Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey guys

i have grown in hydroponics previously last time i used coco/perlite and hand watered i grew lettuce,tomato and chilli plants but i'm looking to give this aquaponics a try

i have a external power point at the rear of my house but i'm unable to use it for the aquapoincs system (too risky of my dog's chewing live wires)

so i'm thinking about going solar powered

can some one point out some tips on what i will need or what will work in a sufficient size ie: panel size, battery size, pump size

looking to use one of the 1000L water IBC tanks with a standard hydroponic flood and drain fittings

Thanks for any help i will be sure to post up pictures

Welcome to the forum Barramundi .

I'd recommend using the 240V house supply for your main pump, and having a solar powered backup. Just run your power cord through a protective poly or PVC tube so that the dog can't access it. Make sure you have an RCD circuit breaker fitted to the circuit- not only in case the dog bites a live wire, but also for the protection of the fish and anyone who puts their arm in the water. If there isn't one in the switchboard, then use one on the power point, as found in safety switch power boards etc.

It isn't really possible to say what you will need in the way of solar panels, battery or pump without knowing how much water you want to be pumping per hour, what the dynamic head is, on and off times etc, and also where you are located, as different places have different average daily amounts of sunshine and different length cloudy periods, and if there are any problems with shading of panels etc.

Thank's for the speedy replies

I think i may have the power sorted last night i got out the tape measure and if i use a fountain or pond pump with the standard 10 meters of cable attached i will just be able to use this

The power cable will need to run from my power point up to the roof, along the back of the house than cross from the roof to the top of my fence than run along the top of the fence and down into my IBC container

The only thing is my power point is right above our dogs kennel and two of our staffies love climbing up on the kennel and i think the girl dog may just chew the wire hanging out of the power point

At least put a protective guard around the PP to keep the dogs away. Do you have RCD type circuit breakers? They will save a dog from being electrocuted- our dog chewed through a live cord and tripped the breaker, and survived with no apparent ill effects.

Unless the cord is UV rated, when it is exposed to the sun for extended periods it will deteriorate and the outer insulation will become brittle and crack within a year or 2.
Are you going to run an air pump, and how will you power it?

Hi i had a dedicated 15A line ran to the outside of my house in the back yard the work was done by Jim's Electrician just like the Jim's Mowing... they did install a breaker so i am lucky for that

I now plan on running the cable thru the whole length of 20mm conduit but i didn't really think about running the two pumps, i am still up in the air if i want to go the DIY drainage with auto siphon and run the pump 24/7 or put it on a timer and use commercially made flood and drain fittings

If i was the run the pump 24/7 with auto siphon drainage will this be enough to aerate the water?

I have no problems setting up a air pump just i never took it into consideration and I'm unsure how u guys and ladies are running your dry gear 240v gear outside in all weather conditions, i did see a guy on youtube last night who was running the solar panel who used a "dry box" maybe this is something to think about for me some sort of clip on waterproof UV proof container from bunnings

Most importantly i need to fence off the auqaponics system

What fish are people putting into these systems? i would love some Australian Bass or natives that wont need a heater and can tolerate the summer and winter water temperatures

F&D with standpipes and the water pumps on timers is what I use. 'Problems with syphons' or similar is one of the most popular topics of discussion on BYAP

Re aeration- for low stocking densities you can sometimes get away without it, but I always run aeration + I have backup solar powered 12V air pumps, for rainbow trout. If your water pump fails and you have no dedicated air pump, fish deaths wont be far away.

Steel switchboard boxes are good for putting 240V gear in- power boards, pumps, timers etc, but they are expensive, or you may be able to find some suitable less expensive plastic waterproof boxes.

I'm in Sydney so our power is pretty reliable i should be safe running the two pumps, i recently had Silver Perch in my aquarium they were very aggressive but i see they are the only native that i can keep in my location, do u have any personal experience with SP? maybe the bigger tank will make them less aggressive

I really don't like my fish chasing each other around my aquarium i currently have one Barramundi and a Bass in together and the Barra is starting to see the Bass as a quick meal rather than a companion

I love the nature of the Barra very slow and relaxed with other fish it's size i would really like to put the Barra in my aquaponic's system but heating the tank would cost a fortune

So i think im down to either Gold Fish or Silver Perch

Hi Barramundi.

If you want to go with a native option...

Silver Perch are a great fish to start out with... wide temperature tolerance and fairly hardy too. They're not fast growing... but you should be able to start eating them after about 12 to 18 months. They taste great in a smoker.

Bass are on my list for the future... apparently great fun to keep... but very slow growing from all reports.

Jade Perch are easy to keep and fast growing (taste great too). But you would need to be in the warmer parts of NSW - or use a heater.

Murray cod have wide temperature tolerance and potential to grow quickly... I've just taken delivery of 20 of them. But they seem to be a bit tricky to keep in aquaponics... probably not a good choice to start out with.

Other native options include golden perch... but they seem to be very tricky to keep.

Don't forget tandanus tandanus... the native eel tailed catfish. They're tough and have good temperature range (mine are still eating well in our current cold spell) and good fun to watch feeding... not very fast growing but apparently very tasty.

Ok i just tried to upload pictures of my power outlet and my back yard, i have chosen a new location for the tank and i may just buy 2 tanks now but the down side is the aquaponic tanks will be 35 meters from the power outlet (running the power along the top of the fence)

I will go with Silver Perch there is a guy on Gumtree selling fingerlings in Newcastle that's around 3 hours drive

What size water pump am i looking for, for each tank?

IBC FTs? How many and what volume GBs? Are you planning on running sump tank(s)? How is it all going to be arranged?

I'm not sure what FTs GBs mean i plan on cutting a lid off of each tank and running it over the top of each tank, i will be using pots instead of filling the whole try with expanded clay and i will be using the readily bought flood and drain fittings

i'm thinking about going 10-12 fingerlings in each tank

I plan on following this lady

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFM7J_TpTU

FT = fish tank
GB = grow bed

If you are not using any expanded clay or similar, what sort of filtration are you going to use? The bacterial colony needs a large surface area on which to establish, to process the Ammonia. Starting out, you'd generally want 25 litres or more of wet clay/gravel etc as GB media per fish, which hosts the bacteria and filters out solids

It might be a good idea to have a look through the IBC of aquaponics linked at the top of this page to see what others are doing.

Awesome thanks for those tips, i see the GB depth needs to be 300mm deep

I was under the assumption the pumps filter would hold the good bacteria but now u made it clear its actually the growing medium that holds it, makes sense

So it is looking like 10 fish and 5 bags of expanded clay per GB I'm OK with that

Now the medium is gravel a cheaper alternative? i have previously used expanded clay in various hydroponic systems (Aeroponics,Recirculating Systems,DWC) but not on this scale I'm talking a few litres but these GB's will require 250 litres each

Now i just read something about 2-1 is this the GB depth to water level? i think it is, i was planning on just filling up the FT so lucky i seen this

What kind of aerators are we talking here the standard aquarium air pumps or the more rugged type that look like a car tire inflater?