Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, can't see an introduction forum, and since everyone seems to be putting stuff here, then I will too!
Have been reading lots, noticing many familiar names about the place too...

Basically I am starting this because our soil is pretty terrible and it's going to take me quite some time to improve it enough to get everything that I want growing. We've only been here a few months, and I've already spent my entire gardening budget on the big raised bed out the side. That's cranking nicely, but there's not enough room there for my strawberries and capsicums.

This is a problem, as my children could live on nothing BUT strawberries and capsicums. So I'm wanting to start a small aquaponics system just for those two plants.

I'm thinking that in the school holidays I will take a trip up to paramount browns for a few blue tubs, and grab some goldfish and hydraton (priced at $27.50 for a bag at the local-ish hydro place)

My other options are to buy 50L black hyrdo pots from the hydro place ($11 each) and get busy with a drill.

I'm only wanting to put goldfish in at the moment, I have no idea where one buys any other fish from around here, but I can find a pet shop easy enough.

I really have no idea of what pump to buy, i think that's going ot be my main expense so i f anyone has any advice about that, that would be great.

Oh, and I also have an unused biiiggg wheelie bin and 3 styrofoam boxes... could I just used those???

Next thing is where to put it all - there are no external powerpoints around my house, so I'm gonna have to run a cable out a window or soemthing for the pump, UNLESS someone can give me a hint about solar powering the set-up??
I think (from what i've read) that goldfish wont mind the lack in aeration overnight... so could I get a solar powered pump that would do the job? Definetly no shortage of sunlight around here...


Well, that's my starting bunch of questions *grin*

I shall sit back and await the onslaught of brilliant ideas (most of which are probably a bit tooo techno for my little brain to cope with....)

Hi Ali and welcome
The wheelie bin is a good place to start, especially if you've got no gardening budget left. There's plenty of places to buy a pump but if you want helpful advice with your purchase then go to Creative Ponds and Pumps on Marion Road, a few of us including interstate people have bought gear from there. Foam boxes are OK to start but down the track you'll probably change over to something a little more sturdy. I have a friend who installs solar gear and he's really interested in aquaponics, if you want to go that way and you've got some plans in place I can sent you his details.
Give us a picture of what area you're working with
Have fun

Hi Ali welcome to the AP madness you'll find heaps of help here

*grin* Hi jaymie. Man you've got some vegies growing in blue tubs!
I asked today at the feed store (had to get some more chick crumbles, they can sure eat!) about the blue barrels they get molasses in... as in, whatever do you do with them when they are empty??
The guy there told me to ring one day when the boss was in and ask him - I've got my fingers crossed something nice will come out of that, as the local salvage yard place doesn't have any, and the one place that does have them in a good 2 hours drive from here....

Hey KE, had a good look at the website for that pump place, I reckon solar might be a little out of my price bracket for a while

Any ideas as to what size pump would be best if I used the wheelie bin as a fish tank, flowing DOWN into growbeds (styrofoam), which then flow down into a sump tank (dunno, maybe a bluebarrel???) which pumps back UP to the wheelie bin??

OH, and While I'm STILL here (reading... reading... reading....) is there any reason why one WOUDLN"T use a $20 storage tub on wheels from go-lo etc as a tank/growbed? They come in pretty big sizes but pretty cheap - is there a problem with the plastic??

Yeah, they're not very strong and I dont think the plastic would be UV stabilised?

DIdn't think of the UV thing - derrr...

Been thinking some more.. *grin*

SO... if the wheelie bin is the fishtank, with a crenellated long bit of pipe in it (like EB's small system...) to get solids off the bottom, I can flood a vegie box that has one of those loopy siphon thingies on the other side, which could flow into the second vege box with another loopy siphon thing, and then down into the third one, again with the loopy siphon - then into the sump tank (don't have this yet...) which has a pump to go back up to the wheelie bin....

so it cascades down from wheelie bin height through 3 styrofoam boxes filled with plants and hydraton, into the sump, (on the ground) which gets pumped back up into the wheelie bin.

Does this sound workable? Now wheelie bin is a big one... ummm big one with yellow lid..size??? not sure. the styrofoam boxes are 40 cm high, 50 wide and 75 long. Maths is not my strong point here.

What size sump would one need? if the pump is going continuously, but the beds aren't draining until the loopy siphon kicks in, then there's going to be a delay somewhere along the track... I don't want to blow up the pump, tha'ts my main thing. Given I'm only going to have goldfish in there to start with, if the pump goes, they will be OK for a while, but still, not blowing up expensive things is good IMO

Hi Ali, is this the type of bin with wheels you were talking about
Grow Beds

I just pulled off the wheels, the tank I used is ~200litres and the pump size is 2,000lph at zero head.

Here is a summary

OH cool!
Right then, that sorts me out - now all i need is a pump. And some fish and hydraton.....

and a few bits of plumbing.
Given I'm planning on using my styrofoam boxes as growbeds to start with - any good ideas on fixing plumbing into styrofoam without leakage? Would the same silicon you guys use for poly do the job?

Also - what size pipes are we all running with??

Not too sure on styrofoam boxes - I found they leak when water is left in them for a period of time...do a test with just water in them 1st

Pipes - my pump took 20mm pressure pvc, so used that...the twin exhausts shown in "Elk's Summary" is 40mm DWV, others have used smaller sizes.

Hmmm well this all took a large southwards plunge.
My lovely wheelie bin that was earmarked for a fishtank ended up being used to store animal feed in - because the mice were into it - and the mice had brought around a lovely population of eastern brown snakes. Can't have those critters around my house!
So it's all come to an abrupt halt, all I currently have is a tiny fishtank with 5 goldies in it, running a standard filter.
At least I'll have some nice bacteria to colonise the system with once I get it started.
My dirt garden is failing dismally in the scorching heat and I'm OVER bucketing water the 40 metres from my tank to the garden every day.
What I really want to know from you guys is... what is the best SIMPLEST way to put a system in that is still easy to expand later.
For example - I like Joel's medium system - the one he had running with the tank to the growbed to the sump. My brain tells me that to get that system, I'd need about $1K for the whole set up including pump??
Is it easy to add growbeds to that set-up? Can it run more than one?
Also, can you put critters in the sump tank, like yabbies, as well as having fish in the fishtank side of things?
My DH is actually almost on board with this theory. He likes that aquaponics can be tidy and horse-poo-free (his major bugbear with dirt gardens) and is happy to help out with constructing the shade/greenhouse we will definetly need down here. So I have a bit more muscle at my disposal.
Given the heat in this area in summer, and the cold nights in winter, would it help to arrange the system differently, and bury the fishtank to try and keep temperatures more steady? I would like to have my system ready to put trout in in say April, then grow them over winter and have them ready for xmas day.
I'm definetly needing a solid plan this time around, because DH doesn't work well with the "try it and see" method that I usually prefer. Also until I find a job, we wont have the $$ to get the tanks/growbeds etc - so wish me luck with my interview on Tuesday.
Ali

Good luck Ali.....

You can always start with a basic system and add more growbeds and/or tanks/sumps later.....

Maybe a small system over winter while you design, plan and get DH to build the preferred really neat and tidy horse-poo free, I built it myself greenhouse

Design your greenhouse around your preferred AP system and reuse what parts you can

Hi Ali,

For a pump, I got two from Munns on South road they have some that are rated at 1700L/hour for $69 each (just ask).

As for a fish tank I use the "big green Bucket" that both B and Stratco sell for less tha $100. (this can be used as a sump in a later bigger system)

For grow beds I just got some oversize poly storage boxes, again from B but I haven't seen them since, I guess smaller staorage boxes would be OK, as long as they are 300mm deep.

A nice simple system would be to have the FT buried and have the grow beds above to drain directly into the FT, Up until recently this is what I was doing. As you would run the above pumps continously then having some loop syphons on the boxes and you have a system.

Goto love those browns though, had one having a hissy fit at me the other day because I wanted to go into the chook shed..

H.

Yeah the snakes aren't my fav thing at all. Was out by the garden shed yesterday and heard something big and heavy moving away... I'm crossing my fingers it was a bluey rather than a snake coz it sounded real big in that long grass and my bantams were free-ranging about a metre away....

Well sounds like I can maybe get a basic system set up for a lot less than I had originally thought. Now if I go for the bucket as a tank for starters, will 5 goldies be enough in there to get the system cycling or should I get more? Or maybe can the goldies altogether and start with something edible?

or you could fishless cycle Ali. A bit of urine will provide a good ammonia source. Barring that - goldies are good introductory fish for AP.