Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So, after months of planning, and years of reading, I've come to finally start building my system. As it's winter here in colorado, the plan is to have this in the basement (nearly 2000 sq ft that I don't use at the moment anyway) which actually has access to water, and access to . Without further ado, here's the overall plan:

The NFT Tubes:

These are planned to be suspended (wooden frame) 4" PVC with 3.75" net pots (and holes) every 6 inches, having the net pots filled with hydro tron. Each of the 4" PVC tubes will be 5 ft long, and have a 90 degree bend at one end into a T, flowing either back to a sump, or into the fish tanks. On the other side, i'm planning on having the pump feed into PVC caps, either through 3/4", or smaller feed tubes, still not sure how I'm going to do that part.

The wooden frame currently has been created using sawhorse kits from HomeDepot, and treated lumber. They're 4' tall legs, and 10' long tops for the sawhorses. Currently they're holding the weight just fine!

The Fish Tanks:

I've found somewhere that sells food safe 50 gallon plastic drums for a really reasonable price. I'm going to put at least 2 of those next to the sump tank with overflows into the sump, and then protection overflows (higher than the max water level) directly into the basement drain, incase we have a problem along the way. Each tank will get a small aquarium heater for volume + 50%, and will be fed with pumped water from the sump to around 1/3 if the way down into the tank angled to produce a circulation current in an attempt to agitate solids. I've considered pushing it down all the way to the base, but need to ensure that then the pump used has backflow protection... I'm probably also going to run a compressor into air stones in each tank to ensure the water stays aerated.

The Sump Tank:

Right now I have a 40 gallon aquarium from PetCo's $1/gallon sale, however I'm thinking perhaps the best option may be to actually use another 50 gallon plastic tank and add another layer of overflow protection. In this tank I'll have the pump(s). I'm still undecided if it'll be 2x pumps, one for the NFT area, and one for the fish tanks, giving me the ability to work on either 'area' without disturbing the other, and control the flow (as well as avoid backflow issues into and out of the NFT(s)). The sump will also have carbon, and filter floss / filter pads between the pump and input, to clean out debris, and keep the bad stuff down

The Lighting:

I'm planning on currently using 2x 4 bulb T8 shop lights from HomeDepot, nothing too crazy, but suspended from the ceiling. Timers will be used, and should be able to be chained from one fixture to another. I have pulley things that'll pull down, and up, and lock as needed. I'm currently thinking daylight bulbs, but may swap out one or two of them for red bulbs to see how spectrum differences change the growing.

Open Questions:

- Return from the NFT(s)

I've considered running the return from the NFT into the fish tanks, but then I'd run the risk of overflowing out of the NFT should there be a blockage, whereas if I return to the sump, I can go 4" all the way back into the sump. If I went to the tanks, I'd have to reduce to 3", or 2", and would loose the ability to create 'flow' in the fish tanks. It would however allow me to just have one pump.

- Dual feed from the sump to the tanks, and NFT

I've considered T-ing the pump output to both the NFT, and the aquarium, however that would limit the flow, and if there's a mistake in one pump, all systems will drain to the sump, thus requiring a larger sump.

- 2 layers of NFT, one upper, and one lower

I've also considered putting a lower level of NFT in place under the current, but that would mean that I'd have to only grow small coverage plants above, and possibly supplement lighting in the lower levels. Another option would be to use the lower levels for younger plants.

- Short extension for Tomatoes

I've also considered building a smaller one adjacent, fed from a similar system for a handful of tomato plants. Not sure if I'm going to do this in phase 1 though, but may add it later.

- Seedling Area

I'm torn on this one, I've considered t-ing off a small amount of water from one of the feeds into a seedling area which drains into the sump, or just using net pots in a floating foam raft in the fish tanks, or even the sump. Not sure yet, may even just use a hydroponic system to start seedlings.

I'll post pictures next of what's been completed so far.

Lots of views, no replies... must've said something unpopular.

Hey neogenix:
I don't see a biofilter listed, are you planning on pumping right into the NFT pipes?
Also, how much does that much pipe cost?

Was going to ask the same question Dave: Where is your filtration?

If you were thinking of having tomatoes then there is a good spot for you grow bed. You will need filtration in the form of a biofilter and tomatoes are not a good choice for NFT tubes. The root mass is too big and will cause you all sorts of grief...

Then feed from your grow bed to your NFT tubes

So right now I'm planning on pumping right into the tanks, and into the NFT, but the returns from the NFT and tanks will be filtered through aquarium filter pad / floss, and carbon, so there shouldn't be anything nasty to get into the pump, or the NFT / tanks.

For cost, I'm spending around $20/10ft, or $2/ft on the tube, (each one of the tubes you see on the pic is around 5ft, with another 10ft used for the pieces between chopped into 1/2 ft sections), with $5ish per non-tube piece, so the T's, and the 90's. The sump will be initially a $40 40G from petco, but will probably be replaced with a 50G drum, which i'm using for the fish tanks anyway, which will be around $20 each... had the pump here, but still need to get another pump, and a bunch more PVC, and a plethora of other things (heater, air pumps, tube for air, net pots, etc...). I'm currently thinking the whole system will come out to around $400ish.

Was thinking I'd do a grow bed in there too for the tomatoes, but hadn't gotten that far. Right now it was lettuce, basil, and other rabbit food. There'll be goldfish in the tanks too, as my wife is a veggie who is fond of not eating things she can get to know.

I keep forgetting to add this, but when I say sump, I'm thinking of an aquarium sump (logically), so there'll be bio-balls, and beneficial bacteria growth areas where I'll be adding as much surface area as possible. So, filtration through the pads / filter floss, carbon for removal of anything toxic or bad that's in my water that a clarifier won't deal with, and then bacterial growth areas. At the moment I don't have plans to add a swirl filter, but it'd not be that hard to add...

Since all your filtration is going to be in the sump basically, I would go with what you were saying earlier (aka CHOP 2 style). Pump in the sump, tee'd to send water to the FT and NFT tubes.
In the FT I'd use a SLO (solids lifting overflow) to get solids into the sump. Highly recommend drilling a hole and using a bulkhead fitting instead of a water bridge for reliability since it's indoors.

Like other's mentioned, definitely no tomatoes in 4" pipe. 6" is OK but I wouldn't put more than 2-3 plants per 10 feet of pipe.

Going back to your first post: "On the other side, i'm planning on having the pump feed into PVC caps, either through 3/4", or smaller feed tubes, still not sure how I'm going to do that part."

For my DWC pipe in my system, I used an inline barbed connector with a raised lip in the middle to secure the tubing. I drilled a hole in the PVC the exact size of my tubing OD and attached the inline connector on the inside so it couldn't pull through the hole. I also duct taped the tubing nearby just for extra support so it wouldn't be pulling on the inline connector too much.

Started two threads on pipe sizing, and net pot sizing/spacing of plants:

NFT: Flow rate through NFT tubes
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14379

NFT: Net Pot Sizing for 4" PVC, Spacing of plants
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=14378

Replies to the other posts due shortly.

Why specifically one pump, and not two, one for the FT, and one for the tubes? More wondering than anything else... I'd had in mind already dumping the water into the FT(s) at the top, and then using a deep overflow to remove solids, and had planned on putting two bulkheads into the FT's, one for the return to the sump, and then one for 'overflow protection' a few inches higher than the max water level, direct to drain.

Do you know off hand what od your tubing was? I'm currently thinking of taking the 3/4" and reducing it down to 1/4" tubes directly into the tubes themselves, maybe 2 per tube to avoid blockage issues. How much water do you have running through your NFT tubes?

Two pumps are fine too, just usually cheaper to buy one lol.

My 3/4" tubing OD is right at 15/16" (yours may vary).

My system pump is rated at 300GPH accounting for head, I had maybe 1/4 of that going to the pipe. That is just what "looked right" to me though, no scientific basis for it.