Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ok so here is my first attempt at AP. The FT is a ~400 gallon galvanized stock tank lined with heavy plastic using about 15 goldfish for system cycling.
I am using a small(pathetic) fountain pump at present, but I just picked up something bigger. It's a 3/4 HP shallow well pump.
I have pea gravel in the two tiny beds, but am looking to expand. The tomato cuttings are not actually AP growth, I wanted to see if they would take off and grow just being stuck in from sucker cuttings. They are looking better now than in the picture. Also planted lettuce, cukes, cabbage, and the toms of course. You can't see it in the picture, but I had my first real AP plant pop up and grow. Can't remember what I planted there though
I was outside last night rewiring the pump and hooking up hoses to test my new purchase, watching the fireworks display 5 miles away. I thought it couldn't get a whole lot better than that!
Questions:
What are people using for a pickup screen. Is there one that can be clamped/tied onto the intake or should I just make one?
Also, I need to make float switches for the pump to only run when it's safe(low &high cutout). Would it be better/easier/cheaper to buy the piggyback float switches, or use the small white tube-like ones with a relay and make my own, or ...?
And the pump is loud. Well, it was noisy enough at midnight that I thought I should probably build a sound-deadening enclosure to contain it, as well as keep the rain/heat off of it.
Ok, so questions, comments, suggestions?
[attachment=]my_pump.jpg[/attachment]

You'll be hooked now. Once bitten there is no going back, just have some fun and enjoy the growth. Before aquaponics I never knew that tomatoes would grow from cuttings, just one leasson learned. Welcome to the forum.
Faye

Congrats on getting started WT. Your pump is pretty large for the small amount of water that you're going to be moving. If you keep it, you may want to consider putting a valvle on the outlet to slow down the flow a little. You don't really need a pickup screen. Let the waste go to the GB. In fact, if you have a screen, you'll need to watch it closely as it will quickly get clogged with solids/food.

There are timers available that can be set to run about any amount of time that you want, or you can install some float switches or other types of sensors. If you do a search for 'float switch' on this forum I think you'll find a lot of good advise.

Nice to see you started Willy....

Might as well fill the small growbed up with media Willy.... more room for the bacteria to colonise and do their thing.... and tomatoes need a reasonable depth to support themselves as they grow....

Hey Mark! See, I got my very own thread!
I was concerned that the fish might get sucked up. Also, the intake was sticking to the plastic and stopping flow. I was just thinking a wire basket just to keep fish away and the intake off the bottom a smidgen.
I do have a splitter bypass that just sprays back into the tank for aeration. I makes the flow to the GB's easier to handle.

Rup,
Yeah, I know, I'm just too lazy to wash the rest of the gravel.
I don't really have a good way to do it, and when I put the "washed" gravel in and ran water, it was still dirty
My moniker is actually from a 53 Willys pickup I was restoring. Making a long story short, I had to sell her, and never got to finish and drive her. Maybe someday...

Around here slackness will be punished Willy..... by compulsory gravel washing....

Might as well just do it mate....spare yourself the wrath of the gravel washing gods...

Yes Willy, make yourself some sort of screen for the pump intake. Cause of my first fish death was the smallest fish getting sucked up against the pump intake. I did have a sort of screen around it but with a powerful pump, you need to keep the fish further away from the actual open end of the pipe. A skimmer basket, plant basket, stainless mesh cage, etc. Just make sure the fish can't swim through it easily and that it keeps the fish at least a couple inches away from the dangerous end of the pipe. It will also help keep the plastic away from the pipe. They do make strainers and screens so you might be able to find one in the plumbing section that could fit onto the end of your pipe or just make your own.

That is a powerful pump for your little system so I expect you are definitely already planning expansion! I found that the more energy efficient pump I got was also much quieter than the older pump I had. Energy efficiency is important for my system since the pump runs all the time and the beds drain by auto siphon.

Gravel washing isn't so bad if you set up your gravel washing station ergonomically. Place a couple of bins at a comfortable height with water in and use a few plant baskets to hold the gravel. Swish basket in first bin then in next bin (if your gravel is really dirty, then perhaps even a 3rd bin) then into the beds. By using progressive rinse bins you can save on water use as you don't have to change the water out as often yet you get the grave pretty clean since the last rinse is in the cleaner water. It is not too hard on the body this way as you are not bending over a barrow or anything terrible like that. And you only need fill the baskets as full as is comfortable for you to lift repeatedly. Many reps of small weight is really good for toning!

As your system becomes well cycled, you will find that the water clears much quicker after adding gravel to new beds!

Ya sound like you are a handy one and already got the basic idea down, welcome!

I can just see the torture chamber now:
"You have a choice of punishments for laziness: the iron maiden or gravel-washing."
Me: "I'll take the iron maiden, please."

TC: Yep I would like to expand. I can certainly do that with this pump, though I bought it because it was in my budget (near free) and available. Thanks Craigslist! I told my wife it would be better to get the bigger pump because it "would be cheaper and more efficient in the long run."
Problem is time/money/experience/other so at this point I'll have to deal with it.

You know what they say about Jack and his non-mastered trades...
Benefit of growing up on a farm, being curious and being stubborn.

Thanks for the welcome! I've been lurking and reading for months!

WT - what are your winter plans? Let the system go dormant? Bring it inside? I'm in Minnesota, and am always curious about cold/high altitude solutions...

Try to convince the wife we need to build a greenhouse.

Yeah I think I'll probably have to just let it die over winter, then start up again come spring.
I might keep a de-icer and air pump going to try and not kill all the goldfish.
I really want the greenhouse solution though, and I could do it with solar heating, being an ex-solar installer.
Don't think it's a real possibility though.

WT I put up a 20' X 24' greenhouse complete for under $400. PM me if you want the details.

goldfish can survive the winter in a frozen over 24" deep ornamental pond in Alden Michigan (Northern Lower Michigan.) It probably wouldn't take much to keep your goldfish alive over winter. Your bacteria are another story though.

Mark: Sounds great! Though we are renting and will have a good possibility of moving soon after school's done.
Also have to fingure out a way to heat it. The location is at least 100' away from the house. Solar, themal mass, propane, I dunno.
I have a way to get ~50 panes of free glass, and immediately thought of a greenhouse. But it'll probably have to wait.

TC: Hmm, that might work. The tank is at least 3 feet deep, and with the air pump would definitely give them a fighting chance.
However it is above ground, and insulated from it. Might be a problem.

Yes I would have to rebuild the population in the spring, but not such a bad thing. Just time. And poo.

Here are some updated pics. I have my first growth in an AP system! Can't remember what I planted there in all the excitement.
The hoses are temporary, I still need to hard-pipe the flow system, and put in valves at the GB's, and add more GB's of course But that means more gravel-washing so I guess I should just buckle down and do it.
At least I'm satisfied with proof-of-concept. Now to build bigger...

The pump is still noisy, but not to the point the neighbors would have a problem with it. <crosses fingers>
I think with the PVC larger suction and return lines, the pump will be quieter. I probably need to clean and lubricate the internal cooling fan as well.
It was loud enough I couldn't hear my wife calling from 30 feet away, though that could be due to selective hearing or age.

I am a little concerned with power consumption. Nameplate says it should draw 15A @ 120V so that's 1800 watts Yikes that's more than I thought it would be. I need to meter it and look at the actual current, though I only have a 10A meter. I think the larger lines might reduce power consumption.
Our power bill is already $200/month, man I wish I had solar. Or grew my own ethanol. Or both
But if I could afford solar, I could easily afford the power bill. C-22

I need to find/acquire more beds...