Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I think I came up with a better overflow for my pump problem. I found a 3" to 2" coupling at the store today, so I am going to put that on the end of the pipe running to the growbed. The overflow of water should be able to drain directly back into the sump. This should solve my problem of splitting the flow of water while controlling how much water my beds are getting.

Had to redo the sump situation. Pipe wasn't fitted correctly, so had to fix that part. Once the sump is done, I'll work on adding the overflow back to the sump. Once those pieces are done, I think I'll be able to start running the pump. Long process which will hopefully be worth the effort.

Here is the fitting I'm using.

Ahh your using 3" pressure pipe

Finished up the plumbing. I ended up making the pipe drain back into the sump after it passes through the two grow beds. This seemed to work pretty well as the fish tank hovered at a constant level after the water in the pipes filled up. I'm debating on putting a T instead of the two 45s I have. The pipe has screws holding it together, so it wouldn't be a big deal to switch those out.

Short clip of what the system looks like now.

Finished up everything and filled the water tanks. Just have to let it run for a bit to make sure the lava rock isn't going to drop a lot of sediment into the fish tank. Everything seems to have settled in the sump so far.

Anyone know what kind of insect these are and if they are of are useful variety?



Also planted carrots in a wicking barrel to give them a shot.

System has been running good. The dust from the lava rock has settled into the sump tank. I was able to pick up about 20 bream for free to stock the tank. I'll have to monitor the water levels and see how quick it cycles. Hopefully the bacteria that was already in the lava rock from my previous system will give it a jump start.

Your "friends" look like Stink bugs to me. Not good, get rid of them.

Thanks for letting me know what those bugs are. They aren't what we call "stink bugs."



I was able to get some bream out a stocked pond that feeds the fish pellets. Hopefully it will translate into an easy transition.

Fish have been eating the pellets that sink, but I haven't had one eat from the surface yet. Is it just going to take a couple weeks for the fish to get used to me representing food? Thanks for sharing your experience.

I've been testing the water and have been waiting for nitrites to show up, but I've got 0 nitrites and nitrates showing up. The bacteria must still be here from when I took the old system down to rebuild. My ph has also come down about 0.2 from 8.4 to 8.2, so things look to be working well!

The fish are starting to eat much better. They like to eat it on the bottom or as its falling. I haven't seen a fish eat from the surface yet. I'll give them time to adjust since it's only been a week or so.

Jay, same here. Plumbing pipe doesn't fit pressure fitting either. They make reducers/adapters, but they're all rubber...and expensive. All the uniseals and bulkheads that I've seen are for pressure pipe.

Sorry I cant be more specific but they are a bug (ie they have sucking mouthparts). A lot of bugs look alike the basic shape of the carapace head and abdomen can be rather similar you don't have nearly as much diversity as say you do with beetles.

Having said that they don't look like assassin bugs which are a good insect to have around. Any local farmers or gardeners you can ask?

I have been debating on what to do with the SLO. I'm going to try out a 2inch section and see how it goes. I'm still working on getting the fish to eat the floating pellets. They don't seem interested in eating from the surface yet. I'm guessing they are still getting used to the new tank since the goldfish don't come up to the surface yet. In my old tank the goldfish would immediately come to the top to eat when I walked by. It's still early, so we will give them more time and see how they do.

Added in a couple cabbage and lettuce today. We'll see how it goes in the next couple weeks. No ammonia or nitrites, but I do have nitrates.