Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all, great forum here and lots of helpful people which is nice. I hope in time that I can give something back, once I've completed my Jedi training.

I've had small vegie gardens in previous homes but we recently moved to acreage on the Mornington Peninsula (45 mins from Melb) and I'm keen to have a go at AP. It all looks/sounds like great fun, so I'm up for the challenge!

We have 90,000L of water tanks plus mains water, a small damn and we recently installed a 5.4kW PV system which should keep electricity costs down during the day.

At the moment I'm planning CHIFT PIST using a 1000L FT with 1-2 grow beds and yabbies in the sump. I'll probably add a few smaller tanks to separate the yabbies. I'm selling this whole idea to my wife on the basis that we'll have unlimited basil, coriander, chilli and tomatoes in the middle of winter. And lovely fresh fish once a week after it's established.

I was going to use IBCs after I found a place selling them for $60 but I haven't asked whether they're food safe yet. Then I thought more long term that I won't have a lot of spare time to muck around so rather than having to replace or upgrade the IBCs later, I might buy poly tanks to start with - at least for the fish tank and sump.

I have a quote from polymaster for their 1000L tank with tapered base for $902 + $132 delivery to Tullamarine. Seems reasonable I suppose. Are there any cheaper options available in VIC?

What about using circular grow beds or sump tanks, apart from the extra space required? For the GB, Polymaster has a 250L tank for $189 which is 420mm high (1st pic below) and a 500L tank for $295 which could be suitable as a sump - 2nd pic below. I'd need to make a lid for the sump, which is easy enough.

I'm yet to get my head completely around the plumbing side of things, but I'll post my questions in the relevant forum sections. Looking forward to starting my build thread!

Hi Sammo, welcome to the forum.
Congratulations, sounds like a nice property you have. I prefer round fish tanks as I like to see the water circulating and the fish swimming against it, and I think ibc growbeds should last more than just a few years if they are protected from sunlight. Have a look at poly water tanks, for way less than $900 you could get a 5000L one,cut it horizontally and have two tanks of 2,500L or one 3000L and use the top as a growbed. Or even keep an eye on gumtree, you could pick up a good used aquaculture tank for less than $900. I would go a little bigger anyway with tank and growbeds, if you want, for example, 50 good size trout per season and plenty of veges. Cheers and all the best with it, aquaponics is addictive and lots of fun.

Hi Sammo. Welcome to AP addiction
Some random suggestions...
Build your pipework and sump tank bigger, way bigger than you think to accommodate inevitable expansions.
Plan your initial build to easily fit in additions.
Read the 'oft repeated rules of thumb' thread for fish stocking rates and growbed ratios etc.
You need AT LEAST 25 litres of wet media per fish for biofiltration, so make your growbeds big enough to save you and your fish from grief down the track.
Allow sufficient headspace in your beds and tank for the water to backup a bit - don't sail too close to the wind with levels.
If you want tomatoes in winter, you will need a greenhouse.
Have lots of fun and post lots of photos

Thanks guys. I looked at poly water tanks and spoke to a local supplier but they shared my concerns about ruining the structural integrity of enclosed water tanks when cutting in half. I suppose there's a reason why open topped tanks are more expensive - more strength and therefore material required? Plus the good aquaculture tanks have a sloped floor, moulded base, etc.

I have a few searches saved on eBay/gumtree. This one's a bargain but too far away.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/pindimar/building-materials/5000-litre-duraplas-aquaculture-tanks/1069014846

joc, I'm planning a greenhouse, just trying to work out the best position as we have a lot of trees and a few buildings on the block. The ideal position is 50m from the house and 240v power.

Thanks for the advice!

Thought I'd share some footage of my rainbow trout feeding. I released 20 into our dam about 4 weeks ago. I can't wait for these guys to fatten up!