Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well I finally got my first system together and running. I did have a prototype going for a couple of months with a few fish and no plants. I'm going to start slowly (yeah right.....) and try to be patient before filling my greenhouse with GB's. I did use all the cycled gravel to start the new system so I'm making nitrates on the second day.

Here are some of the spec's:
CHIFT PIST
100 gallon Fish tank Overflows into a 50 gallon sump
4 - 1/2 barrel GB's F&D into 30 gallon sump. Pump has a float switch.
Using pea gravel. Is mostly limestone and I'll probably have to buffer a little.
I'm using a PIC microcontroller. GB's fill to level switch (or timer if switch isn't seen) and then stay off for 30 minutes before starting the next cycle.

After two days:
water temp - 75(24c)
ph - 7.6
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrites - .25
Nitrates - 5-10

I put a few plants in just to get a feel for starting them. I've never planted anything in gravel before so it felt a little funny....

Here are some pic's:

Some more pics.

I like it.

Nice and tidy!

Nice work. I remember planting those first items into the gravel... very strange. And, then dropping seeds into the water in hopes they'd sprout. We have almost two months of growth and it is amazing.

The plumbing looks great, artistic too!
I love the linked loop syphons.
Keep it up, it is great
The water return to the tank on the top like that is really good too.

Felt good though right?

Yes Dave it did feel good!!

That looks like some good aeration!

Great stuff JazzPlayer.... like those loop siphon arrangements

My FT sump is starting to get some algae growing. Should I not be worried about it or is this going to be a problem. I've got Tilapia. Should I brush the algae off the sides and let it pump into the Fish Tank?

The Tilapia will graze on the algae when they're a bit peckish JazzPlayer

Hi Mark,
Good to see you got your thread started!

I just noticed (by flashlight) a little algae growing in the media right around the inlet to my grow beds on my system.

There are three ways that algae is usually a problem. 1 if it is stripping the water of O2 overnight, causing a buildup of CO2. This can leave you fish gasping in the morning and cause pH issues if there isn't enough buffering in the water. 2 The algae can use a lot of the nutrients you would rater have for your plants. 3 If it is like pea soup and you can't see you fish that can be a bummer.

I have most of my tank covered to keep excess light out as catfish like it kinda dark.

For tilapia, the algae could be an extra food source.

My FT is in a seperate building. It isn't covered(except this morning trying to keep a little heat in) but there is no direct sunlight on it. It's actually a little dark in the building most of the time. I'm not any algae in the FT but I know there is a little getting in because I can see a little green film on the gravel in my GB's right where the water comes in. I'm not going to worry about it yet. I did stir up some of the algae a couple of days ago and let the pump take it to the FT. I figured a little extra food wouldn't hurt.

Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been working a lot and making improvements(???) to my system. I'm finally getting some nitrates going and the few plants that I have are starting to show signs of growth. It's also just now warning up nicely here in Central Florida with day temps approaching 30c and the nights going down to only around 18c.

All my water readings have stabilized so I'm only checking every few days.

My readings are:

Ammonia. 0.0
PH 7.8
Nitrites 0.0
Nitrates 20-30
Water temp: 20 nightime --- 25 daytime.

Here are some recent pics: