Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

After days of reading forums, I'm ready to build the system of my own. Here what cost me so far:

- 10 blue barrels $17 each: $170
- 3 trips to Home Depot, 4x2, connectors: $40

Now I'm building the growth bed stand.

ah good use of toes

Looks good

Complete the stand

Just a few tips in case you don't already know yet........
if your grow beds will be sharing a drain line, make sure the shared drain is of rather large pipe size. Two barrels sharing the same drain pipe, and perhaps 1 1/2" pipe would be ok to share. If you are going to have all your barrel siphons drain into the same pipe, make it 3" pipe (drainage pipe works as it is light weight and easy to cut and drill.)

If doing CHIFT and going to pump from a sump and have the fish tank overflow to feed the grow beds, then you will want larger pipe for the fish tank to grow bed lines. I would go 2 or 3 times the size of the tubing from the pump to the fish tank for a gravity drain. So if the pump uses 3/4" pipe the gravity drain should be at least 1 1/2"

Now if your are simply pumping from the fish tank and draining back to it, then all I just said might not apply but with the fish tank taller than the grow beds I was assuming CHIFT PIST (Constant Height In Fish Tank, Pump in Sump Tank and that the sump tank was just not pictured yet.)

Good Job so far!!!!!!!

Thank you so much TCLynx for your reply!

Yes! It's CHIFT PIST, and the sump tank is not pictured yet! Thank so much for sharing your knowledge. I will change to 1 1/2" and 3" pipes per your suggestion. I'm using another barrel for the sump tank. I'm afraid it will be overflow.

I'm still searching for the water pump. Money is tight right now. Money is always an issue, but I'll get there.

Thank you again so much TCLynx for your time.

If you use a full barrel on it's side as the sump, you will probably be ok on size of sump for the 4 half barrel grow beds but if you want to make sure you are really safe on sump capacity, you can always connect an extra sump barrel to the first one near the bottom. This would give you additional sump capacity so you can add an automatic top up valve and be pretty safe from running the pump dry and stuff like that.

If you have a harbor freight tools in your area, they have some decent little garden pumps that could probably get you started for around $30. A 200 gph + pump should probably do ya. The harbor freight ones are probably called like 258 gph and at the few feet of head required would probably be just enough and only use about 30 watts in the process. Just make sure to add an air pump and air stones to the fish tank as well.

I have 4 half blue barrels draining (loop siphons) into 50mm pressure pipe... when 2+ trigger and drain at the same time... 50mm is the minimum needed...