Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello! This is my first system, but it's been running for a few months now. We built a greenhouse in our backyard, before doing research on scale. It's a huge fish tank with a small growing area.

It's a constant flow, raft system, with two concrete fish tanks. One is about 1100 gal (4200l), and a smaller 800 gal (3000l) tank. Right now I have 200-250 Tilapia, still small unfortunately, as most of the big ones died from winter. The water siphons from the fish tanks into a settling tank, then siphons into the biofilter. (Two mesh bags full of cut up water bottles.) From their, it siphons into the first growbed, and flows down to another siphon into the second, which also has a small clay pebble section, before being pumped back and sprayed into the fish tanks for aeration.

I just replanted the majority of the system a few days ago, with beans, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, arugula, asparagus, onion, garlic, shallots and whatever else I've forgotten. I know that for my tank size I could have much more grow space, but lately we've been concentrating on keeping things alive through the winter.

Of course, there's been a few problems. :l Now that winter is here, both the water and the air in the greenhouse have to be heated, most of the aforementioned big fish died from the cold. Keeping the massive tank warm was an ugly beast, so after a few weeks and about fifty fish (And only the big ones oddly enough.), we converted the settling tank into a wintertime fish tank, cutting the big tanks out completely. This temporary system is heated by a 1000 watt bucket heater, which can keep the water at a toasty 70 degrees or so. Winter, it seems, doesn't like my fishies.





Anyway, I have a question.

My Cayenne peppers were attacked by aphids, but I think I got rid of them. However, the plants still seem to be dying. (See the sad looking plants in the first picture.) Since I just replanted, I'm not sure if i should keep them if they pose the risk of an aphid infestation, especially since they could die anyway. Thoughts?
Any advice on how to get rid of or prevent aphids? I tried various methods, but in the end it was dish soap and Chili powder that got 'em.

Hi & welcome to the forum.
I love the greenhouse - mine is almost finished & I can't wait.
You seem to have fabulous growth for a new system!

Re the aphids; I had more success last season by interplanting with African marigolds - they left my kale alone completely. I also try to mix up my plants in the grow beds rather than group plantings of the same. I have also interplanted with onions & strong smelling herbs. I may have just been lucky, but I hated ripping out crops because of bug infestations.

In the pic you can see the marigolds - I had 2 or 3 per bed. Good luck!

Fantastic first post! I love your system, seems to be powering along very well!

With your fish losses, have you considered a different type of fish? Tilapia from what I hear (they are illegal here) will never like cold water, it'll kill them. But there are plenty of breeds that'll thrive year round in your climate. Heating the water will get pretty expensive.

Trout farms seem popular in Georgia, you might be able to keep them year round in your system, the annual temps don't seem too bad, and you have a good water volume going on:
http://www.yellowpages.com/ellijay-ga/trout-farm
http://www.georgiawildlife.com/Hatcheries/Buford

I'm sure you could pick up some fingerlings easily enough.

Do you have any other pictures of the build? I'd love to see it come together

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice guys!

Now that I put in a fan to inflate the roof of the greenhouse, creating a insulating layer of air, the temperature is much steadier, but the coldest has yet to come! Also, a thermometer in the fish tank keeps the water at a steady temperature.
Some trout seem interesting, especially since I have the fish tank space for it, but for now I'll try to keep the Tilapia alive.

Most of the seeds are sprouting: beans, tomatoes, greens, and corn. It shaping up to be a great harvest. Also, the Aphids are doing much better, that is, most plants are clear. I'll get some Marigold seeds when I see them.