Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi folks, another Newbie.

I've been doing all the regular reading of literature and the forum and am finally getting set-up. It would seem, not entirely in the conventional method. However from my experince, knowledge and age, I have decided to put together a system that seems, at least to me, to be something which will work and suit myn already established fish pond and waterfall feature of my back patio area.

Basically, I have a fish pond of 5000 to 6000 litre capcity, have setup 130litres of grow beds, with a depth of 100mm (being disused nursery trays from my previous life). For media I have used "quincan gravel", of which aquamad may be familiar. It is a volcanic scoria from the Atherton Tablelands and has been used in the local nursery trade for eons, especially for orchids, potting mixes and hyroponics. I am sure this depth will suit lettuce, herbs, strawberries, cauliflower, broccoli, etc. I have plans for tomatoes in deeper beds in my next stage of development.

Currently I have a few Goldfish, guppies and Pacific blue eyes swimming about, but have figured out that they won't produce enough nutrient for the vegies, so contemplate a weekly feed of maxicrop to assist growth, untill the system is fully self supporting. I feel I should be using Jade Perch, being edible and seems everybody loves them, except for the TROUT people. That will be at a later stage.

Current water temperature is about 22C. PH a bit low but will be adding shellgrit. How much and where do I put it Bye for now, John.

G'day mate.... welcome to the clan :-)

we need to see some pic's

Sounds Awsome thus far....

Welcome TJ... 6000L pond.... nice amount of water to start with...

But you're going to need way more than 130L of growbed filtration to filter the pond with any amount of fish in it...

As to the shell grit... people usually put it under the sump/tank/pond return... or buried in the growbed(s) under the inlet...

Doesn't really matter how much... as the buffering effect is self modulating... and like a slow release...

Thanks Rupert, I appreciate the input. So I should continue onto the next phase already. Plant up what I have and then expand.
Cheers, John.

If the ornamental pond is already well balanced with plants and fish, then adding a small grow bed will only improve the filtration but yes you might be a bit lean on nutrients to grow good veggies. If the pond requires regular water changes to keep things nice, then you probably will have enough nutrients to grow your veggies and adding the grow bed will not only improve your filtration but will reduce/eliminate your need for water changes.

Aquaponics is a bit different than an ornamental pond but they can co-exist as one system if you are creative.

As you start adding more fish, you will need wayyyyyyyyy more grow beds and most of us will recommend deeper grow beds but all sorts of things are possible. For every 3 kg of grown out fish you hope to have in the pond, you want about 100 liters of flood and drain gravel bed to support it along with sufficient pumping and aeration to keep the fish and water healthy.

Welcome
Glad to see another AP fan in Cairns... That makes 3 that I know of
Looking forward to seeing more about your system