Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am setting up my first AP system soon. The parts I have been able to come up w/ are:
(1) 145 Gallon tub for the fish
(1) 4'x4'x 8" deep grow bed
Hydroton
I plan on building a stand this weekend and then I will try and figure out what size water pump and air pump to get. Some suggestions would be great.
I plan on using the flood and drain method on a timer that I think should come on every hour for about 15 minutes. I would like to use the continous flow method w/ some sort of auto siphon but i'm not sure how to build one and not sure it would work w/ my short grow bed.
Please take a look at my rendering of the system and give me feed back. I am new to AP but I have maintained a salt water reef tank for the last 4 years and have had hydroponic gardens in the past so I have a decent uderstanding of some of the aspects of AP.

Thanks,

Seth from San diego

Welcome Seth!

Good luck with your new obsession!

8" is probably too shallow, 1' is preferred if possible.

Google can calculate volumes and convert units for you, to flood your 4' x 4' bed if it were 1' deep would be around:

"16 cubic feet in gallons" = 119 gallons of gravel/media.

Water needed to fill a gravel bed runs between 30% and 40% of gravel volume.

119 * 0.4 = 47 gallons of water out of the tub, so it will drop by 1/3 when the bed is full, which isn't too bad. Your 8" bed will require less water so you should be fine without a sump. Go for it! A sump would allow more flexibility and bed volume.

Welcome to the madnes of aquaponics Seth... hope you enjoy the ride...

Welcome Seth

Finally got it built and it's up and running. I originally, upon start up, added 5 mosquito fish and 3 fancy gold fish. Last week I added 10 fingerling talapia and a few plants. The system is not fully cycled yet though. I ran some water tests yesterday and I have some ammonia, high nitrites, low nitrates, and a pH of 8.2. The system has been set up for almost a month now. I plan on adding another 50 gallon grow bed to the system (maybe 2) since I have a 140 gallon fish tank.

I'd be adding salt.

I have been adding the water conditioner "Prime". Besides removing chlorine and chloramine it improves slime coat and detoxifies ammonia and nitrites.
Is there any other benifits that the salt would add that Prime is not or is that suffecient?
I have also changed from my original design above and have a 36"x36"x12" grow bed.

Hi Seth, This topic comes up regularly. Have a search for water conditioners and/or salting and you'll find plenty of information. Most people here avoid using the conditioners because of questions about whether they are people safe.

Good to see it come together after all these years Seth..



And whether they are really needed...

Thanks for the good advise. i will look into the salt instead. All the fish seem to be happy and eating well so no major issues yet. I am happy to finally get this thig going, I am having fun setting it up, getting the bell siphon dialed and watching the plants grow.