Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone. Here is my recently completed system. It is very bare bones at the moment but I plan on adding to it slowly. It has been quite an adventure trying to get this set up since my Chinese is not very good. There was a lot of picture drawing, grunting, miming and pointing. But I have a system up and running now anyway.




It is an 85 L grow bed (plastic tote I had laying around) filled with fish tank gravel. In the middle there is a stand pipe (20mm), bell siphon (40mm) and gravel guard (90mm) made out of PVC. It sits above the fish tank on a scavenged pallet and cinder blocks.

the fish tank is an identical 85 L plastic tote (had 2 laying around). There is a small Rio 800 pump which continually flows into the grow bed. There are also 10 tiny gold fish in there. The grow bed fills in around 6 mins and drains in about 1 min 30 secs.

The plan is to get is to get it cycled and running smoothly, then to add a bigger FT and use the current one as a sump. then to turn the current FT into another GB and get a bigger sump to also be used as a floating raft set up.

I'm now waiting for it to get cycled. But I have a few questions: I know I could probably fit a lot more fish in there, would it help cycle my system faster? How long do you think it will be before it is cycled? Should I wait to plant anything? How are my flow rates?

Any advice or criticisms are greatly appreciated!

Those indoor storage units wont last more than a year or 2 in the sun.
just a heads up.

Yeah, I figured as much on the storage bins. I'm planning on using this system as a test run. Hopefully they will last long enough to play around with for a while before i can find a better location and put some money into something that will last.

Hey TA, looks like your off to a nice running start. My first system was 2 buckets and a Dutch leach tray in my kitchen! We all have to start somewhere. I'm no expert but I'd be happy with that flood drain cycle if it was my system. For adding fish, remeber that you pretty much have no bio/ chemical filter until the bacteria have started to get well colonized. This means your ammonia can build rapidly to dangerous levels. The nitrite levels can become dangerously high quickly during the breakin period while the first form of bacteria is rapidly colonizing but while the secondary nitrifying bacteria is just getting started. So in layman's terms, give it a few weeks before you start adding more fish. Usually in aquarium keeping it's 2-3 weeks for the "brake-in crew" before adding your full population. Good luck! Can't wait for pictures of pretty green things.

Oh, and I believe you can start slowly adding plants into the system. They will help keep your nitrate level in the safe ranges as it is converted from nitrite by bacteria. Remember when you do stock your fish to allow enough room for them to grow to harvest size (if your gonna eat them). I hope this helps!

Got to start somewhere

Are those fish big enough to fit through the pump guards?

If they are, you might end up with a few in your grow bed.

What sort of fish can you get in Taiwan?

Funny you should mention slowly adding plants to my system now. This morning I went downstairs and found this cute little puppy...



...and a package of okra seeds my wife had bought me for Xmas. I managed to find most of the seeds and figured I might as well throw them into the system. So I know have some okra seeds direct sowed in there as well as some in little starter pots in case those don't work.

@columnmn They sell live tilapia and carp in the traditional market on my street but they are already market size (which is why they are at the market I guess). I have heard that some of my coworkers have relatives or something with a fish farm around here so I will try to check that out. for now I just bought 10 of the cheapest fish i could find at the fish store.

It is pretty tough for me yo try and figure out what some fish are as my chinese is not great and it can be tough to translate the fish names anyway. I think the fish are too big to fit through the pump guard, but if not Im not too concerned. I figured I would probably end up killing this first batch by messing something up anyway.

I've had the same problem.

My dog thought (and still does, 4 years on), that it's fantastic fun ripping up plastic pots. Luckily with AP, I don't need pots

Hi Taiwan Aquaponics
Just an observation but what is the media in your grow bed ? I was thinking of your PH if your media contains any limestone.

@dasboot - that is a good question. I am not really sure, my Chinese is nowhere near good enough to figure that out. But I bought it from a fish shop and he told me I can use it in a fish tank with no problem. I am guessing if it is okay for the fish it will be okay for the plants? So far the fish have been okay.

I tried to get a master test kit at the fish shop, but they don't have any. They only have pH and NO2 test kits. Can I track my cycling process with only those two? Is there anything else I should try to monitor?

Should be ok its just in the pic it looks a lot like limestone,just take a handful and put it in a glass of vinegar if you get a stream of bubbles its not suitable.
You are cycling with fish,my preferred way,without the test kits you have no ideal where you are in terms of progress,still you already have fish so you already have ammonia,your fish are small so if you feed very lightly give it a few days and check your nitrite see if you get a reading if you do good,just monitor this until it drops then you are ready to add a few more small fish and do this procedure again.This way you should build a nice strong bacterial base to your media,your plants will take care of your nitrate,if you can find any of the seaweed products when your finished cycling add as per instructions just to help your plants along.You really do need Ammonia,Nitrite,Nitrate and PH to fully monitor your systems progress and to be able to check if you feel anything is not quite right in the future.
Your PH could well be very high, after cycling you could bring it down very gently,your shop should have a PH down treatment to use,i used hydrochloric acid just a couple of drops will do the trick.

Thanks Dasboot. I will have to get on that. Good trick for the limestone check. Just noticed you are in Thailand. Do you ever have trouble with finding supplies and things there? It can be a challenge sometimes over here.

It is a nightmare,in the UK as most of the world you log in Google what you want bingo job done,here there is no such facility,everything is leg work going out and asking,going into shops and vainly trying to read labels with a wife that says with a smile sorry i dont english for that...
On the plus side it has helped me learn quicker as most of the times you are looking for alternatives or another way of doing things especially organic or natural ways to do things, compost teas,worm teas,egg shells,banana peels in the beds etc etc.
You have come to the right place with this forum,everything you need to know is here.

So I finally tried the vinegar test for the rocks, there wasnt a string of bubbles but there were a few tiny ones that came up every so often. Is this a sign that there might be some limestone mixed in there? Do you think I can get away with using it anyway? Or should i do some pH checks and try to decide?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.