Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi.

Thought I would post some images of my timed flood and drain system so far. Hopefully someone can get some ideas - I've learnt so much from these forums.

I'm building the grow beds and fish tank from reclaimed hardwood and cypress pine for the posts. The grow beds are 1800 x 800 x 300 deep and around 430 L each. The fish tank is 1500 x 1000 x 800 deep and holds 1200 L. They will all be lined with 1 mm Proliner pond liner.

The fish tank is dug 550 mm into the ground, initially to save space, but also in hopes to regulate the water temperature. The second grow bed sits directly over the top of the fish tank and covers roughly 2/3 of the surface. This saved me space, plumbing and will also decrease direct sun light.

I plan to start with 25 Rainbow Trout @ 10-12 cm and expand to perhaps 40 fish later, but will just see how the first batch go.

I've purchased a Laguna 5000 Max-Flo pump. The plumbing will be 25 mm from the pump to the grow beds. The drainage will be a 40 mm stand pipe with simple 'weep' drain holes at the base. I will also redirect water straight back to the fish tank to aerate the water and to give more flow control.

Some additional shots:

More shots:

Thats what I meant in your other thread

Looking great !

Great looking system! Nice craftsmanship.

I agree. Quality build and Ill be watching with a close eye.

Love the woodwork. Looking forward to seeing it progress.

I am really digging that reclaimed hard wood. I have a buddy that saw my system and asked if I was building more beds he said he can get me some reclaimed barn wood, now after seeing yours I am excited for it

Your system looks like it can handle a hurricane! I too will be watching closely!

Hah. Yeah, possibly over-engineered for a suburban setup.

Last night I had a thought (AP is basically all I think about at the moment) - what do people do about possums? I get loads of them throughout most of the year and they do a heap of damage to young shoots. I imagine they would decimate a grow bed filled with seedlings?

What I'm thinking: Run a single wire, about 4 cm height, around the top of the grow beds. Connect this wire to a low voltage, battery powered electric fence charger (a pet friendly device - I don't want to kill the next door neighbors cat).

Edit: Something like: http://www.sureguard.com.au/Sureguard/Portable-Budget-Pingg-String-Energizer-12-Volt

Thanks for the comments everyone. CRF, this wood was cheaper than building pine, but I did spend a while sourcing it. You should take up your friends offer! I'd love to have access to some more.

OK, so this was a little more work than I anticipated .. there isn't enough time (or light) in the day. Almost finished though - just some plumbing work which I can do after work in the evenings .. so maybe Wednesday start running water through it.

Some shots. FT is lined with hessian so the pond liner isn't against the rough wood. Decided to lay some yellow tongue (I think yellow tongue is for flooring??) between the base of the liner and the gravel to prevent roots growing through:


Framing for the base of the first grow bed:


First grow bed with yellow tongue base in:

Grow bed with pond liner:

Mostly complete system:

Another:

Looking really goo man, makes me want to build one outside now too!!!

Update:

Started cycling 10 days ago, pumping into just one grow bed with some seedlings planted. Finished cleaning the remaining clay two days ago, then filled and planted the second bed. I've added a splash of Charlie Carp on three occasions and left it once the ammonia levels were at 1ppm.

pH levels have been a constant 7.4 - 7.6.
Ammonia has been between 1ppm and 2ppm

ph, NH3, NO2, NO3:

7.4 - 7.4 - 7.4 - 7.4 - 7.4
1.0 - 0.5 - 3.0 - 1.0 - 1.0
0.0 - 0.0 - 1.0 - 1.0 - 1.0
0.0 - 0.0 - 5.0 - 5.0 - 8.0

Nitrites and nitrates arrived on the same day. No real spike there. Nitrates are rising, so hopefully the seedlings can get some growth.

I will let it do its thing now and add some trout next Sunday.