Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey everybody, just wanted to drop in and say hi, i've been bitten hard by the aquaponics bug! I currently have a barrel system that's been running for 2 months, i'll upload some pics once i get them off facebook & instagram

Welcome aquatexokie! Can't wait to see.

My brand new setup back on May 10th


First plants, in pea gravel with roughly 30 goldfish and 2 koi


I found i couldn't keep my systems pH below 8 because of the limestone content in the gravel, and after a while it killed my green beans and a beautiful zucchini plant.

Swapped the gravel out for hydroton and supplemented with chelated iron, no problems since :-)


And here I finally see my Roma tomato starting to set some fruit!

Hi,
I just joined this forum and was so excited to see someone else from Guymon on here. My husband and I just moved here two months ago and we are working on our AP system. I'm getting involved with the community garden in town and the goal is after we get our system going we are going to set one up at the community garden.

I tried to message you but the forum won't let me since I just joined. I'll put up our new member intro shortly.

Hey, how cool is that? That makes 3 in the area that are into hydro/aquaponics that I know of... Well I'll send you a pm, I'd love to geek out on this stuff with y'all :-) My system isn't anything too impressive but it sure expanded since this post lol

@aquatexokie - Hi and welcome to the forum, is that mint in the GB? You might want to take the mint out from your gravel bed and set up and independent place just for it. It is very invasive and will take up a lot of planting area as well as cause blockage to plumbing if not maintained. Others had claimed being not able to get rid of it when it established itself into their beds.

Regards

Yes @Curious that's exactly right. This was my system from last year (as was this post) and although I didn't have too much trouble with it, I did come to the conclusion that the mint was taking over the bed, and other than for making mojitos, I didn't have much use for mint, so I pulled it.
These days the volume of my system has gone up from a 55 gal drum to a couple IBC totes CHOP2 setup, approx. 400 gallons. I'm not sure if I ever posted about it, either way I'm due for an update

@aquatexokie - Should really start paying attention to dates of post. Sorry about that, and i agree, update please.

I run a separate PVC pipe for my mints. Used them for mojitos too. If you are adventurous, you can use them with beer too. (there is also a malaysian recipe for mint soup)

Throw some bruised mint and one bruised chili pepper (verity depends on how hot you want it) into a glass/mug and fill up with your choice of beer. (I find bitters work well.) And if you like them more refreshing, steep the chili and mint in a common syrup recipe then add the syrup to a lighter beer. (augment the amount of sugar, chili and mint according to taste and serving amount.)

Regards

Hey! Just wanted to say hello and welcome. I'm not from Guymon but i spent about 6 months up there working for Tricounty

Thanks TX, that's cool. Guymon's not that great a place to live but it could be way worse... I'm originally from Texas (in case my handle didn't give it away), from Seminole (west Texas). Also not an overly good/bad place to live
@Curious thanks for that recipe, I'm definitely interested to try that. I might just have to plant some mint now (in a separate container of course)

@aquatexokie - Oh, i forgot to mention if you like some tang to it, you can always add some lime/lemon juice and rinds to add additional flavor/taste.

Regards