Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Very nice, so neat!

Thanks Bentaz. I took my time with this one and it turned out exactly as I had pictured it in my mind. Can't wait to grow in it!

Looks good -I think everyone has to do it wrong first before they can do it right. My first system had a tiny sump which would overflow every time the power went out.... serious design flaw.

I like how you can harvest from the kitchen too, so I'd be putting a whole bunch of herbs on the kitchen side (basil, corriander, parsley)

Silverbeet is a proven winner. Get some tomato seeds started now too, the sooner you get 'em in the better. Or you can take a different approach and go through all your old seeds and just throw them in and see what comes up. The only problem with that is that the competition is so fierce you end up with lots of elongated strappy plants fighting for light. Speaking from experience:

Thanks Gemmell,

If you don't make mistakes you can't learn anything I reckon. Now I've got this one running perfectly without a crop in it, I'll be keeping a close eye on it as I add plants and more fish.

I've decided on tomato, corn, capsicum, eggplant. beans, silverbeet, celery, strawberries, lettuce, mini cucumbers and a small selection of flowers and herbs to grow out over the coming months.

For those of you who are interested in the test results that arose from TcLynx's comments, please go to this post.
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6105&p=201896#p201896

Cheers,
Kri.

I've also posted comments in that thread as to the pH of this product... and experience of members "The Hopefuls" with this medium...

looks great

my best producing plant so far is celery, just keep on picking it as you need it

Cheers
pete

re the diatomite: you said "with a mix of diatomite mixed through the top and mid layer of media for it's disolvable silica content" - It sounds like there's not too much of it, so even if it's brining your pH down you might be able to buffer it back up. I believe "The Hopefulls" had an entire bed of the stuff.

Thanks for that Delgrade! I'll agree with you on the celery, I grew celerey in my old nasty setup and it cranked, it was the tastiest I'd ever had. I'll definately be growing that again. I was showing a friend the system on the weekend and told him I was still trying to work out what to grow in it, he looked at me like I was stupid and said "well what do you eat?" good answer hey...

Thats right Gemmel, my system only has at best 30-40 litres of the stuff through it and the bed is approximately 570L or so. I don't expect it to be a problem at all. It was just a curious point and I like to experiment every now and then. PH is important, but extremly easy to buffer naturally to the point that once established you won't have to check on it again.
There's not much to these systems, hydro and fish keeping are pretty easy to get the hang of.

I think there can be an over-analysis at times of the variables that make up a system, some people like to try and get overly technical about things and it all ends up getting in the way of just getting on with it! If I keep things simple and don't try to get all jingoistic and jargonistic I can enjoy my sytem without constantly tampering with it and enjoy the many other things that make up my life too.

Hope to hear from ya's again soon,
Kri.

I love an optimist....

very neat and tidy!!! great looking system and well thought out! Keep us updated on your progress

I like the professionalism if the plumbing and installation, well done

Plant Celery, Silverbeet, Tomato's, Capsicum, and if you have somewhere for them to climb too - ROCKMELONS!! They go off

Nice.