Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I want to setup an IBC container system in my living room. I know some people may think this is crazy due to the smell. I'm curious if their are any successful ways people have eliminated the smell and successfully cultivated fish in their living room. Is the IBC system going to be to big and smelly for the living room? If not, how does one keep the tank clean and smell-free?

Great question! We were thinking of using part of our 2nd trailer for the same...didn't think about the smell though!

What do you think is going to cause smell?... The IBC itself, or the Aquaponic system once it's up an running?

If you buy a food grade IBC that contained a food grade product, or even a non-food grade IBC that has contained an innocuous product, such as AdBlue etc, and clean it thoroughly, then it wouldn't cause any smell.

A healthy, well balanced aquaponic system doesn't smell either. I've had one running in the showroom of my shop for over 5 years and it doesn't smell.

I agree with Damage, my indoor system is two years old now and hasn't smelled since it was cycled. Ofcourse, when you shove your nose in the media you'll vaguely smell something, but a few inches above the surface it's not noticable, nor does it carry throughout the room.

It shouldn't smell any worse than having a large aquarium in the living room. Sometimes smell is an indicator something is off chemically and gives you a chance to correct it.

Some people think that aquariums are smelly. My aquariums always had hoods and covers over them - most people don't cover their IBC. And there will usually be odors associated with having a higher humidity level.

Bit of an industrial thing to be having in your living room, so aesthetics may not be favoured by most people. Also you may want to be a little cautious if you have carpet, I've had systems which splash water, fish which splash when feeding etc..