Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello everyone! I have recently began reading more and more about gardening and especially aquaponics.

I had wanted to start my own outdoor garden but because of an abundance of wildlife and lack of time to prepare the ground to be suitable for plating I decided to look up alternatives to ground planting I stumbled across aquaponics and became hooked on the idea.

I have assembled my first test setup and am working to get a full production setup working


Here are a few pics of my siphon in the test setup




and a video of it in action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NmXSFwhjhM

Welcome Sirpennywise! That is one deep growbed. You may want to shade the sides of it as clear containers can grow some fierce algae.

That is just the test unit to get the flow of the siphon and all that jazz set, I plan to snag some different containers but that is what i had around the house
Still trying to decide if i want to try to set this up in my basement or outside.

The flow of the siphon will change with media, different media guards, and the growing roots of the plants. Inside, you will need supplemental lighting. Outside you will need to protect it from pests, and the system will be more seasonal. While it may look like two cons for outside vs. one con for inside, the cost of the supplemental lighting could make it impractical.

To keep the initial cost down i purchased some of the small pebble type media from home depot, I plan to go back tonight to pick up some actual tubs that i can use as a growbed and fish storage.

I may try to build this on my back patio for now and possibly move it inside if it is still doing well after summer.

I was just excited to get most of the components home and put together I wanted to experience the joy of getting my first siphon to work

Walmart has some ice buckets that are more sturdy that could work for smaller fish tanks. They are rectangular, colored and about $15. Too deep for grow bed in my mind. But I'm a rookie.

Here is an update on my system,

I took your advice and picked up a smaller grow bed and a bigger tank for the fish, I picked up a fish tank that would block the sun, then painted the outside of my grow bed, I mounted it on a quickly made base.. I broke the bottom of my bell siphon when trying to pull the PVC out of it so i will have to pick up another tomorrow.

I was washing the gravel and plan to run it through some cycles before plants and fish

I left the braces exposed incase I want to add a second growbed, I could toss another brace and some legs on the other side and be ready





When i get a little more together I will take some more pics

Just another update, I have had my system going for a little over a week or so now, I started from seeds. Lettuce and Jalapeno's are both sprouting wonderfully.
These shots were taken this last weekend.





This morning before work.