Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Their seems to be a vast array of pumps available, I need one for a 60gallon CHIFT-PIST arrangement (hope I got that acronym right!) I'm thinking all I need is about 250 GPH, there are many affordable $20.00-40.00 to choose from.I figure I need one of those and a timer, right?

if you are talking about your 30 gallon fish tank, two little grow bed and the 30 gallon sump tank, I would call that a 30 gallon system (usually based on the fish tank size.) You want to move at least 30 gallons per hour in that system. You could move more but you don't want to turn the flow into a torrent unless you are planning to raise trout.

If you are gonna use a timer to get the flood and drain, you want a pump that can move at least 4 times the volume of your fish tank in an hour at the head you will be making it do. This allows you to have the pump on for 15 minutes and then off for 45 (though you could do the timing differently if you need to.) I figure a 200-300 gph pump will cover you for that small system and probably be able to handle a variety of other situations when you start tinkering and expanding to bigger systems (through for 50-100 gallon systems the pump would probably have to run all the time rather than on a timer.)

I'll have to "see" exactly how these work when it's all set up, my original intention was a constant flow system, but people say ebb/flow is superior.I still can't decide if I want to start now or wait till summer passes, I just don't know how much green I can produce with the soon approaching summer temps, we'll run 104-108 day and 80-85 in the deep night (3-4am).Short of a small "convertible" hoop house with misting/shading and prolly evaporative cooling summer may be a "fish only" period, on the flipside the winters here could be quite productive. OK I'm officially off on a tangent, thanks for the help TC........Bill

Get the system built soon anyway since you need to cycle it up before it will produce much of anything and I am a firm believer in fishless cycling too.

It sounds like your heat there may make the water a bit warm in such a small system so you should think about ways to keep the tank and sump as cool as possible and definitely have shade for everything. (I have some solar pool heating panels working this time of year to warm my water up but come the heat of August, I'll probably be running them at night as radiant chillers instead.)

There are plants that can smack heat in the face. Sweet potatoes, Okra, yardlong beans, malabar spinach (though I don't like the taste), peppers and hot peppers, and may many others given a little extra care. If you are feeding you fish big time in the heat of summer, you will need some greedy plants growing to suck up the nutrients so you won't need to be doing water changes. There are also many plants that my grow over summer but with the extreme heat and warm nights they just might not set any fruit, like tomatoes. I've found that cherry and grape tomatoes will keep on going through our summers in central FL though fruit set falls off a bit in the heat. Peppers can grow on through the summer though since they take a really long season the fruit set might not be till winter.

If you can provide some protection over summer, AP with it's regular water provides all sorts of benefits for stretching the rules on what grows in what season.

You mention a greenhouse. I've found that here once the days get warm, I was better off removing the plastic from my system since none of the plants were enjoying the 100+ temps under the plastic during the day. Plastic is only useful over my system for a couple months of the year. Perhaps I would be better using floating row cover fabric over some parts of my system next winter instead of the cold frame plastic.

You also said something about continuous running system. Do you mean continuously flooded beds? Creative I think is running that way but as far as I know, that is the only one doing it successfully. Flood and drain has many benefits to the filtration and the plants and keeping this aerated. There is no need for a sump though if you are gonna run continuous flooded beds but more need for extra aeration.

I had original thought of trying for a small scale commercial set-up based on the S&S Aquafarms model.They have been doing it for some years in Missouri with what appears to be at least moderate success. I'm not sure if they're using CFB's though it seems so from the diagram on their web page.They sell what I hear is a very comprehensive manual describing their operation, cost is $250.00.I've had a lot of trouble finding any work out here other than $8.00/hr stuff, I'd rather stay home.Hence the idea is more apealing.I think the Tilapia would be fairly easy to manage, and plants/vegatables could do very well for 8-9 months/year.

I guess the best way to find out is to actually start

Lots and lots of research needs to be done before you try the commercial thing. Starting small and seeing what you can grow for yourself and family is a good way to see what it is all about before risking your savings trying to make a go of a commercial venture.

Real trick is do you have a market for the produce that will pay enough to cover not only the setup/operating costs of the system but enough profit for you to survive and pay taxes with.
Keep in mind that your state and local governments may have restrictions on this type of activity as a commercial venture in a residential neighborhood.

So, see what you can do with your little system while you research all the ins and outs of commercial Aquaponics in your location. This forum right here has much of the info about systems that you would need. The more specific things about your local laws and the business side of things you may have to find other resources to help you with those but I don't see $250 for an info pack as being the best investment since most of that info you can find for free. If you are gonna pay a lot for educational materials, you might want to be getting some hands on experience at a facility to go along with it. Morningstar fishermen here in FL has classes as does the university of the virgin islands has a facility going as well as a place out in Hawaii, Friendly Aquaponics or something like that. They are all using floating raft techniques for the larger commercial systems.