Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

This is my first aquaponics system. I started with a used 29-gallon aquarium I located on craigslist for $20. It looked a little suspect, but six months later it hasn't leaked a drop--go figure. For the growbed, the most cost-effective option I found was 18" x 36" livestock feeding trough. I built the shelving with 2x4s and left a gap for the drain pipe.



I used 1 1/4" PVC for the standpipe, mainly because the only bulkhead union I could find around here was 1 1/4". I dropped the drain through the center of the growbed as that's where I've seen it done most frequently. Not sure that was the best use of space. Next time around, I may push the drain to the side, were it isn't taking up prime growbed real estate right under the light.



Here's the drain, dropping down from the growbed to the aquarium.



The completed system looks like this. I went with four small goldfish in the fish tank and romaine lettuce in the growbed. I may have gone a little overboard with the manifold and irrigation lines. I was concerned about effecting enough circulation in the growbed to prevent low-oxygen zones, but I don't know if this much plumbing is necessary. Any advice out there?



I went with a higher end T5 florescent fixture; this was the only thing I splurged on. I had to get a little creative to hang it, so I went scavenging and came up with a rebar tie and some conduit anchors. It worked just fine.



A local-ish supplier (the same one who assured me that a constant flood system would never work and would rot roots) said that I had to use net cups or the plants wouldn't root. I was skeptical, so planted one seed in a starter plug & net pot and basically sprinkled all the rest of my romaine seeds around the growbed. The sprinkled seeds came up just fine:



That said, I must concede that the biggest/prettiest plant was the one I planted in the net pot:



I have a lot to learn, clearly, but this was a fun experience. I'm looking forward to improving this system and resuming the design of my off-grid outdoor system.

Cheers,
Varmint

Yes the manifold was a little overkill, and overtime it may plug up with solids and biofilm. There are members on here with large GBs with a single entry and drain, with no problems.