Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Yea, when I called an aggregate company, they would only talk if I was getting 20 tons of something. At least we have a place not so far away that will deliver up to six tons (cause that is what the little trucks hold) at prices like $52 per ton of the 1/2" river gravel. LOL
Anyway, I've started testing out some of the alternative growing methods, (page 101 on my system thread I think) will see how they do. Perhaps I'll have some results to share by the time you are ready to plant.

I think the plan right now is to just use the stock tanks with gravel in them until Summer arrives and I can sustain more growing area. To get things up I just need the temps above freezing for a little while!

The addiction is warming up with the weather!

The snow and ice are melting and I need to get a little pump going this weekend!

I bought a $45 300-500 GPH pump from Lowe's last week, and a minute ago ran both the sump pumps to get the "raceway" (it's now a raceway instead of a sump) water through the 180 gallon tub through the mortar tub and back again and the 70 gallon gravel bed to get some air in the water and filter out some of the muck. It smells like a well-aged pond.

I plan to hook up a pipe with slits as a bar along the bottom of one end of the raceway, with the pipes leading into a bucket in the corner. In the bucket will be a sump pump on a timer and the new pump running continuously to the other end of the raceway for circulation. Ultimately I want the solids to congregate to that end near or into the pipes, but not be pulled all the way into the bucket until the sump pump runs, out to the beds. The continuous pump is supposed to remain in the clean water at the top. I may have two continuous pumps in there, one on the battery backup and the other not.

I may end up using something besides a bucket. Right now I am trying to figure out how to weigh it down so it doesn't float when the sump pump goes on. I will probably do some half-assed thing like putting a block on top of it.

BTW, had AP-related insomnia last night again, visions of biochar urinals and BSF bins running through my brain.

http://worldstove.com/products/

LOL I kinda know the feeling of trying to get to sleep while the AP system won't get out of my head.

OK, yesterday hooked up the small continuous pump to get things moving, the sump pump is going on a timer. I plan to put some gravel beds over on the end. I may change the aeration to maybe a small trash can or stacked buckets to make a trickle tower, and some day I'll get another continuous pump to push the water in a current from one end to the other. I put a hole in a bucket for the sump pump but the 1" pipe will not be big enough.

The pump and pipes are floated using milk jugs, they'll go up and down with the water level nicely. The pump floats just below the surface.

That's interesting.

These are handy for moving water and creating a current. Low running costs as well.

My Sears sump pump finally died after four years. THey are filled with oil as I found out when loosening the screws on top to look at it - the oil must be under pressure or it built up pressure after use or something because it shot out of there.

I hooked up the larger Simer sump pump (1/3HP) and had to bleed off some of the extra flow, but the gravel beds are finally on line.

I think I am ready to get some seeds and plant stuff. This gravel has lots of solids still in it from previous years and it will grow plants as-is.

The next few steps are to get a drain pipe going down to the bottom of the far end with some elbows/holes in it, and to get a similar pipe with holes going to a bucket or tub with the sump pump in it to suck up solids from the other end of the pond to make the flow like a raceway.

Slowly getting things the way I want them before getting some trout!

This bucket is connected to a 2" pipe that goes to the other end of the fish pond, to an elbow and a pipe with slits in it that lays on the bottom. The idea is to get a flow going from the bottom of one end of the pond to the bottom of the other end.

I plan to do the same with this end of the pond, by putting a pipe with holes on the bottom, to a bucket, and put the sump pump in it. That way the sump pump draws solids from the bottom of one end and the clean water is introduced through this bucket to the bottom of the other end, hopefully making a flow.

After that I need to improve the aeration and decide whether to get an air pump or use the small water pump. I have the charger, deep cycle battery, and an inverter - the only question is whether to hook them up to a water or air pump. Right now I'm thinking air pump...

DD you will find with trout in that size tank because of there aggressive nature [they move around a lot ] you wont have a solids problem
I just pumped my 2 tanks down after the holiday just to check and the bottom on both was clean

That's cool, thanks for the info F&F!!

1st newbie mistake was not putting the sump pump onto blocks within the fish tank/pond. I had been planning to make a pickup pipe thing connected to a bucket with the pump in the bucket, to pull dirty water from the bottom. Hadn't done that, one of the tubs leaned far enough to overflow through a hole in the side onto the ground. I think the ground got more and more wet until the tub leaned so far as to pull the drain pipe off. Found all the water gone in the morning and the sole goldfish struggling in 2" of water.

Put about a foot of water in to make him more comfortable, was going to add a bit every three days or so until the pond was full again.

These were the plants that were going with just leftover nutrients in the mud and a couple injections of DD Prime (pee).

After the premature draining event.