Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've been posting on the forum for a while and thought that I better start a thread for my system just to prove I have one!
We started with a 1000L fish tank and a one BYAP growbed with expanded clay media. The FT was half buried, mainly so that the growbed directly above wouldn't be too high. We had visions of growing sweet corn, and didn't want to climb a ladder to pick the ears. Hopefully the buried tank will help keep the water temperature down in summer, although I read somewhere on this forum that the water temperature is mainly influenced by the temperature of the media.

The system started cycling with 25 silver perch in September. Plant growth at first was very slow, but picked up towards the end of the summer/autumn period. We had a very successful crop of banana rockmelons, but the blue heeler (see avatar) developed a taste for them and ate several straight off the vine.

We did have a visitor who stayed for most of the summer!

Unfortunately the silver perch hadn't grown enough to harvest at the end of April, so the decision was made to keep them over winter and through to the end of the 2011-2012 summer season. We would have loved to grow trout, and I'm very jealous every time I read other threads. Next year I'll be there!
I can highly recommend banana rockmelons. This was the first (and biggest) of the crop. Just keep blue heelers away from the AP system

I've caught the AP bug, so I want to expand. While I have extensive (dirt) vegie beds and about thirty fruit trees (watered off the sewerage system), there is a problem growing vegies during the hot, dry summers in Perth. AP seems to fill this gap, and the melons last year grew beautifully.
Space isn't a problem as I have a one acre property. The current AP system is on the north side and gets full sun for most of the day. I didn't shade the GB last year, and the plants grew well. Easterly winds here can be very strong, and if I don't need to build a shadehouse, I won't. Trees and shrubs have been planted on the East side over the last ten years to act as a windbreak.
From a 1000L tank and one growbed, I want to have a large tank (or two joined ones) overflowing to four growbeds and use the existing FT as the sump. It will be CHIFT PIST instead of the F&D used by the current system.
I welcome comments from the forum:
1. Would it be better to have two smaller (about 2000L) tanks instead of one large one?
2. Is it a good idea to run two tanks with different fish with the same water (ie both going into the same sump and pumping back to both tanks together), or is it better to run the two systems separately, and put in another sump?
I've already taken a lot of information from reading the comments on the BYAP forum. For example, I intend to build a big SLO (thanks arbe!). If you can point me to other threads with interesting features, I would be grateful.
I'm planning to finish the AP expansion in time for the next trout season. I'm really looking forward to that!

Personally two smaller tanks is the best from my point of view as you can be growing different fish at the same time or sizing fish as they grow so the larger ones don't eat their little siblings. One acre to play with. I can see lots of expansion in your future

Two smaller tanks. Easier to harvest from. I tend to spend a lot of time and energy chasing my fish around the tank when trying to catch them. I am sure there are some nearing plate size but I only catch the smaller ones.

Damn that's a bigun........

Personally I'd go for two separate tanks.. And don't ask me about chift pist, because I still can't help but think it wastes a tank..

Wastes a tank because you need a sump? You could put yabbies and possibly mussels in the sump. Either way it gives you a greater volume of water which in my opinion is a good thing.

Yep go two systems.... use one for trout, and when harvested for next summers small Silver Perch...

And the other for Silvers... until you harvest.. restocked from the "dormant" troout tank with the summers new fingerlings...

You could have sump, pumped up to one or two of your four beds, draining to the other FT, then draining to the other grow beds, then sump again. The first bed would get solids from the pump, but the second beds would get non-chewed up solids like CHIFT PIST. One pump to rule them all. The sump would be a sunken FT so no space wasted.

Yesterday the temperature peaked at 36 degrees and we lost two silver perch:



The water has had a bit of algae, and we have covered the tank again. Last Summer we had a green shadecloth cover and a bamboo blind, but I removed the blind over winter - and didn't get it back on quickly enough.
The water is murky, but there are no algae trails, just very fine particles uniformly through the water.
Water tests yesterday showed almost no NH3, no NO2 and about 40 NO3. The pH has been slowly dropping to 6.4 over the winter. I assume it's time to start using shell grit?

I've also bought some pool salt, and for my 1000L tank I need 1kg of salt for 1ppt?

I've also changed the system to constant flood by removing the timer.

Is there anything else I should do?

I think you have it all covered Bythebrook.

No way that is your system. If it were your toes would be visible in the photos.

Update

I've been intending to add a new, bigger system for a while, and earlier this week I ordered some advanced fingerling trout from Troutman, due in April (or whenever it's cool enough in Perth). I know that ordering fish should be the last part of setting up an AP, but it really is a great motivation to get a new system in quickly!

I visited BYAP in Wednesday morning and bought a 3000L tank and three grow beds and the associated pump, backup air pump, piping etc. I even got it delivered that day!

All I need to do now is dig the hole for the tank, pave the bottom (because the substrate here is lumpy clay), and build the growbed stands out of blocks and recycled jarrah.

Come on bythebrook - you know the rules! Where are the pics?

Oh so that was you.......

Will be good to see it set up...