Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Brain storming a neat backyard setup. Goal is trying to hide all the plumbings and wires while still keeping it functional. Thoughts?

How big a system.

Two containers is about as simple as you can get, but it limits you on plant volume and therefore on fish volume. Pumping solids up to the bed can work but if the location and shape of the fish tank aren't carefully done then the poo will just pile up without getting into the pump. All that wood will be expensive, if you're building it as good as a cabinet, if you can dig a hole in your yard then the dirt will support pond liner which is an inexpensive way to make a lot of volume, if you're going to have to line the cabinets anyway. Maybe just build a thin veneer over standard plastic containers to keep the costs down but still help the aesthetics?

There are a couple of IBC tote-based setups that have nice coverings over them, but I am not remembering their handles right off hand. (just got coffee, seeping into brain slowly)

Should work but getting the pond liner to fold nicely into that shape will be interesting though I'm sure it can be done if you get a large enough piece of liner. If you are gonna be making the box for the grow bed, you might as well use pond liner in that as well.

Only thing that really jumps out at me about that system is there is not very much grow bed for the amount of fish tank. Keep in mind that 3 kg of fish per 100 l of Grow bed is a pretty standard stocking for flood and drain media bed AP systems.

This was my take on a very compact system, the fish would be in a square hole in the ground and a box would be made over it, the top of the box would be a gravel bed and the sides would be planted walls that drain back down into the hole. A trellis would allow viney plants to spread out all over the top:

viewtopic.php?p=115638#p115638

- See human scale models.

- Yeah, volume is a contraint, but small system like this produce enough food for casual aquaponican's family. I think where the grow bed is positioned is expandable.

- Any thoughts on what are best/worst shapes? I'd imagine a funnel type bottom is best.

- Yup, cost is a constraint, but that's relative. Yeah, I thought about the hole thing. Putting things under ground level help on the space constraint but trade off on maintenance and access, cleaning and getting to the fish or even watching the fish. It depends on what your preference I guess, I like everything to be out where I can reach. And if it has to be hidden, I'd like easy access to them also, so hopefully things can be taken apart easily.


- Yeah... I wonder if I should just frame an IBC tote instead of pond liner. But it could be more work and probably not as compact/neat.

-Pond liners could be a pain in the ass to fold. I imagine the spectrum runs along the line of the rounder the easier and the more rectangular/angular the harder to fold into.

-I have no idea how to run fitting through a liner, like for a drain pipe... pictural tutorial anyone?

- Yup, the grow bed space is expandable in 3 directions while the plumbing can still be hidden.

- I like the trellis idea. Will think about adding it.

I'll have to find some links (don't have time at the moment to go find it but my Big system thread http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2640 has plenty of pond liner in it) for pictures but I have plumbing running through my pond liner all over the place. I found that I can use uniseals through pond liner and 1/2" plywood or if the wood is too thick, I can simply cut a larger hole in the wood and use a thinner piece of material to back the uniseal or bulkhead fitting.

As to folding liner. It is actually easier to fold into a rectangular shape (imagine wrapping a gift in paper) than to make it line a circle easy. Major tip, never cut the liner and try to seal the edges together to make it fit nice, just try to make the folds as neat as possible and make sure no edges are dropping down below the water line in behind other liner where you can't see it. In a nice rectangle, it is possible to hide the folds to the point where the only visible crease is vertical right in the corners so comes out very neat.

How big as in space in your yard. How many fish were you looking at and how many plants did you want to grow. A small herb gargen is not as nutrient hungry as growing enough tomatoes and corn for a family of 6. A photo of the yard may help also.

small footprint is preferred so the size of the yard shouldn't be relevant. it shouldn't be much bigger than the model shown, other than expanding the growbed when needed. probably no tomatoes or corn. i would add fish/plant incrementally to gauge what it can handle as is, i suppose common sense apply.

I just took a few pictures of folding pond liner today. They are not a great illustration but here you go.

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5103

I also did some plumbing through pond liner for any that are interested.
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5101

Thanks TC.

I know it's only rendering, but don't build it out of pine if water can run off it, into the pond.

I would say think bigger growbed, covering more of the tank and leaving less exposed water surface to sunlight.

Also if it is pushed up against a wall, access to plants will be difficult. If left away from walls to allow access to the back of the growbed it will take up a fair bit of space.

I like the non-rectangle idea though

Sometimes its others that see an aspect of the yard that can be utilized.