Hi everyone I am Herb Johnson and I have been growing plants since I was i very young I am now 32 years old and have a bonsai and orchid collection and have been growing herbs and fruit using hydroponics for the past eight years both indoors and out, but I am very new to aquaponics. Over the past few years I have wanted to stop using chemicals in my hydroponic systems and have got to the point where I realize it is not possible to produce solely organic crops using hydroponics and it is very time consuming. Also with the cost of power rising I want a sustainable way to grow, this is why I turn to aquaponics.
I have set up a trial system using a fish tank (approx 300L) with 4 gold fish and about 50 guppies I have a simple gravity system constant flow running and have a few herbs such as basil , chives & a tomato.
I am constructing a larger system, I call it the IBC system on steroids, I am using A 2200L rain water tank with the top cut off which will be used as the grow bed,I also want to construct a further two grow areas, a vertical garden,and a two meter long grow bed all of which will run from the 2200L tank.This will take up all the free space left in my small rental property.
How do you achieve optimal growth out of a system with so many variables.
How do you provide both the plants and the fish with optimal growing conditions 
. I want to achieve great crops and delicious fish.Can this be achieved or is it one or the other? Thanks
Herb Johnson.
