Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Reckon that patch of dirt/lawn where you've got the growbeds laid out is just crying out to become an AP system space Kenour..... save bloomin mowing it as well

Yep! That's where they're going If you have a look in the photo with the pond, the growbeds are in the top right. Good old gravity will be doing most of the work for me

do we accept labradors for scale?

To meet a lot of apers go to jims at bunniong on the 20 th

hahaha, yep! They jump in ANYTHING that looks like it'll have water in it



Yeah I was hoping to get out there one day! A good mate of mine actually showed Jim how to post photo's on this forum I was bloody stunned when I said to him 'I'm setting up a system like hydroponics with a fishpond' and my mate said 'you mean aquaponics idiot'... I was speechless! Then he told me that his boss's brother does it out in Bunny, and that's how he knew about it. I mean most people haven't a clue about AP, they just give you a blank stare So I move straight to the description before the name

Ok, so I'm just about to wreck 4 perfectly good troughs by drilling 50mm holes in them Just wondering with the drain hole/overflow thing (I've purchased what I think is the cheapest way to do it) where to put the holes, now the idea is to have a slow drain after the flood right, so a couple of small holes down the bottom should do. So if I drill a couple of 6mm holes on either side of this thing where indicated in the pic, that should work aye Just double checking

The cheapest may cause issues in the long run though. I'd suggest putting in a standard drain fitting and having a removable standpipe. One of the most regular maintenance items in my systems is to pull out the standpipe and remove the roots that have grown through the outer pipe and into the two small holes in the stand pipe. I tend to do that once a week or once a fortnight.

If your standpipe is bolted into your growbed you have to try and find another way to clean them, and it won't be as easy..

I agree with EB. I have the same standpipes as you olny in 40 mm. My pipes can not be taken out. So cleaning is an issue. But if you do go with your current proposal....I have drilled 2 x 6mm holes in the same place as you have suggested. With my system I found the drain cycle was to fast and made the flood cycle to long. I had to put an end cap on the drain in to my sump and drilled it with 9 x 6mm holes to slow down the draining, Now i get 45min drain and 35 min flood. Hope this helps.

AP

Hey BE,

The standpipe (top bit) pulls out, I've haven't glued it as I've heard of wandering roots being a problem At the moment it's just sitting in there (rather firmly) I planned on drilling the holes where I've got the bubble pointing (in the drain assembly) as it's pretty much the lowest spot I can (which is about 5mm off the bottom of the growbed). The growbeds will be sitting over 90mm storm water drains similar to this!. Back in an hour or so, just going to dig them in Scoria just arrived so I have everything I need (except the will to go back outside!).

Cheers, Kenny!

No worries, I'm not gluing, they fit very snug, so I'm just going to jam then in there so I can take them out for cleaning I've read somewhere not to glue anything in the growbed if you don't have to, and roots often go places they shouldn't!

So you're saying 2x6mm holes drained too fast for you? Oh bugger I was going to attempt a bell syphon, but thought I better keep it simple my first try (even thought a bell syphon seems pretty simple and very good idea to use in a AP system!). My little ebara can sure move some water, just hoping I can flood pretty quick then! I haven't drilled any holes in the pipes that fill the growbeds yet, I was going to do 6mm holes every 150~200 or so, maybe I should drill them closer so it floods faster? Dunno Got me worried now

There are 4 growbeds about as you can see, if anyone has suggestions on how far apart/how many holes I should put in the filly uppy pipes, I'm all ears!

You'll be able to fill the beds no worries with the ebara, and it will probably only take 5 minutes or so to fill them, thats about what mine take..

If you look half way down the following page you'll see what I'm talking about, this method allows you to lift out the whole stand pipe and check that the holes are free flowing. Then you basically throw the standpipe back in and it centres into the drain fitting beautifully. You can also adapt to a bell syphon without any problems, though keep in mind you can't run your pump continuously.

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... 5&start=30

Oh and the holes in your irrigation grid sound fine...

Hey Kenny, if that Scoria just arrived, you are washing it before you plant out the beds right? The damnable stuff has nasty clay fines that set like cement where they settle.
See my thread linked in my signature for more details, or the How do you clean your gravel thread

OH CRAP! Didn't see those fittings otherwise I would have gone that way! It's still not to late for me to take mine back as I haven't drilled anything yet! Where do you get the drain fittings from? They didn't have anything like that at midland irrigation in ballarat, would B have them? I'm about to shoot up to B for last minute stuff so I'll have a look!

SHHH! I was hoping if I didn't say anything/hear anything/think about it, it'd wash itself!!! This is the part I'm not looking forward too I got it dumped on a tarp out the front of my house, and just planned to hose it down as it's right near a storm water drain Just going to whack up a make shift sleeper frame around the tarp, spread it out, and hit it with the hose