Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have been trying to find pictures of any systems that are set up like Oriental Fish Ponds.
I am thinking about eventually digging out the fish tank and using the dirt removed to build up a grow bed that will drain back into the fish pond with an auto-syphon. I have seen fish ponds that use liners, but they form a ledge around the water line, so you can line the edge of the pond with rocks or bricks to hide the liner. Here is a sketch I made.

It will work perfectly. I know there is a system here somewhere that is landscaped in.

Here is a thread of a system that is nicely landscaped.
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=4851

Yes you can do a system that is landscaped. And yes liner can do a lot of it for you, when using rocks, you want to use good liner.

You may need a little more than simply the dirt from digging the pond to support the grow bed but the dirt can help quite a bit. I would advise to lay your plumbing in such a way that you can still access it without ruining all your careful landscaping. Siphons and pipes sometimes need adjusting or maintenance so don't go burying them completely.

Just keep in mind that most ornamental ponds have pond plants in them and trying to strike the right balance between aquaponics and ornamental could add some trickiness to your balancing act. (High stocking density usually doesn't go well with ornamental ponds and a well balanced ornamental pond will not likely provide enough excess nutrients to simply add a grow bed to grow your veggies.) Now if you are simply wanting to dress up an AP system with nice rocks to make it look more ornamental but otherwise run like a regular AP system, that sounds great to me, just be ware of the rocks you use and how they might affect your pH.

Good Luck your plan there certainly has the basic idea in place.

Thanks for the advice. That is my ultimate goal. I am going to do this in 3 steps. Aquarium, then 55 gal drums the (if it works for me) the land scaped pond.
I found this page that has a landscaped pond.
http://snowcampaquaponics.blogspot.com/ ... ening.html

Looking really good, good effort

Fore Sure!
I wish it was mine...

hehehe speed reading

What a beaut idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Could probably introduce a number of Permiculture concepts here too......

Could even use water-loving edge plants to provide food for fish.....living larder. Increase fish stocking rate cos of edge plants. But I think TC is right... careful balancing needed... many more variables to look at. Need to keep the main growbeds well nourished.

Love the waterfall back to the fish!

Fantastic idea....

bluewindfisher is setting up an amazing landscaped system that is within his dirt vegi garden that is a wonder in itself. His trout arrived today and I know he still has a fair bit of work to do before the AP is fully functional but I will pester him to post some photos.

Crikey Burnsey, I wasn't even aware that you liked my system. LOL.
There are some photos now in the "Members Systems" thread, but at the moment it looks more like a construction site than a beautiful landscaped garden.

Looking forward to seeing your progress with yours Johnnymax. It makes sense to me to have a pleasant spot to watch the fish while they fertilise our gardens.

Like Cyara, I am interested in finding plants that can be used in the system and maybe in the garden once discarded. Have been trying to get duckweed and azolla and have been surprised at how hard it is to find a supplier. Does anyone know of suppliers in Perth?

Regards
Graham