Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

righto here is the start of my system- using one of murrays sump pumps and a small pond pump as the return pump.
i have been flooding and draining by hand to wash the gravel, i figure the water with a bit of seaweed and all that gravel dust is great for my garden
i stall have to put a valve in to restrict flow get my float valve in the right place and clean out the duckweed and plants maybe before i start regular cycling. I'll also glu the joins up to the last bit and put a shelter over the grow bed.
first flood of the bed

the bed with a bit more gravel, the latice provides a bit of support i will glue up to the join th the left of the lattice

some of the spa pipes need filling! the top bucket is the sump and has the small pond pump in it, its only pushing a few meters

i tranfered the duckweed and other water plants over to feed and keep the water going for the fish (golds and feeder barra will go in when the weather is warmer) should i clean it all out before i start the system up?

the statue has the return water thru it and serves a dual purpose, keeps my better half happy- i was supposed to have it working as a fountain just after xmas!

with a little woodwork you could clad the system in a nice box and have it looking all ornate in a jiffy - then the missus will realy be happy with you

Oh, and thanks for sharing the pics

By the way, what size gravel are you using in the growbed?

5mm
it takes a bit to fill a space too just kept going back down the road....

Beeso - I hope 5mm doesn't prove to be too small. I am a bit concerned that my 10mm drainage gravel may be too small. Thing with drainage gravel is that it may be the 10mm (or 5mm) length ways, but often the width is significantly less. Space between stones (and therefore air to roots) may be less than optimum and there are the clogging issues on top of that.

I have similar concerns... keep us posted as to the progress (so keep a close eye on the drainage etc) as I would like to know how it pans out over the next few months...

I like the red bath! Very nice! Our baths are all boring colours (white, cream etc)

very 70's

Yeah, I love the red bath too, adds a bit of charm!

I think it would go marvellously with our combination of blue and terracotta carpets in the tank area!

besso- awsome work!!!
retro does it for me too but the over flowing bowl is the go!
Abundance...
She looks great.

Suddenly my system doesn't have enough boobs.

hahahahah!