Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Howdy out there,

My name is Jon, I'm a civil engineer by training but enjoy agriculture beyond all else. While finishing up my masters degree, I stumbled on aquaponics and got hooked. I've been pouring over this forum over the last couple days, it seems without compare, and decided it was time to get my feet wet.

I'm planning on being in Detroit within three months, but doubt I'll immediately find myself in a place with ample room (though it will soon change). So my plans for a personal system will be confined to small test setups and gargantuan blue prints. My soon-to-be-father-in-law happens to live nearby and has a fairly significant goldfish pond in his backyard though, and I suspect I'll soon help him with an ap retrofit. He's already an avid gardener so I doubt it will be a difficult sell.

Here's to a delicious future,
Jon

Hello Jon, it is addictive isn't it?

Welcome Jon... look forward to seeing what happens in the future...

Welcome DJ,

soon-to-be-father-inlaw ... requires minor adjustment to the
pond , while increasing food production at home
and everyone is !

Welcome.

Thanks all, I'm excited to be finally posting.

Welcome Jon! Keep an eye on the Forum. You'll find others not all that far away.

Welcome DJ!

Download Google Sketchup (for free) and start fiddling with models. A fun way to build virtual AP systems when the weather or finances aren't cooperating.

Welcome!!! I grew up in Northern Michigan so have an idea of the climate you will be dealing with.

For a quick indoor test of concept system, you can easily go with an aquarium (whatever size is convenient or you find for free) and two five gallon food buckets (usually get them for free from a grocery with a bakery.) Smaller buckets would work too. Simply place small pump in bucket on floor other bucket fitted out with loop siphon to drain into bottom bucket and no holes overflow to feed it from the aquarium. Some PVC and fittings. Away you go.

Also a little system like this is pretty easy to dismantle and move since the gravel is already in a bucket that a person can possibly still move even when full.

I've tried adding a little AP element to an ornamental pond before. Problem was that pond was really well balanced and had plenty of pond plants so there was very little nutrients to share with the veggies. I expect the system would have needed much more fish feeding to really support more plants. Now if that goldfish pond you mentioned is not packed with pond plants, then it might be far easier to convert. I'm sure an ornamental pond can be coupled with AP but the balancing act will have several extra variables to contend with and so could take extra attention to get things right.

Good luck and lots of reading to you Welcome to the addiction.

Been using sketchup for a while now, currently drawing out a mini spiral pump....

TCL, thanks for the tips.as I'm living in the basement of a six bedroom house with ten people in it, I think I may have to wait a couple months before I set even a small system up, there's just no space.

As for the goldfish pond, I'm off to make a visit next week, so I'll return with pictures. I think that the system is overloaded with algae which has to be cleaned out every few days. It seems like there is probably sufficient oxygen (certainly enough for the goldfish), but probably a buildup of solids that are causing an excess of nitrates.

Since the water off the pump falls over a bunch of rocks, diverting a bit of that flow into a FD growbed with an auto siphon would probably increase DO but without solids (I'll need to check out how effective that filter is...) I'm not sure how productive that sort of setup would be.

i'm spewing we generally dont have basements here...............would have loved to have one
would look like the one from the first episode of sliders

G'day DJ, and welcome