Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello to everyone. I've been lurking for 5 months or so. First, I'd like to say "Thank you" to everyone here. I've learned a lot...and even have had some good laughs.

I've gardened most of my life....learned from my Dad, Grandfathers and Uncles. In my younger days, I had fresh water aquariums. So I guess it was to be, sooner or later, the 2 came together.
About a dozen years ago, one of my new co-workers kept talking about 'wanting to' raisie prawns and growing tomatoes in a green house with the water from the fish. Everyone else thought the guy was out there some where..... I guess he planted the 'aquaponic seed'....I thought it sounded cool.

I've got a pretty good start of a system in the backyard. It's a basic CHIFT PIST. My FT is aprox 515 gals / 1950 ltrs. The sumps are about 1/2 of that. I don't have enough GB's yet, so I have added 2 bio-filters to start.
The only fish out there, are about 30 goldfish. They started inside, in my 55 gal / 208 ltr tank, to help it cycle.
Inside I have aprox 50 tilapia....the biggest getting close to 5 inches/ 127 mm. I swear, everyday they look bigger. They'll be outside soon. Our weather should be warming soon. It's been an unusually cold winter, for central Florida.
Plus, I'm trying to decide how to keep them from breeding in the 'outdoor tank'. Two thoughts....one, to suspend a net, a few inches / 50mm off the bottom of the entire FT. Second, is to make a few cages, with the cages' bottoms, up off the bottom of the FT. The cages would help me to grade/size the fish. Plus, if the cages were off the bottom 'enough'....I was thinking of throwing in some channel catfish too.

What size, of netting, should the cages bottoms be ? I want it small enogh ,so very small fingerlings couldn't get out, but, big enough for eggs to fall through.....?

SORRY, the pictures are not the best....I only have a camera phone to take digital pictures.

The barrel in the fore ground is one of the bio-filters. The barrel towards the back, is my swirl filter/ solids separator. The Ft's water flows into it before going to the GB's.


FT is 32 inches/ 813mm deep. It has a EDPM liner


These started as the FT and sump...now both are the sumps.


Experiminting with rafts....


Experiminting with plant modules....

Welcome David I like your stuff!

You can attach the full-sized images to your posts as long as they are below like 200KB or so.

nice I was thinking about ways to use those feed troughs. Nice setup.

Hi David.

Thanks for the welcome guys !
Machineman, If you do use the feed troughs......they tend to bow under load. Some wood bracing across the metal support helps.

Hay there David, Welcome!!!!!

I've got some cages. How big is the fish tank?

Hey David, nice lookin setup you have there.

Hi TC, 'Wow', thanks for the offer.... The inside measure is 32" x 32" x 9' (813mm x 813mm x 2.75 mtr)

Thanks Stucco...I bet some of it even looks real familiar !.....

A BIG "THANKS" to Stucco and his wife, they were nice enough to give me their starter system. Also , A BIG "THANKS" to TC, She was nice enough to share some of her tilapia

You know what I really love about this forum "is how people get to share their knowledge and help out other people".
Nice work to all involved.
Thanks for sharing Longtime lurker-AKA David.

Hum, I got one tiny cage that would fit in there (too small for more than a few fish to grow out though) but I kinda doubt either of my larger cages is that narrow. I put a measuring tape to the medium one and let you know. Perhaps you could re-build one of them to fit though and you would have some extra netting for whatever use then.

The netting I have, I got from Aquatic Eco Systems and it is big enough to allow pretty good flow through it and small enough that tilapia about an inch long probably can't swim through it. Openings are perhaps almost 1/4".

I definitely recommend getting some Catfish if you like catfish. They can survive winters here unprotected (so long as they are not teeny tiny fingerlings.) The Tilapia don't grow that fast unless you keep their water very warm and then only the males grow really fast. The catfish can grow really big and are easier to fillet. Only drawback I've found with the catfish is they are not nearly as easy to breed your own.

Thanks TC !... I'm guessing the frame work is pvc pipe (?) If it is....I can easily re-size them to fit.
I'll send you a "PM" pretty soon. 'Thanks again'

Good old Murphy....
It's a cold, rainy day with some wind blowing. I walk into the kitchen to get another nice hot cup of coffee. I'm standing there, sipping on it.... thinking I'm glad I don't have to go out today. As I'm thinking this.....I look out the window, at my system. I can see part of the smaller sump, where the 2 pumps are....I don't see any water !
So there I go, out into the cold rain. Both pumps were running....they are still in water. I look around real quick, for any good size leaks. Then I notice the primary sump ( the large one with the goldies in it) is completely full and over running....?... So, I go over and pull the slo-drain out of the bulkhead fitting. As I lift it up, I see the slots, that I had cut into it, was full of leaves.... . I had cut the bottom of the pvc at an angle....some water was still able to flow up the drain...but the leaves had stopped at least 1/2 of it. With all the wind we've had the last day or two...I had a lot of leaves in the sumps...
I took the slo-drain, and drilled some 1/2 inch (13mm) holes into the branch of the tee. My thoughts are...if the water ever gets that high again, it can flow into the holes. The top of the tee is open, but, it's above the rim of the sump.
Oh yeah, the rain stopped...after I was done.
Hope your day is going better....

My 'Cad' system was made in 1958....

So your "sump with goldfish" is really just another fish tank since you have it set up with the SLO drain and it can't really fluctuate with the other sump tank.

Yea, leaves kinda suck. Netting or shade cloth covers over the tanks can help with that.

...LOL. As of this moment, that's true

When I took the goldies out of my 55 gal/ 208 L aquarium, I couldn't believe how hard they were to catch. I was 'going to' put them in the actual FT. But, then I started to think about whether I wanted them 'with' the tilapia , in the future.....and how hard they were to catch.
SO....plan 'B', they went into the 'sump'....lol.

Right now, I have 2 pumps (working) in the 'smaller' sump. When I did all the underground pipe, I also ran 2 lines to the 'large' sump, for 'future' use. I do have 2 more pumps for the 'large' sump. They aren't hooked up yet.
1- I wanted redundancy with the pumps. I'll 'eventually' have them on timers and different electrical circuits.
2- As I have more 'fish load' and add more GB's, I can run more pumps to suit the 'flow' required.
3- I put the slo-drain in for a couple reasons. First, it was something to 'play with'....lol. Second, I was concerned whether the water flowing into the large one, would circulate all the water (?) I thought 'maybe' the flow would mostly be across the top 1/2 (of the water) as it went towards the drain, going to the smaller sump.
With the slo-drain added, I 'know' I'm picking up the 'potentially' stagnant water, off the bottom. The pick up is almost touching the bottom of the 'large' sump.
Plus...the goldfish occasionally like to go for a 'ride' up the slo-drain and into the smaller sump. It gives the little guys something to do and talk about...

I didn't 'plan on' having so many pumps...... ... I would like, to have 'just' 2, with each one, being able to cycle enough water 'by it's self'. Stucco was nice enough to give me one....plus , I know someone who raises Koi. He also, gave me several old pumps.
The 2 running right now, are giving me a water change, in the FT, of 1.4 times an hour.


I did get the covers made for the FT. They do have shade cloth over them.
I have more shade cloth, for covering the 2 sumps....just keep putting it off.... I have 'ground cover cloth' to put over the GB's. It will keep the light off the roots and keep the leaves out. It's on the TO-DO LIST, right next to the covers on the sumps......

I got to meet TCLynx today. Wow, lots of neat stuff to check out ! I'm sure I over-looked a lot..... Her and 'cook', are real nice folks !
She did help me out with a cage, to put into my FT. After a little adjustment...... I'll be able to get the tilpia out of the house.
"Thanks again"....TC and Cook.....