Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey all, not sure if this is the right section for this

just got a few questions on aquaponics, i am a total newbie
so am basically going for a simple setup like the pic just got a few questions

would the setup in the picture be a good starting point, could I use the
auto siphon in the resevoir as a timer/delay before the grow bed is flooded, to
me if i have the auto siphon in the grow bed, it seems like the grow bed will
be filling up with water continously, which would make the flood and drain cycle
very frequent

or should i put the auto siphon in the grow bed itself, with the flood
and drain system wouldn't the grow beds never fully drain

and how often should the system be flooded then drained, like how long
should it take for the flood drain cycle to complete, I want to give time for aeration
but not sure how long to let it sit before flooding again, dont want to dry out those roots:)

thanks:)

I have been working all my beds on auto siphons and after doggidly sticking to auto siphons for near on 2 years am in the process of converting all my beds to flood and drain, with the pump on a 15 min on and 30 to 45 min off cycle...
A cheap timer is all you need to add and remove the reservoir - as for how quickly it drains, that is up to you - the size hole you drill in your overflow/drain pipe will determine how fast it drains.

You can do it either way.
With the header tank, you probably do get a more complete drain on the grow bed but it requires an extra tank. Or you can simply fill the grow bed and have the autosiphon there. Yes, the bed never fully drains but if the bed is not overly shallow, it doesn't seem to be a huge problem in my experience. That said, there are people here who have given up the auto siphons in favor of timer controlled flood and drain and believe their plants are doing better that way.

The amount of time it takes to flood and drain is related to the inflow rate into the bed, which will need to be balanced with the size of the siphon to get them to kick on/off properly.

Some of my beds flood and drain quite often, others take longer. The main concern is that the roots of the plants get enough O2. If there is enough O2 most plants can survive their roots being in water. If you make sure that the flood level in the grow bed stays below the level of the gravel, most plants will do fine. If the water comes up over the top of the gravel, you get yucky algae growth and some plants will have stem rot problems.

Thanks for the quick replies aquamad and TCLynx

It sounds like getting a power timer will be probably be a lot more
effective and more reliable than an autosiphon hopeuflly I can grab one cheap

and would you say depending on your grow medium the flood and drain times should differ, for example people using expanded clay would have much better water absorption compared to people using regular gravel ,Just curious as depending on my budget I may have to opt for a cheaper medium, i doo have some rockwool cubes i could mix into it to help though:)

Another question for ya:P If i plan on growing plants inside will I need to add some sort of full spectrum lighting or would it be ok if its close to window or skylight

I shall hit the hardware store tomorrow

thanks again

That would depend on the amount of light coming through during a typical day... The limited experience I have with skylights would indicate that as it was more diffused light it would not have helped much for plant growth...

I would say that it would... but only through some experimenting will your chosen medium reveal its characteristics - as for the rock wool, it has a history of going rotten I am told - never used it myself, just echoing what others have told me..
Try reading through this thread: http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=398 ... it may help in some way

if growing indoors, you probably will need extra lighting. I usually advise florescent grow lights that you have to place very close to your plants so you would need your plants to all be roughly the same height. Or you need to grow plants that don't mind low lighting conditions but then they probably won't use up much nutrients for you. It does depend on how much light really does come directly in the window.

As for media, I say go cheap! But before you do, you want to know what the gravel actually is. If you get limestone or marble, you may not have an easy time with your pH. Quartz based river rock won't affect your pH and that is what I went with here, it was also the cheapest and easiest to wash. The expanded clay is nice in that it is light and has lots of surface for bacteria but it is costly and gravel will work fine too. I've used big lava rock around my stand pipes and stuff to help keep the smaller gravel from getting in the pipes, lava rock has tons of surface area for bacteria and probably lots of micro nutrients too.

What is best for your area will probably depend on what's available near you.

BeanTurd (how did you know my surname ) the GBs could be flooded and drained once/day and the gravel would hold sufficient moisture for the plants to grow successfully...the water is pumped through the GBs to promote the bacteria and clean the water, the turnover of your fish water in the complete system should be once per hour (3 times/hour is the ideal)

This is all to do with balancing the system and each variable changed has a flow-on effect (water temp, pH, water clarity, ammo, nitrite, nitrate, minerals...etc )

Thanks all for the quick replies:) lots of people lurking around on this forum at all hours

and EllKayBee is beanturd your surname or just the bean part or the turd

Anyway I will probably end up buying some lights for my plants, Another thing I have been
wondering about is how deep should I burry my seeds or is it really up to me and where i want my water lvl to reach, and do most people start there aquaponic plants from seeds or a root system. Also when planting seeds how many should I plant in the same area , like 2 or 3 in one area or just a single seed.
I am a newbie gardener too so still got a lot to learn, only got into aquaponics because
my fish make such a mess of my tank I end up cleaning it every 2-3 days:).

Will be going to the hardware shop in a few hours time , will probably go bonkers and
go over budget

thanks all

welcome to our world! Soon you will begin to picture all manner of items being used in some way in your system.. such as the neighbour's kiddy pool

Oh no now you've given me idea's , haven't made it to the hardware shop yet but I will check
out how much they go for:) thanks for all the help



hehe thats good to know

...should have added, if you can see GB gravel then you haven't planted enough things...have a look at
Joel's Garden

Hi BT
I found the plants in the small bed on my aquarium prefer the quick cycle of auto-syphon to the 15 on, 45 off timer regime. The timer is easier to set up, but the regular gurgle,burp of the syphon is quite relaxing.
Too many plants is definitely better than not enough.. so put plenty in

Hey all, just got back from the hardware store and got all my bits and bobs

Only thing I found a problem was getting a good silicone sealant, Does anyone know of any
good brands of sealant or anything like that you can find at your local hardware shop or
bunnings, all I could seem to find was a sort of buteman rubber sort of sealant which
can take like 10 days to set which is a long time

I get a silicone from bunnings and Mitre 10 - its made by Selleys, labeled "GLASS", silicone sealant, Clear, for windows and AQUARIUMS.. but that is still a limited one as it will not work on certain metals etc... Just ask the 'helpful' staff at Bunnings or Mitre 10 for help... I got some good help from TradeLink.