Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have started piecing together some of my AP system. It's just a start to see how things will fit together.

Great start

It's still a ways off from having water but it's a start.

Plan B,
I need to get my water tank cleaned up. So I moved one of my grow beds to the water tank. I will use it to filter the water so I can clean the rocks to put in the grow bed. It's a chicken or the egg problem. Edit to add pic.

Having a major problem with my hard drive, computer is dead. Will update as I can. I moved the grow bed out of the pictures to the right just past the fence. It is cycling every day while the sun shines. No fishies doing the back stroke!

IBC system up and cycling on back-up (wind) power. 10 goldfish in each system. One floater in the big tank. Water test results not written down but Ph. is off the chart high. Ammonia at 0.25 ppm, nitrate off scale high, nitrite off scale high. I'll give it some time. The big tank is very green like an algae bloom. I haven't added any food as the big tank is collecting plenty of bugs. The IBC will probably catch enough as the cover is not tight at all.
Pictures soon. New computer parts arrive next week.

I've done some rearranging of my IBC system. It will end up in a greenhouse so I can grow through the winter.

Switched both systems to grid power to get them cycled. Just pumping water through the grow beds during the sunshine seems too slow to me. Time will tell.

What fish and plants are you growing Gene? Any close up photos of the system?

Gene, I hate to break this to you now that you already have media in the beds but.......
Stacking the blocks with the holes facing horizontally is really not structurally sound. I would hate to have a block fail and dump your grow beds over or something later when you have fish in the system.

A large jack may be of use supporting the bed while you re-position the blocks.

Thanks for looking Faye,
Plants are still not doing well. Growth is very slow and leaves turn brown after a while. I think it's called Ph. lock as my Ph. is still off the chart high. There are 6 small goldfish in the 250 gallon tank and a few tomato plants are trying to live in the beds. The only feed the fish get is the bugs that get into the water and some algae that grows.
I'm being patient waiting for the biology to balance.
I'll take some pictures tomorrow, there are some new plants volunteering in the filter on my big tank now.

I'll just hold the bed up with one hand and reposition the blocks with the other.

If I'm making a mistake I would rather a friend said something than let me continue. Thank you.

Actually if the blocks are not mortared or core filled I don't think there's much difference if they are stacked sideways?
They're 8"x16" either way and more surface friction holding them together sideways. I don't think the grow beds are even close to heavy enough to crush the webs.
I would be more concerned with unwanted critters making their home in the cores when stacked sideways. Looks like a nice cool place to get out of the Oklahoma sun!

I placed them that way to put less pressure on the ground not knowing that there was a correct way.

Here are some pics from today.
A tomato plant in grow bed 1.

This is a tomato plant in grow bed 2. .

A shots of Some rosemary in GB3 showing brown tips.

I'll be out of pocket again for a while.