when finished.

Ive always enjoyed your pro-active approach to AP, Abdul.

Lovin the progress mate, keep it up!

Cheer's Charlie :] By pro-active do you mean obsessed and crazy?

System looks quite good now if i do say so myself. Didn't get everything done but a whole bunch of little things, long day spent on it again. had a leak from the FT too, apparently the drain pipe wasn't properly sealed into the tank. Lucky i spotted it dripping, stopped, drained the FT, sealed it again.

Everything is full and flowing fine now. Got all the fittings for the silencers and the air tube as well. Tomorrow I tie up all the loose ends and take a dip in the FT to install the moving bed filters into the bottom corners

Here be some pictures.

The rocks had arrived clean as a whistle, but when i decided to pour in the kickstart juice that was the muck from the old GB aerated for three days i expected it to stay in the GB. It all pretty much immediately cycled through to the ST

So the water is pretty murky now, is starting to settle already though and I'm hopeful by the morning it will be fine. If I turn off the water actually it will surely be fine by morning but I want to let it run and see how it does. Siphon running like a charm. Air pump getting air into the bottom of the FT easy. Fish looked fine last I saw them.

Got a planting plan with mum tomorrow, also the dip into the FT as mentioned earlier Going to surpass my friends fishkeeping adventures by a long shot, have a couple of them coming over to look at it tomorrow so should be a lot of fun.

Got some filter sponge for the filter tank, along with another 100 feet of air tube, the system just gulped down the first 100 feet like it was nothing , these will go in tomorrow, along with the following:

1. Lettuce
2. Papaya
3. Tomatoes
4. Melons
5. Water melons
6. Green onions
7. Spinach
8. Champa (Local ornamental don't know the english name)
9. Hoya (Local ornamental vine don't know the english name)
10. Beans
11. Celery
12. Basil
13. Oregano
14. Thai Orchids (Will sit on top of the GB under some shade so they get all that humid air)

I think that was everything on the list I made with mum. Going to try and dump in a small bottle of seaweed extract too if there is one in the house.

Lastly, I keep hitting save and changing the resolution on my pictures :/ I remember there was a software someone on the forum recommended that I used to use, can someone please remind me?

LESSON LEARNED: Always fill new tanks the first time slowly, especially when they have fittings. Watch the fittings for any signs of bubbling and the outside for any signs of dripping. Take you time and let it sit for an hour or so to see what develops before you glue/cement everything into place. There will be no place for all that water to go and there is no moving even a 100 litre FT when full.

So the water had cleared a lot when I left, all the solid gunk at the bottom of the FT had gone, I pulled out the SLO and found some gunk blocking it, removing it quite helped. Fish were feeding and looked happy. Plants were all looking happy with the exception of one watermelon plant, so 80% happiness, rest is mainly seeds so we'll see if they germinate over the nect couple of weeks.


Poured some seaweed extract into the filter, took I think about 30 or 45 minutes before it reached the FT.

Also installed some filter sponges, one under the SLO outlet and one in the filter outlet.


I'm in Bahrain right now, waiting for my flight to Saudi. we'll all have to pressure my mum to put up regular bi monthly updates. My assumption is that all the updates ought to be positive and within 2 months, 3 months tops, we should all see a monster AP system

Important question though; what I saw was that the overall volume in the system was a very dynamic balance, if the pump were to stop the ST would overflow for sure as the FT and the filter are holding a dynamic volume of water that depends on the flow coming in. Anyone have any input on how to balance the volume of water in the system (CHOP 2) such that it does not overflow in case of a power failure.

Hello every one
I am,Abdul 's mom .
AP system is doing fine ,the melon seeds we put in the GB when Abdul was with me ,3 of them have sprouted.
Celery is growing well ,than last week I put in some tomato seeds and they germinated within the week,
The leaves of watermelon plant has brown spots on them ,I cannot understand why.
I will try to post a picture.

Great Job Abdul's mom I love your system - nice job putting it all together. Looking forward to future status updates

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My GB is growing fast,praying that my melon have fruits.

[/img]Planted my plants on 16 February ,
Celery , lettuce and onions were picked last week and now this week will share it with friends.
Watermelon is not happy,not growing well but my sweet melon and sweet corn are growing fast,
Should I take the watermelon plants out of GB?