Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello my name is Aaron and i am new to aquaponics. I have kept tropical fish for over 10 years and i have always been into growing my own vegis, so it seems like a natural progression.
I am also very keen to use recycled materials to build my setup.
I am in the process of starting my 1st setup and i would like to grow some fish to eat, what i really need to know atm is how large will my pond/tank have to be to grow say 2 dozen silver perch to eating size??
I have 3 large tubs that hold 216ltrs each, a corner bath that holds 800ltrs and a large old fridge that i can lay down it will hold 700ltrs.
If i can con my misses into it i want to buy an above ground pool for fish, do u think there would be any prob with swimming with yr fish?
Aaron

Hay there and welcome!!!!!!

Sounds like you are making a start.
do lots of reading!!!!!! Especially the Basic Info and Useful Info sections.

To help you figure out the very basics of how much filtration you need per how many fish........
each 3 kg (final grown our size) of fish need at least 100 liters of flood and drain media bed filtration. (that is max fish)
(for that 3 kg of fish, they need between 50 and 100 liters of fish tank)
make sure there is plenty of additional aeration if you stock anywhere near that 3 kg per 50-100 liters of fish tank.
Your pump should move the equivalent of the volume of your fish tank through the filtration each hour.

When we start talking about growing out edible fish, it is generally time to start talking in 1000 liters minimum.
So for a new system and since most people try to push the envelope I will over estimate a little bit for you.
To grow out 24 silvers to say 1 kg each. I'll recommend 1000 liters total of flood and drain gravel beds (hopefully most of them can have a media depth of 30 cm.) Then you could have a fish tank between 500 liters and 1000 liters. If the fish tank is less than 1000 liters, you would need a sump tank to take care of water fluctuations. For instance you could have a 500 liter fish tank (operating CHIFT PIST-look it up as it is an often used term here) that feeds your grow beds and the grow beds would drain into a sump tank of at least 500 gallons.

Just a note as you start getting into figuring out your system set up. When people talk about a 2:1 ratio, it is Grow bed to Fish tank. What I described above with a 500 gallon fish tank and 1000 gallon of grow bed is a 2:1 ratio.

Now I don't know much about silvers so I'll have to let some one else answer as to what size fish tank would be best for them. I do know that the bare minimum tank I would use for growing out some catfish is 1000 liters and double that is much better but I'm growing out more than two dozen fish.

As to swimming pools, Do a little research about the swimming pool liner and the suitability of it to a food system or to food fish before you go investing that much money. A swimming pool is probably way overkill for growing only a few dozen fish and you would need pumping and filtration sufficient for the amount of water which is probably way more than you have grow bed containers so far.

I'll recommend you read through a few of the really big member system threads before you spend too much money on anything as you might get some ideas that could save you a bit.

Good Luck and welcome.

Thank you very much for yr excellent reply TCLynx.

I have been doing a bit of reading but clearly i have much to learn. I am very impressed with the info on this site.
I'll probably have a few more questions b4 i setup. Thanx again
Aaron

Welcome. I think you have all the right "ingredients"! 3 tubs @ 216 give you 650ltrs of grow beds and the corner bath at 800 ltrs and fridge @ 700 ltrs. will be perfect for a sump and a fish tank.

Now all you need is plumbing and gravel/hydrotron - and the fish!!

Do post pictures of where you are putting up the system. We love pictures.

c'mon aaron!!! get a thread started on your progress, with lots of pictures. we love pictures