Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,

I'm about to embark on my first aquaponics setup. I've been watching and reading for a while now and I finally have a few days off and the ok from the boss.

I'd love to get some feedback on the plan and maybe if you guys know somewhere in Adelaide metro to get the stuff I'll need for a good price I'd love to hear about it.

I'm planning 2 ibc's, one as a fish tank and the other cut up for a grow bed and a sump. I'm going to cut it to make the bed and sump as large as possible.

The pump will be in the sump and pump into the tank, the overflow will go through the SLO into the grow bed at first but I'm planning a swirl filter down the track. Then from the grow bed, drained into the sump by a bell siphon.

I'd like to go with expanded clay in the grow bed but I have no idea where I can buy this from.

I'm planning silver perch, I think they are one of the few species which will tolerate the winter and summer in Adelaide. Does anyone know anywhere I can get these in Adelaide? I was looking around and some of the minimum orders look a bit scary.

Also I wouldn't know where to start looking for the testers to check nitrate levels and things like that to see how the system is tracking.

Any advice on pump sizing and pipe sizing is welcome. I read somewhere you should aim to turn over the water in the fish tank once an hour. Not too sure about the diameter of pipe I should use.

Any advice or feedback is welcome.

Welcome to the forum Koala

Hi mate, your mostly likely in Adelaide.

Answers I know

API test kits.... top of this forum aquaponic shop , accessories, 2nd page You can also get hand held PH testers off Ebay

After the start up we have had Id suggest goldies or whats called feeder/fingerlings fish (basiclly colorless goldies) that way if something goes wrong, or in my case cat settle down and you loose fish its not a big $$ loss.

In the search button type in silver perch south australia

re pump size and pipe size...not wanting to be rough but do a lot more reading on here.

hi

>> I'm planning 2 ibc's, one as a fish tank and the other cut up for a grow bed and a sump. I'm going to cut it to make the bed and sump as large as possible.

you will probably find that you will need other beds, However a start with 2 IBC's ike you suggest would leave options open for things like additional beds, a DWC or if short on room some Dutch (Bato) Bucket or PVC pipe type options.

some good threads around with lots of ideas:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24235 << answers the basic 2 IBC issue
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23141 << the ultimate IBC/GB setup

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23024
(uses 3 IBC's)

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23861

plus lots of others.

Hi koala
Welcome to the forum,
I'm in wa so not much help from me unfortunately,
If you search the forum or even just backyard aquaponics in Ibc sections, there is heaps of information on the topic as lots of people use them.

Fish I'm not sure about but try gumtree or google it an ring them to find your local supplies.
Test kits can be ordered from this site at the shop or as previously said eBay..

As a rule of thumb you should have a pump that will turn your water over every hour,
Bigger is better as you can always expand.
My tank is 5000 litres an my pump is 12000 litres an hour ,(overkill I know)

Also as previously mentioned, put some cheap gold fish in your tank and go for a month or so an see what happens, you don't want to loose valuable fish first up ..

Hope this helps alittle

Thanks for the welcome guys and for the pointers.

I ended up just getting the 1 ibc to start with, should be dropped off today or tomorrow. That will simplify things a great deal. I'm just going to run the basic pump in fish tank while im learning and expand a bit each year maybe.

Hi Koala, welcome to the forum.

Have a look through the South Australia thread for ideas on where to get fish, but anything local isn't overly friendly or cheap for smaller amounts. Apart from Tooperang trout farm, they are highly recommended (apart from the odd wonky mouths), and cheap. But it's getting a little late in the season for them now, you'll only get 4 months of growing time out of them.

Sadly we only have two local choices.

There are options to get them in from other states, have a look at Narrabri fish farm, they'll truck them to SA, but the postage can be a killer for smaller amounts of fish.

I've done some hunting around for goldfish though, and can point out a few cheaper places to get them from in Adelaide though.

Great idea Koala. That way you can follow the IBC of Aquaponics (on menu at top) and you wont go wrong.
The critical issues are learning to keep the water parameters in an acceptable range for the fish you want to eventually raise. Going in to spring in SA you should easily be able to get a basic fish and vegie bed going for the summer and be ready to expand late summer / early autumn for mark 2 project (perhaps a CHIFT-PIST).

if you go with goldfish then you can put in fish straight away and the fish will provide all you need to cycle.
the veg will just need a regular dose of power feed via watering can.

** the IBC Aquaponics 1xIBC can be quickly expanded to add a DWC, Dutch Bucket or PVC pipe setup to trial as well.

when you come to expand the IBC-Aq FT+GB easily become 1 grow bed and a sump for a larger system.
and you will have heaps of bacteria already in your media and FT water.

I seriously wonder how many new people we confuse with all the acronyms;
SLO, FT, GB, DWC, CHIFT-PIST (I still get confused with that one), AQ, AP, HP...

yeh I thought that but if you want to find a system via the search you have to basically use the acronym else you do not get any returns + I gave Koala 6 months to worry about that

Guess there is always the FAQ. viewforum.php?f=14

Yeah i get the acronyms, I've been watching rob bob and plenty of others on you tube for probably a year at least plus reading this forum and others.

Thanks colum (seen some of your vids too) and dlf.

I have been looking at a vertical pvc pipe garden as the system will be in front of a north facing shed wall so i think making the most of the vertical space will also help shade the shed and keep it cooler.

As you said dlf, plenty of time to play around once i have the basic setup going.

The IBC of Aquaponics setup will pretty much feed 2 grow beds,
so you will have that equivalent expansion to begin with even with just 1 IBC.

Lettuces etc are low feeders so you can easily add them in an extra bed/pipe/DWC.
And there are lots of good examples of PVC tubes etc to get inspiration from.

good luck Koala, experiment and enjoy [that is the most important part].