Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey gang,

Thought it was about time I put something of my wee little system on here. Its only a small play system as I'm not sure whether I'm selling up and moving or staying put in the next little while (work) and don't want to put in any major infastructure.

At this stage mine is NOT a true aquaponics system as I’ve not hooked plants up to it. In the short term I’ll probably just build some vertical tow herb beds to make sure there is some more filtration on the system.

The system is set up in my glasshouse. The glasshouse was originally used to house one of my other hobbies, which is pitcher plants (Nepenthes spp.). I still have them but have downsized the collection (to only the hardier spp.) and make room for the Yabbies.

The system comprises:

- 6x 50L tubs
- 1x 150L sump
- 1x old 5000lph pump (new 250lph and MUCH more effcient pump is on its way)
- 50x Yabbies

The glasshouse:


The setup:


One pair of tanks:


Sump pump feed all 6x tanks on a single looped 12mm poly hose and feeds into each tanks through a 3-4mm poly nozzles (those used for garden irrigation). The return feeds from the top 3x tanks to the bottom 3x tanks, into a gutter and back to the sump via a filter sock. I can’t remember what micron the filter sock was, but it’s VERY fine so no sediment will pass through it while inline.

The sump pump has way too much flow so its T'd off back to the sump to aid in aeration. I’ll use this extra to feed the vertical towers when I make them.

Each of the 6x pump outlets into the tanks also agitates the water surface for added aeration and to reduce mozzies. There are also some Golden Medaka and White clouds in the tanks too to help in that aspect.

That's about it.

Like I said, just a little play system for now. Once I work out if I’ll be staying put or moving to another place the plan is a large system that will hopefully produce (on average) a few kg of fish per week, along with herbs (plan to keep most veggies in the garden) and yabbies.

Cheers,

AJ

Deluxe yabby accomodation!

Id be investing in some chicken wire screens.
Yabbies have a habbit of getting 'bored' and looking for somewhere 'new' and they are EXCELENT escapologists... I hate to think how many dry dead or rotting yabbies I found inside when I was keeping them in my aquarium...
If the gap is big enough for them to fit, they will get through, if it's not big enough, they'll make it big enough.

After all their Latin name is 'Cherax destructor' for a reason.
They love digging, climbing, escaping and rearranging their living quarters.

too cool dude...............yabbie hilton

KP,

Covers in the making.

I've had four of the tubs running for a while now with no escapees. However just last week I added two more tanks and then a couple of sponge filters (prior to adding the sump). Literally the first night I'd added them I had about six climb up the airline from the two tanks that got the filters!

Found only two and heck knows where the others vanished too. I'm sure they'll show up in a pot plant some time

how are you going Aaronj. I just joined and have yabbies on the way for my system and just wondered what you are feeding them i have been told lupins fatten them up

Hi BKF,

I feed mostly carrot and the odd chook pellet and/or grain (I have chooks).

I also keep a steady supply of water plants in with them which they seem to much on a bit.

Carrots eh?
Mmm... I seem to a have few of them in the system...
Cheers
C1

Hi Blissy

Hopefully I wont kill your new ones

Very cool AJ
+1 for covers.
I have a similar setup,
viewtopic.php?p=130185#p130185
As soon as they get to about 80mm, the little buggers are out of there..

All mine are still in the tank. They were in a similar tank at the fish farm so they probably think they had a small trip and then went back home. Did add a bit of plastic to the airline after reading this thread.

Update:

I added a two vertical grow beds a couple of weeks back just to try them out. Not sure I have seen improvements in water quality as such, but I’ve added no extra nutrients and the plants are taking off

They are made from 90mm SW pipe with expanded clay.
Water is T'd off the main pump and flows to each GB via 2mm nozzles 24/7.
All the plants were transplanted from being soil potted and are doing great, with new more 'lush' growth now starting to appear.



In it are:

* Sage
* Parsley
* Vietnamese Mint
* Lemon Grass
* Basil
* Chives

AJ

Good to see you made one of those vertical hangers. I have a heap of those fittings I meant to try out, but I just never got around to it, very keen to see how it goes.

EB,
They seem to work great.

I was wondering if the water would basically just flow down the middle and miss the Ys, but it doesn't. Almost all of the media (other than the very surface later) is kept damp.

AJ

Unfortunately, unless the water is prefiltered before the towers, they will get blocked up