Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all, I'm obviously new to the board, and also aquaponics. I've been you tubing and googling quite a bit of information to learn about the hobby/life. Originally my idea was to be able to have cheaper healthier fruits and veggies, as well as mmmmmm fish. My wife has other ideas about eating pets. So.... Looks like it'll be just a koi pond powered grocery store without a meat isle. She also thinks we should wait until we have a house to do anything since we are in an apartment right now. Shhhhh, don't tell her how many people have systems in apartments.

Welcome to the board!

I'm (vaguely) a Dallasite as well - i.e. born there, live nearby-ish though not in the city itself.

Have you shown your wife Travis Hughey's "Barrelponics" manual? I think it is quite apartment-friendly... Links below:

http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/education/documents/barrel-ponics.pdf

http://backyardaquaponics.com/Travis/Simplified-Manual.pdf

http://backyardaquaponics.com/Travis/Aquaponics_Common_Sense_Guide.pdf

Good luck!

I've been reading the barrel-phonics PDF. I like the idea of using the barrel for the fish tank, and thought about using 4" PVC along our balcony railing instead of half barrels. Before I get too far into this new hobby I need to complete some of my promised projects from my other hobbies. My wife thinks I've got too many hobbies. She's probably right but this one at least gets us food.

You mean to have media in the pipes? or NFT tube?
I don't think you can run an aquaponics system without either:
1. media (rocks) - in beds or in pipes
or
2. a bio filter (plastic balls in barrel with air)

I was thinking if having media in the tubes, and probably some in the fish tank. After all, there are rocks in natures fish tank, right? (Is this the part where everyone rolls their eyes and shakes their heads at the new moron!)

Don't put rocks in your fish tank as the poo needs to get 'OUT' of the fish tank and deposited in the media for the plants.

Of course this doesn't apply to smaller aquariums - but you do have to clean it out eventually, yes?

How much pipe and how big a fish tank are we talking?

I figure I could do the barrelponics style with about 25-30 gallons in the fish tank, and the other part of the barrel on too for either a raft or more media filled grow bed. I've got about 8' of hand railing for the PVC pipe. If I need to add a separate swirl filter, I don't imagine it would need to be very large for such a small volume of fish.