Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey, Hows it going?

i am hopeing to start my 1st AP system soon. the only thing holding me up is my parents don't think it is a contrastive use of my time or cash. they just don't get it.

so i am going to do it anyways, but small, so i can show them how good fresh strawberry are, and all the other wonders that take place with AP.

i am thinking about a 10-15gal fish tank, and what ever size grow-bed i can fit in my space(i think it is 19inX15in, I'm at work so i cant look right now)

i am think just having a 160gph pump, going up to the grow-bed, witch would be filled with pea gravel, then an auto syphon(loop type) draining back into the 10-15gal fish tank, witch will be filled with Goldfish bought at Wall-mart. i need artificial lighting, I'm thinking fluorescent lighting, ether compact fluorescent or tube fluorescent. suggestions on light spectrum names will be awesome.

i mainly want strawberry's, and any other berrys that might work in a small system? do they need a special light timing for blooming?

i already have a small 2gal worm farm going for fish food, fishing bait, and worm castings. been only going for 2 days now.

as you can see i have a lot of questions, and i have a passion for learning about aquaponics, i cant get enuff of this board. thank you for your time

-df

Welcme DF

If you want it in your bedroom you are going to have to pollinate using an artists paintbrush.

Good luck, it is a great hobby.

A little pic for you to look at a few small systems.

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum ... pic_id=279

Johnnie

That`s a neat layout Johnnie

Hi DF
I`m sure your bedroom micro system will be a roaring success.

Small tanks can be more challenging than a big tank..when things go wrong, they tend to go wrong pretty fast in a small volume of water.

I crunched a few numbers for what it`s worth.. nothing better to do

2kg of fully grown fish is probably as high as you could go, given that you plan a 70L fishtank and about 55L of growbed, assuming it`s 19" x 15" x 12" deep.
Your 160gph (720 LPH) pump might fill the bed in around 2 mins 30 seconds and assuming the drain time will be half of that, you`ll get about 6 complete tank fulls through the bed every hour.

A 3/4" - 1" id tube might be a good size for the auto-syphon.
If the tube is too small the syphon won`t break too easily given your flowrate and growbed size.
The water level in the growbed may be rising at a rate of 2mm per second, so don`t forget to fit an overflow

If you can position the tank near a window, on the bottom of a two tier stand (with the growbed on top) that may provide enough natural light.

Otherwise you could use a pair of tubes (nothing special) with a reflector as the sole source of light or to supplement what natural light there is.

rblaster85 has a small system in his NY apartment, veggies in nft I think

Do you get direct sunlight coming in through your window?
Good quality light is going to be a problem. Last thing you want is sick looking plants that don't yield well when you want to impress your parents!

Or have you got a balcony.... you could do something like these...

window boxes!

Hex thank for the calculations, Ive printed your post and keeping it for a shopping resource. this system is going to be real basic, just something to mess with

2kg is about 4.4lb of fish, witch for fish i am not going to eat, that's pretty good. they would be good starter fish for my later-on bigger system. hey do you think ill be able to fit tilapia in this system, or should i stick with the good old gold fish?

as for the window lighting, my window faces east, with little direct sun, and the why my room is set up, my bed wont fit any where expect by my window(bummer). so fluorescent lighting will be a must for me.

i wish i had a balcony, but 2storys are hard to find here, ruins the views.

that NFT system is kinda what i was thinking about building as an ad-on to my future large system.

i am hopefully going shopping soon for growbed, pump, air stone/pump, fish tank, text kit and lighting. if this works well, ill put it as a "how to" manual for very small AP systems.

Steve you make great point, and we know that window isn't going to be an usable option, how many watts would i need to grow healthy plants? and should i get a timer for the strawberries come flowering time? and at that how many hours on, and how many hours off? but I'm getting a head of my self here, just really excited.

as always thank you for your time, and everyone's expertise is priceless. i think AP Growers are changing the world, one system at a time.

-Mikey(DF)

hey johnnie, just got done studying the photo, and i love it! that is kinda what i want to build but with one tank(about same size) and one Growbed(same size)

how many gallons(liters if you prefer, ill convert) are one of the tanks? i really like looking and dreaming about these small systems, there just cool!
thank you for ur time

-df

Growbeds are not very big. In the pic there are three systems. About the same size as a large kitchen sink.

If it is the principle you wish to demonstrate, and are looking to have a zero water change system, May I suggest using fast growing low light rainforrest plants if the room is dark. Monsterra (fruit salad plant or Cheese plant) springs to mind but others here will be able to suggest alternatives.

johnnie makes a good point.

californians love hippies.



yap kitchen sink size is what i was thinking for my GB. that will fit up on my dresser just well.

what do you mean by a "zero water change"? don't know quiet what you mean.

and are monsterra plant eatable? i was thinking about just eatable plaints, make a great demo salad. like Romain lettuce,if you think strawberries are a little to much right now.

i know small systems dont get most of you going( :jerk: ), but picks will be comeing soon. thank you so much.

-df

Hi DF,
"Zero water change" means that you only replace the water that evaporates or is used by the plants. You do not siphon water out to discard it.

I have lower light than I would like, and regrettably, most edibles like a little higher light. I have converted one of my 3 growbeds to "rainforest" aka "Janet's Jungle". I have elephant ears, peace lily, Australian tree fern, caladium, begonias and ivy that are doing really well.

Basil, bok choy, peas, and eggplants have been my better edible successes. Lettuce tends to get spindly and fall over for me.

Janet thank you so much for the explanation. yes it will be zero water change, but if i need to do a 50% change or close to that, i will have no problem with that process. so I am water change "if needed" type of guy.

Janet, i might be able to help with your lighting problems, what type of lights do you have?

-df