Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm finally making progress on my second system, a small set up on my south-facing front porch (northern hemisphere).

Here's where the system will be:

The pic is to the east.

I'll be using two 55gal fishtanks, one for the FT, one for a sump, and hopefully duckweed production.

Constructing the growbed stands:


Gravel! Jones for scale:


And the washing of the gravel...


Growbeds - the barrels were white, so I spraypainted them black:


Rest for the weary:


I also started a dirt garden, using http://www.squarefootgardening.com:

Before you tell me I have to wack my weeds, I'm letting the milkweed grow for the butterflies.

The weather has been beautiful here, so I've been taking advantage of it for this. I have lots to do inside, but hopefully it'll rain soon...

Looks like a great sunny porch for your system.

I have a square foot garden too, it is where most of my homegrown veggies come from. I tell my wife Im leting the weeds grow so the chickens have something to eat when I get around to building a chicken tractor.

Didnt know they had small cars in america

Toes (sort of), dog... and gravel.... you have made Les a very happy man Karen

oddball Rupert, where are the toes? Or are you just teasing Les again?

Think he was referring to the dog paws J...Rope is a bit kinky like that

OBO, there is still a small thread of sanity in this country. Not much, and it's hard to find, but it's there.

I'm sure I'll accidentally get toes in a pic sooner or later...

I've done a lot more work on this system!

Building the stands. No, I can't measure. Why do you ask?



Installing the growbeds:



Testing the water bridge. I gotta say, this is one of the coolest daily application of physics I've ever seen.
Added an air hose to suck air out of the bridge to prevent the siphon from breaking. Got that idea here, of course!
Yes, I built a better stand for the bridge...



Two growbeds (black-painted barrels) and the sump. Fish tank is to the left.
These siphons are tricky. About 1/2 of the time when I adjust them, a pipe pops loose. I have water all over this poor porch. Good thing there's no one here I need to please except myself (and a future realtor, if I ever sell...) I moved the sump over here under the GBs to simplify the water flow. My gutter system failed miserably. Too complex. KISS!



I also tried hose siphons, but they tended to kink. Still trying to decide which to use.



And, of course, the washing of the gravel:
(When the grocery delivery business I use went belly-up, I made a big order. They left the green totes. I can make good use of those...
Hmmm...a third system... )



In reality, I only washed about a fourth of the gravel. I'm hoping it'll settle out. But because of that, I ran the system a few times (adjusting the siphons), and then changed the water.
(I'm kinda proud of this shot, with the water ripples. I suck as a photographer with a digicam. With film I'm decent. But who wants to bother these days for quick pics?)
You can kinda see the better stand for the water bridge here.



Jones looks on, wondering WTF I'm doing...



Putting it all together:



I need to re-seal the siphon outlets in the growbeds, then I'm ready to start cycling. I'll add a bunch of gravel/hydrodon from my basement system, and hopefully I'll be on my way to cycled by the time I get tilapia fry from GotFish? in a few weeks.

I look at this, and think two things. 1) Wow! 2) What a slob I am. I've been admiring how clean and neat many of the systems look, and mine look like the saws were run by my ferrets. On caffeine. Hopefully I can neaten it up later...

More pics on flickr, but those are the main ones. I got a little camera happy...

Dont worry about being messy - more of a rustic look.

Great looking benches and good use of space. I'm thinking it must get cold up your way for it to be inside.

Think of it as....lots of experience gained for the next system

and I'll accept that an attempt was made at gravel washing - well done Swanberg

OBO - you always know the right thing to say.

Gilly - Up here in the northern U.S., it regularly gets to -30C in the winter, and 35C in the summer. We're having a cool summer this year, and it's been mostly around 30C. This porch is a "three-season porch" which means it's enclosed but not insulated. So I don't expect much out of it this year, mostly lettuce etc. Next year I should be able to grow "real" veggies.

EllKayBee - I am definitely learning so much with each system! This is such a integrated system, there's so much to learn! This forum has been invaluable, and I'm trying to show my mistakes as well for others to learn from me.
I literally am planning my third system. This was going to be my quarantine system, but now I'm going to need one of those again.

Re: gravel, I did try. But my back is iffy, and I can't risk throwing it out right now. :-\

Oh, and I've been meaning to tell you. I was at a big hardware/farm store, wandering around looking for things to use for AP. And I nearly walked up to a salesperson and ask "Where are your Gates of Ell?" I stopped myself just in time...

ROFPML

Garrr. Can't get my siphons working correctly. Either they won't start, or they won't stop. *fiddle* *fiddle*