Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hey everyone being a newbe to ap i could use some much appriceated advise,whilst on an extended stay in fiji i was asked what i know about hydroponics which is a reasonable amount,so i looked into what is available in fiji which unfortunatly isn't much.so i mentioned abit about the little i read about ap as fish food and stocks seem readily available(talapia).So now we are in the process of building a 3000l semi submerged fish tank no sump tank yet as cost and supplies are an issue.We have built 1 8ft by 4 ft nft tray for leafy veg which i am thinking of using to get the system started with a few fish to begin with whilst i get to work on learning how to build a mould for fiberglass flood and drain trays,yes i am having todo a fair bit of home work to get this working but it should all be good fun.I think i am going to use the drain mechanisms from mens urinals for the drain aspect of the trays but would like to know how many trays and how big is a good/safe number to start with?and what size pump?also will it supply enough oxygen or will i need to add an air pump?also i will be using volcanic rock/pumice and sea shells as my grow medium hydroton etc just not available, coir can be if i want to beat the fibres out by hand would rather not.any ideas if its any good?also haven't been able to find any cheleted iron/pottasium additives fish emoulsion and sea weed extracts are available will it work and a what dosing guessing should get some calcium from the shells?the system needs to be simple and easy to use as not here for to long so need to get it pretty close first time also read somewhere in forum about koi carp being good cleaners of the fish tank does this include the poo and will any carp do the job as grass carp are available?also do you need to flush the plants as in hydro? any help will be greatfully received but please remember almost everything has to be hand made one again thanks

Welcome Adman... a couple of thought...

If you're going to run trays... ala NFT... then you will have to pre-filter the water... to keep any solids out of the nft trays... otherwise they bind to the roots and either result in water channeling around them (dry spots)... or water staurating the roots with low oxygen (root rot)...

As far as coir goes.... has proven to be problematical... in terms of pH... but more particularly due to it's water retention ability... i.e for most of us, it just stays too wet...

You could get away with it perhaps in your climate temperatures.... by varying the water intervals... but I doubt you could use it in "flood & drain"...

River pebbles, scoria (lava rock).... would probably be your best bet...

thanks for the advice will put it to use

If you haven't already, read the basic information and useful information sections of the forum as they may help you with some of the basic questions so you can get down to details more quickly.

good luck with it.
I would advise not adding fish until you have at least one flood and drain gravel bed ready to go.

Hey Adman... I heard that someone in Fiji was producing "triploid" Tilapia... know anything about it??

hey rupertofoz will be using talapia not sure of the exact species yet but will look into it and get back to you, sorry about the delay been out and about exploring for a few days