Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi to all experienced and not so experienced AP'ers. I have been addicted to this site. Just a little background info on me. I am 33 yrs old, married, two kids, and have dreams of having fresh fish and fresh veggies harvested straight from my backyard. My wife thinks I'm crazy - but I don't care.
I am going to start small as has been suggested to so many newbies. I am currently building growbed out of lumber and pond liner. I have been promised 3 55 gal blue drums from my job, so I'll keep my fingers crossed with that. Not sure if I will cut them in half, or use one as a FT and one as a sump. I would like to build a small scale CHIFT PIST. No plans for a GH just yet. I want to see how my GB does during the spring/summer before I can justify the $ for a GH. I'll take lots of pics and post them when I get up and running. Wish me luck!!!

NY-Steve

Welcome steve......

the bug bit you hard... just like the rest of us.....

looking forward to seeing your system as it progresses.... Im getting ready to start my
system also.....

good luck

jT

aah, the opinions of the spouse,, ppphhhft!
welcome Steve

Thanks JT and Jaymie...
I thought I was the only one with a spouse that doesn't understand...
She will become a believer, oh yes, she will be...

Yep, my first system last summer was greeted with scepticism and disinterest, but the summer squash were better than any we bought last summer, so my wife became interested. Then the salads this spring made her even happier and my 18-yr-old son is bugging me to plant more! Go for it!

Spouses are a little reluctant at first, but even mine has started to ask from time to time to feed the fish.

Welcome.

Welcome

my other half is still looking at the veggie patch and asking if i still want it
both veggie patch and ap system are full of veggies and herbs so i need both and i still dont keep up with what we eat in the way of veggies salad and tomatoes
she will come around when she gets to feed the fish and pick the veggies fresher than you can get anywhere else

Welcome ABS
Spouse likes trout and veg, it was easy...
Also, miss 17 asks for ingredients when she cooks
C1

Welcome Steve! You can't beat the taste of veggies grown in a AP system. Have fun.
Joyce

Welcome back Joyce

Well I told my sister about my plans for an AP system, and it just so happens she was considering putting a greenhouse on her property. It will now become an aquaponic GH . My brother in law and myself will begin construction this week. So much for the baby step approach.
Can anyone chime in and let me know if a verticle water storage tank like this would be appropriate?

I was considering getting two 300 gallon tanks. One for the fish tank and the other one would be partially sunken into the ground as a sump tank. I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture, but the tank has a 16 inch standard opening on the top of the tank. That would be fine for the sump, but I would like to cut a hole/window where the tank begins to slope towards the top of the tank for easy access to the fish. Would this damage the structural integrity of the tank? If anyone has any suggestions I am listening...

I think 300 gallons for fish tank and 300 gallons for sump tank are a pretty nice size for a "first" system. You could easily hook up up to 600 gallons worth of grow bed (four 8' by 3' one foot deep lumber lined grow beds would do it) to such a system and be able to raise a nice batch of big fish. (I think I decided that 30 large -3 lb- channel catfish was a good number for my 300 gallon tank. Though may more smaller catfish are comfortable in that much water.)

If cutting part of the top away from such tanks, you might want to leave ribs and only cut away part of the top so you have some support for a cover over the tank. A cover for the tank is always a good idea to keep fish from jumping out and other things from falling in (leaves, critters,pets, children, etc.)

Welcome to the addiction

Thanks TCL, I was figuring on going with two 15' x 3' x 1' growbeds in the greenhouse. And thanks for the suggestions on cutting the tanks and stocking densities. I plan on cycling up with a few goldies and only one bed operational initially. I figure by the end of the summer we can get a good amount of fish going, and get the second bed going. I'll keep you guys posted, and I know how you guys are picture junkies, so I'll work on it...

Look into fishless cycling if you want to get cycled up quickly once you are set up. Just a few small goldfish will take a long time to cycle up a large system and if you put a large number of fish into a new system you get all the stress of trying to keep them alive through the ammonia and nitrite spikes which usually means some water changes that actually slow the process a bit. (I managed to cycle my big system in only a few weeks while cycling with fish often takes 6 weeks or more.)

If you know anyone with an ornamental pond in your area, offer to buy them a new filter pad so you can take the old gunky one to wash into your grow beds as you fill them. Or maybe they will just give you a bucket of pond water.

Aquarium filter squeezings can also help jump start the cycling process.