Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

At my school though years 9-10 we are told to complete a project that we have an interest in. Aquaponics is what I chose. My plan is to use my old spa (around 1800L) as a reservior and 1 and a half IBC tanks as grow beds (the tank that i have already got I got for $15 with the top missing) I am planning to use a mix to expanded clay and gravel as my media

I am just joining this forum to see if anyone has any useful tips from experience that they would be willing to share, or knows possibly where to get discounted prices on certain items (IBC's, expanded clay, fish, ect)
We are told to use as many sources as we can and personal experience is a criteria that I lack at.


Many thanks in advance,
Stefan

Hi Stefan... and welcome to the forum. I'm a beginner so I can give you some tips about how to get started... but you'll find plenty of experts here who give great support.

You should do heaps of reading on this forum (using the search tool) before you buy anything or do too much planning. I can't give you tips on discounts in Perth but following are some things worth reading up on or things I wish I'd done differently.

Cycling... I did fishless cycling and it's not as difficult as it first seems - just needs a bit of patience. Read about the various bacteria that convert fish waste to fertiliser.
Grow Bed to fish tank volume ratios. My fish tank is too big for my grow bed. There's a bit of flexibility but wish I'd set up with something closer to a 1:1 ratio.
Get your bell syphon right from the start (if you're doing flood and drain)... mine's too small so I struggle to get enough water through my grow bed. There are plenty of designs in the forum and on the net. They're easy to make or you can buy them.
Stocking ratios. Don't be tempted to buy too many fish... I did and now I'm having to give fish away. it's amazing how few fish can keep so many plants healthy. Again, there are heaps of posts with advice on this.
Choice of fish is important... I started with silver perch which grow a bit slowly but are pretty tough so good for beginners. All of mine are going strong after nearly a year. Some people use goldfish (particularly if you don't want to eat the fish eventually). I know people in Perth are raising barra... but I think they aren't beginners like us.
pH and buffer (alkalinity) management... I took a long time to understand this and I'm still learning. Don't be tempted to buy chemicals from pool shops or pet stores. What you need is in most hardware stores or online. But what I've learned the hard way, is that it's best not to be constantly testing the system and trying to change the pH and buffer - it tends to settle down and find its own level after a while and the fish and plants (and good bacteria) are pretty resilient anyway.
pumps... get one a bit stronger than you think you'll need... you might end up having to add more growbeds and it's always helpful to have some of the extra water flowing straight back into your fish tank... creates water movement and oxygenation

that list is only a start and I'm sure I've left some important things out. But I reckon you've picked a great project... you'll learn about plant management, fish biology, water hydrology (all about the science of water flow), a little bit of plumbing, water chemistry. It's fun feeding the fish (the silver perch really go off when the pellets hit the water) and the plants taste great.

When you've done your reading and worked out a rough design for your system, you should post it here... with a rough diagram or description of how things are connected up, the volumes of your tank and grow beds, the size of the pipes you plan to use, the size of the pump and how many fish you plan to have. You'll find you get some good advice... I'm confident of that, because I did.

Good luck

Have a chat to Jayendra:
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=19153

He's a school teacher, and has an aquaponic class, where they are making all the different systems. He might be able to give you a few pointers in it school wise

Hi Stefan,

You are welcome to some of my goldfish (they are already living outside), and I probably have some plumbing bits and pieces and some PVC pipe you can have too.

Also, Earthbound (Joel) is selling his house and getting rid of lots of stuff (he has a system for free listed today!!!), so send him a message and see if he can maybe help you out too. Joel used to own Backyard Aquaponics in Jandakot so he's about as knowledgeable as they come

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2

Oh and I forgot, I totally have some gravel too. Much cheaper than expanded clay. Much much much actually, since you can have it for free

Hi Stefan, I to have some gravel/expanded clay mix and goldfish you could have.

I live near Kalamunda.

Thanks everyone for the support, I just thourght I might add a bit more detail about my plan.

My spa is located approx. 25 metres from where I have my grow beds (any half inch poly pipinng would be extremely helpful)
The spa is 2 metres lower than the grow beds so that the water will flow back. What I've got is a 13,000 LPH dirty/clean water pump which will pump to a reservior near the tanks (ive got a 600L tank) from there, there will be a 5000 LPH pump that will be pumping the water to my grow beds. I was planning on using a constant flow system (im not sure if thats the right terminology, if not what I was going ot be doing is having multiple water input points which fill up the grow bed and drain out a pipe in the top). As for fish I was thinking of using a mixture of goldfish and silver pearch, silver pearch for eventually eating and the goldfish purley for the nutrient purpose. (Any fish would also be greatly appreciated).

I was talking to a family friend who also operates an aquaponics system and she reccomended using Seasol (the seaweed concentrate) apparently this is beinficial to bothe the plants and the fish? Just wanting to get some more information with that.

Also fish feed, is there a specific type I should be using? (high protein?)

With the media, is it best to have a mixture or have it layered - top 10 cm of the bed expanded clay and the rest gravel or 60/30 mixed?

I'll be sure to put up some photos once the system gets up and running.

Thanks for the ongoing support,
Stefan