Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

After months of working my weekends and whenever free time arose away from my job the fruits of our labor is finally within in our grasp. Greenhouse is constructed tanks are flowing and plants are growing After discussing the basics with my parents about AP over the winter talk arose of constructing a greenhouse and possibly entertaining my idea. Here we are today.. after blood sweat tear's and quite a few beers... its time to kick back and listen to the water churning and bubbling away.
My System
1000L IBC tote top cut at 900L line
1267 GPH 3/4 outlet Ecoplus pump running continuously (more pump that i thought lol but i plan on expanding anyhow)
1 Airpump with dual outs 2 12" air stones
2 200L barrels halved
IBC tote top flipped up
3/8 1/2 drain rock
Flood Drain
1' drains on grow beds

Greenhouse
18 1/2' by 12 1/2 Foot
All PVC and plastic

Currently things are going well PH is a little high was at 7.53 rose to 7.6x but today has fallen to 7.4x No fish in tank ... want to cycle it for a few weeks and let the PH stabilize without interference if possible after 2 weeks if still not correct will start to slowly adj. I have had some experience with growing indoors with dirt and 1000watt lights but never tried hydroponics. Aquaponics seemed so much more interesting to the point where i just had to try it one way or another. With no fish in the tank i am using liquid seaweed, dose on bottle says 15ml per liter of water seems lower than seasol that Murry Hallam's video suggested.. we dosed out about 1/2 strength first day.. haven't added any since. Any ideas of how much i should be adding till fish are in the tank? along with that i have a few other questions as follows.

How fast should i cycle my beds.. currently we cycle every 7 - 10 min.. is this to fast.. we dialed back the water to the point where it almost doesn't start the siphon.. but with a 1" drain it can suck em dry in 1 min flat

Any ideas on fish i live on Vancouver island, West coast Canada winters here never get below -10c, with average from 2c to -5c. the idea of talapia and heating water all winter seems costly been debating what i could use local. Currently our choice is Koi but thought arose last time i was bass fishing ..... anyone tried small mouth bass? Other options such as crayfish wich are in abundance in the river along my house , freshwater muscles Can do trout as well but want to wait to see what kind of summer time water temps we have before trying something with a little more hassle tank is sunk 1 1/2 feet in the ground so should help with temp swings

Waiting on next check to purchase water test kit needed for when the fish arrive wanna get water as perfect as possible before introducing fish i have learned with past experiences with fish tanks... go slow and let it do its thing.. a lot of times things correct themselves with some patients

These pictures are after 3 days with water running and purchased seedlings, They have exceeded our expectation already. Things adapted within first 2 days and now are going strong.

Would love to hear any comments idea's or info on how to improve my greenhouse and design hopefully somone will have the chance to answer a few of my questions as well. I will try to keep weekely updates and pictures and share my progress with fellow AP growers..

Good luck to all you amateur AP growers..

Good write up, but your drums are going to bow outwards heaps, even with those supports underneath.

Nice neat and tidy setup.

We were thinking that too but after filling one with gravel and water and the sides did not move a inch decided that no extra supports were needed .... if need be we can put a strap in middle of barrel to hold center together if we find it spreads to much but the old motto.. if it aint broke dont fix it springs to mind

Yeah, you may have troubles with them as the weather warms up perhaps.. As the plastic heats it becomes more pliable. Still couple of holes and a strap, as you say...

Your a bit daring asking for votes straight up, pretty high standards around here...

Is it a score out of 10?

Sorry for my ignorance but what does batch photo trial version mean?

I think it;s photo resizing software for doing batches of pics which is free, but leaves a big advert on every picture until you pay for it..

If you don't believe me about the barrels bowing, perhaps you might want to read some more members threads?

Only have one half barrel and it bows and sags heaps. Have had the jack under it more than once to readjust .

The barrel will eventually kink and form a nice spout and all your water will drain out of your system and then you can go and post on the HSM thread... A nice piece of hardwood and some stainless steel bolts and I would give you... Hmm. 7 out of 10 hahahaha

Great work on the greenhouse and the system. You have done a very neat job; well done

You probably already worked this out but reinforcement of the growbeds is probably a good idea

yes it is a score out of 10 one beinng crap and 10 being best freakin AP ever (one day will achive this)

you are correct free photo resizing software that im am totaly not paying for lol leaves watermark if using trial

Thank you for the info will be disscussing this with perents fixing it befor thier is a problem is deffinetly better than comming out to a dry bed and dead plants

I haven't used these types of growbeds but wouldn't it work for him to reinforce them with a wire cable across the center instead of surrounding them with lumber? Would be much cheaper this way.

UPDATE : We just received our fish today.. only wanted 20 -30 baby koi but dad brought home almost 50.. to many to count and they move to fast. ALL FOR FREE.. helps to know ppl... friend of a friend runs hatchery koi farm said we can have all the fish we can handle, water temps and PH almost identical to our system so introduction should go smoothly with minimal loss curently they are swimming happily about my tank ducking in and out of the shelter's we provided them want to put some duckweed and possibly water plant to provide extra shelter. Any ideas? tank is currently 60% covered by grow beds due to design (wanted to shelter grow bed to keep algae down and water temps more stable and still keep compact design) Caught 6 crayfish out of stream that borders property fairly small in size as they normally are at this time of year to rid bottom of any extra food + algae. In the event this is to much fish we have two large natural ponds they would be happy to live in. will be monitoring water closely for next few weeks with minimal feed. FT being filled wtih clean fresh natural pond water should help kick start the cycle will post results of water tests in a few days to show where im at.. wish me good luck that things go as planed