Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Really? I could deal with that. Our winters are actually pretty mild, for this far north, but I'm a wuss.

Ahhh so happy!! Just scored 2 IBC's that have been used for aquaponics for the last 2 years at a pretty good price, and all the hydroton that I will need for my grow beds! All that yummy bacteria already in the system before its built!

Geek2Nurse, your footer couldnt be closer to the truth! .. I am developing a serious obsessive compulsion with this AP "hobby".

Score on the IBC's and media!!

Time to get cracking!

I just checked out your system Charlie .. Quality! I'm going to be having a crack at yabbies in my system, got a sick idea on how to go about keeping them too that I'm yet to see people do, so stay tuned!

Love to hear about it when you have tried champ. Been battling that one for years...

Found 2 of my big guys (been in the FT for 13 months) smashed to death this morning... bloody SP are picking them off everyday even with 5 feeds a day. lol

Ok brains trust.. i have got a bit of a noob question to ask you all. Basically its about the grow bed inlet line on a CHIFT PIST system. After it exits the fish tank, is it ok to drop to ground level to run it to the grow beds, then back up to feed into the top of the grow bed (figure 2), or does it advised to keep it above the level of the top of your grow beds (figure 1)

Are you going to be running constant flood or flood and drain?

Depending on the diameter of your pipe you might get an airlock if running straight down from the fishtank then up again to your growbeds, larger diameter pipe and angling the pipe from the FT might help with this.

I haven't actually tried this though, so not sure how likely an airlock is to form.

going with flood and drain with bells..

My concern is there wont be enough pressure to lift the water up to the grow beds..

if there was an airlock, i could put a standpipe in the system that raises higher than the system water height to bleed any air off?

i guess what i need to know is: does the height of the fish tank water (outlet to grow beds) determine overall water height in a chift pist? If so, then the pipes should be able to be taken to the ground, then back to the grow beds provided the grow bed height is lower than the top of the fish tank water level. does this sound right?

Yes it does sound right. There's nothing wrong with going down lower than the beds and then coming back up, it doesn't make a difference as far as water pressure is concerned. I'd still have the overflow height significantly higher than the growbed height so you have some pressure to play with when the water hits your distribution pipe.

Yes you can do this, you want to balance wide pipe with keeping the solids moving through it. Wouldn't want it going so slow as to pile up in the pipes.

I've tried using that sketchup program to draw my plan, not so easy!

so im looking at 6 grow beds with bell siphons, 1 800l sump, 1 800l fish tank, and 2 blue drums as yabbie tanks.

Im estimating my overall litres will be about 2000L.

Just to explain the yabbie tank idea - ill be putting 2 blue drums laying down, on top of one another, getting fed from a constant flow grow bed above them (the feed for the grow bed will be a small hose from my pump outlet). the yabbie tanks will have slo's in them and work in the same principal as a chift - water in, water out - feeding to the tank below it, then to the sump.

This way, i can breed yabbies in my indoors aquarium, separate the juviniles and separate male / female for faster growth rates, using the sump to house the larger amount of the yabbie community also.


What do people think about the idea ive had to use my return to sump pipe as additional grow space - thinking of making it out of 3" pipe and planting either strawberries or lettuce in?



I get home from working up north tomorrow, so its build time as of friday!


I'll endeavour to get photo's up as i go

P.s cheers for everyones help and input so far, been invaluable

Its build day!... .however its now 36 degrees outside and the cricket is on in the aircon.

managed to score 4 ibc's in good nick and cheap so i am giving the childrens sandpit shells a miss. I painted the inside of them with crommelins pond sealer - 7 day curing time so i should be finished plumbing up and have the rocks ready to go in by the time the water is ready to add.

Nice start there Chad, and a pretty blue colour too. You have probably earned a break under the air con, so enjoy, but we will be waiting to see the rest of the build without too much delay