Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,
I've been reading the forums for a few weeks now and will be setting up a proof of concept setup when I get back from vacation next month. If all goes well I will be setting up a larger system next spring. I attached a pdf of what I would like to do in relation to my house.

Basic:
I would like to keep the system as low cost and as simple as possible. I am planning on using 4 14 gallon rubbermaid containers. 2 for grow beds, 1 for the fish, and 1 for a reservoir. I plan to use a siphon on the grow beds, gravity to the fish, then gravity to the reservoir where it will pump back to the grow beds. I'm located in the suburbs of Atlanta, GA USA.

Pump:
I would also, like to run the pump off of a battery/solar setup. I need suggestions for a dc pump (I guess I could use an inverter) also, I was thinking of running it 50% of the time to decrease my power needs (smaller solar setup) is there a timer that will turn on and off every 15 min or so?

Fish/Plants:
goldfish and lettuce

Other:
I'm a little worried about sunshine. I have small vegetable garden, but I feel the wall next to it is blocking too much sun. I plan to put the grow beds on top of the wall for more sun, but my house and my neighbors house will still block a lot of sun.

Any suggestions, recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

hmmm I can't see the attachment. how about this.

sigh...sorry, I wish I could edit/delete

If you want to run off solar and battery, that is going to be your big cost on this system. Getting enough Amp Hours stored to keep the system ticking over over night and when there isn't much sun.

You can get little 12 volt bilge pumps from boating places but they usually don't have a hole lot of head.

I do have one suggestion on the layout, don't put a reservoir after the fish tank, It will only serve to collect lots of gunk that a little pump is not likely to suck out. You may be better off getting a larger bin for the fish tank or connecting the fish tank and reservoir bin together at the same level to give you two fish tanks. This way the fish can help stir the gunk so that the pump is more likely to suck it up.

With just gold fish, you can probably get away with quite a lot since they are tough. Otherwise I would suggest that you need an air bubbler to run when a pump is not. That would require more electricity. One way you might save on electricity might be to minimize the water pump run time at night and just run air at night.

If you are going to go with a timer, you probably don't need siphons. Pros with timer and slow drain are that you are not running the electricity all the time. Drawback is that you may need a slightly larger pump to flood the grow beds in the amount of time. If you want to run a very small pump all the time, then you do need the siphons.

With lettuce, you don't need a huge amount of direct sun, so long as the location gets lots of bright filtered light, the lettuce should be grand. However, in your location, summer tends to be a bit hot for lettuce.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing your thread in the Member Systems!!!!

I did some calcs on the solar and for now I think I will run off of ac, just too expensive to get the thing running at night. I'll just have to unplug it to mow part of my lawn Do you usually put the pump in the fish tank? Any suggestions on heat tolerant vegetables. Also, do you wash off the roots when you buy the seedlings (or how do you start the plants)?

Thanks

Finally, a neighbor! And to think I almost didn't read this thread

Pump typically goes into the fish tank or the sump tank if you have one.

Always happy to help an ATLien

Cool, glad there is someone local. What will it cost me to take you on a shopping trip? Is there anything I can't get at Home Depot?

Most people do wash off the dirt or potting mix from the roots of purchased seedlings. They don't have to be perfectly clean though, I usually just dunk them in a bucket of water to get most of the dirt off.

Heat tolerant, Okra, tomatoes, Melons, Beans, Peppers, Eggplant, Cucumbers, Squash, pumpkins, zuchini, there are many more. Most of these want a fair bit of space and sun though. You might be best off trying some herbs in a starter system. Basil and parsley seem to be doing great in my system. A cherry tomato could be trained up into the sun. Come fall you could do peas and lettuce in the cooler weather.

Yes, you can get everything at HD. As far as my pricing goes, a burger for lunch would do it since I'm a cheap date.