Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello Everyone

I'm Pistilwhipped from Bay City, Oregon. I've grown hydroponically for well over ten years, trying out most variations and configurations I found interesting. Aquaponics always interested me but I didn't have the time or resources to get started. Life has recently changed significantly and though time is still short and precious, I have more of it to work with. My other life activities include house painting (employment), mushroom growing (business/hobby), recently retired foster parent, and hiking our beautiful coastline and mountain forests.

I recently built a (33' x 10') green house. We plan to grow lettuce, tomatoes, beans, medical MJ, herbs and miscellaneous flowers in a flood and drain system. Yesterday we picked up twelve, 3-4 inch Koi from a local pond for $5 apiece. They're currently split up in two 55gallon plastic water barrels. Today I will work on the biological filter and plumbing.


All suggestions are welcome, especially the kind that keep me from making costly newbie mistakes. I would eventually like to retire the koi and change over to tilapia if you know of any Northern Oregon coast breeders. In the meantime, I'm reading everything I can get in before the sun rises and I have to go back to work outside. Thanks in advance for your valuable tips and advice.

Welcome to the forum Pistilwhipped

Got any pictures or plans of what you're going to do, lots of people here willing to help if we can get an idea of what kind of advice your after.

Cheers

@Pistilwhipped - Hi and welcome to the forum

EDIT: corrected some of the text and got a double post. Oops.

Thanks to you both for the kind welcome. I don't have any pictures yet. In fact, my basic layout is still a mystery to me, lol. I do have 50 tomato plants rooting, multiple mj, leaf lettuce broccoli and miscellaneous plantings that will be involved.

My thoughts were just simple tilted flood and drain tables to keep things easy until I grasp all of the variables involved. There will be a couple dwc bubblers, and ultrasonic fogger setups as well but they are side projects.

This is my setup so far:

55 gallon water barrel is the fish pond (12 four inch Koi) until I can afford the larger tub and edible fish. Inside barrel a large bubble stone (air pump is a dolphin av 50), and a 1000 gph water pump creating a small current.

Water is drawn from the fish tank to a buried (but accessible) series of two gravel beds (collected wild from a healthy fresh water river). These are in large Rubbermaid storage containers. Water pumps out of the FT to the bottom of the first gravel bed, filters through the sand and gravel, and is drawn out to the bottom of the next gravel bed and filtered upwards again. From the top of the second gravel bed the water is fed into a third buried (and larger) settling area. This is where I draw my water for the plants.


At this point I am hand watering. Plants are scattered across the lawn and to the four winds until I build the tables.

I am pulling approximately 20% - 30% of the FT out each day to run through the gravel beds. The water is staying very clear and clean.



So- I hand water plants (all planted in coir and rockwool) and collect the water that filters through to return to the FT.


It seems to be working well. Plants are super happy and the fish have settled in and are eating plenty. Am I doing anything wrong? Seems too easy.