Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone! My name is Alex and I'm new to this site. I've been intrigued by permaculture and sustainable systems for some time now and I decided that since I'm an avid gardner and fish enthusiast I'd combine the two and create an Aquaponic setup in my basement as my winter hobby. I'm really excited to get started but I'm fully aware that I can't get anywhere without proper research so feel free to let me know if you're in the area and maybe we could share ideas. I just scooped up 3 55 gallon plastic drums today (they had vinegar in them) and i'm really looking forward to the design and execution of this setup. I look forward to learning!!!

Hey Alex.. Lots of barrel systems on here, plus check out some of the downloads in our information section for in depth plans of barrel systems. http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/compo ... links.html

Thanks so much! I refinish hardwood floors for a living so I'm going to try to incorporate a way to compost my sawdust and then utilize that for mushroom spawn in the system as well. It may get a little intense!

hi alex101, if your in cleveland ohio then there are a few of us here keith and myself. just that i know of for sure, possibly more on this site. regardless welcome Big Al

Welcome Alex.

Be sure to keep us posted on what you are doing and post some pics, we love pics

Look forward to seeing your system develop and grow!

Any question just ask, there's plenty of knowledge here to mine.

yup, i've got a basement system about 30 minutes east of cleveland in fairport, i moved part of my first system from this year in..i have maybe a dozen yp, and 10 bg right now, and getting stuff together for redclaw crayfish. i have one hps growlight, and one flourescent 4', growing brocholi, brussel sprouts, curly kale, a few spices, and my sicilian muskmelon's are sprouting

so i've got one pair of growbeds (one barrel) with one barrel for flushtank/sump (ala travis hughey) with 3 55 gallon glass fishtanks on the floor
looking forward to pic's!

That's great to have locals I can communicate with. I'm still in design phase and contemplating incorporating a 90 gallon fishtank I have but I havn't come to any conclusions yet. This will be a winter project

hi alex101, good luck with your project any question just ask. good luck Big Al

I'd love to see your system and pic your brain. I'm having a hard time pulling the trigger on anything yet because I'm still trying to figure out my design. I've acquired 3 55 gallon drums thus far and I have a 90 gallon overflow tank with a 20 gallon below it that aren't being utilized currently, in my basement. My issues arise from me wanting to incorporate my current tanks (one is a 46 gallon freshwater planted tank and the other a 34 gallon saltwater setup) I currently have a basic refugium setup for my saltwater tank but I'd really love to expand it to something much bigger and incorporate some seaweeds for personal use. I also am trying to figure out what kind of edible fish I could realistically grow with the 90 gallon possibly coupled with a 55 gallon drum. There's just so much to think about and I don't want to have to make major adjustments in the future so I'd rather try to figure everything out now so I can execute the design flawlessly (or minimal at least)

sure, you're welcome to check it out, just give me a couple days heads up, i'm home most nights by 6:30, and home most weekends
I couldn't figure out how i was going to lay out what i do have, so i just started, and it kinda fell into place. I have to get some insulation on the floor under the tanks, but that shouldn't be to big a deal.

as far as fish, you'll want to base the "load" on the amount of media (filtration)
for every 100gallons of growbed, you can grow out about 25lbs of fish, and you want to have at least 1 gallon of gb for every gallon of ft, better is 2 gallons of gb to 1 gallon of ft

i hadn't tested my water in quite some time, so i did over the weekend and everything looked good, but today i had 2 dead yp this am, maybe from stirring up the water when i cleaned tanks this weekend (cleaned pvc hides, and vac'd the bottom of the tanks) bluegill are looking good, but both fish are slow growing compared to tilapia, but then you need to keep the water warm for them.. the mrs is alergic to catfish, so those are out for me..
i'm not sure where to get fish this time of year, i'd like a few more yp, but that might have to wait till spring... maybe next winter i'll try trout

i'm not familiar with salt water setups, or salt tolerant plants...sounds like a fun project though

That would be amazing! Thank you! I'm currently taking night classes on top of running a business during the day (and night when needed) so time is limited but once things settle down I would definitely love to come see what you have. From my reading the trout seems like a really great possibility due to their cold water needs and a lack of energy needed due to a lack of heating the tank. But my girlfriend is also quite the fan of Talapia so we'll have to see what is feasible for me based on what kind of setup I can provide. I'll definitely make it a priority to get in contact with you though. Thanks so much for your openness to me checking your setup out. And as far as the Saltwater goes it would be more of a closed system to grow the seaweed and utilize that as a nutrient supplement for us ie. juices or wheatgrass mixes. I know there is a salt loving tomato plant and asparagus can handle the salinity as well.....all just thoughts.

Hi Alex my name's Tom I'm new to this site too. I also have 3 basement systems equaling about 300 gallons. I use all glass aquariums found on craigslist for real cheap. I run most of my tanks tandem. Please take a look at my systems feel free to pick my brain.