Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi,

In the begining can we use liquid "worm casting/extract/fertiliser" instead of seaweed extract?

Thanks.

You could.... are you making it, or buying it??

I live in an apartment, I have a little space so I can' t do it but I am going to buy worm tea from a nearby local store. It is more nutrient, mineral and friendly organisms rich. After my system matures I won' t use a thing.

I am about to buy my airpump is there a ratio to determine what size airpump i need for my system?

You should keep a DO level above 4 or 5mg/L to maintain fish health. This equates to approx 15-20L/min per 1000L of water assuming you are turning your water volume over approx once per hour.

Thanks Charlie, is it possible to over do the air pump? or will the increased oxygen promote bacteria growth?

Oxygen will promote aerobic bacterial growth... Which is a good thing.

So i was just on Walmart.com and saw some kiddy pools that could make good FTs or maybe floating systems. only like 100 bucks.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Summer-Escape ... l/22307035

and there is a rigid one i was looking at too.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Round-12-x-2- ... iewedItems

i think the PVC is used for the frame but i would love some input.

So i tried to make my media for my GBs yesterday out of lava rock and peat gravel... never again will i do that. It took over an hour just to wash .5 cubic feet of of lava rock and there was still trace amounts of dust coming off. living in northing california i have found that there are an abundence of hydroponic shops that sell stuff just above cost. i think i have decided to just buy hydroton. they quoted me $21 per 50L of hydroton and my home made lava rock/gravel mix cost $18+ a lot more work. I also think i might just use hydroponic grow trays instead of trying to make them from IBC because an IBC cost more then a 4x8 grow tray which is more GB space then a IBC cut in half. I will still use an IBC for my FT though.

The trays

http://www.botanicare.com/Botanicare-4x ... 132C7.aspx

Still need to wash the hydroton. I found the lava rock to be easy to wash...

i know you have to wash hydroton but the lava rock that i picked up took forever to wash out. and the hydroton is only about 4 dollars more.

What technique did you use to wash your lava rocks? I just placed mine in my growbed and hosed them off for an hour and dust was still coming off.

Hi Ron,

Is it really a must to was the hydroton? I never did and it just made my water murky for a week and then cleared up... is there really anything harmful that needs to be washed off or is it just for aesthetics?

Did you buy the lava rock by the bag??? It is far better to go to a real landscape yard and buy it in bulk. 1 cubic yard is $100. By the bag it runs much much higher. But hey, if hydroton is in your budget, go for it!

sweet thanks. Another question I have seen alot of GBs with pvc going around the top perimeter to get equal distribution of water. Do you just drill holes in the pvc?

I just drilled holes in, at first. I have one pipe that just gets especially cloggy, so I used an angle grinder to cut slits in that one.