Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

My system set-up is as follows:

2 x 1000 litre FT. These are rectangular in size (2000x1000x450). They had to be this shape to fit under the kids cubby house.
2 x 350lt GB and 2 x 200ltr GB
The two FT’s are joined by two 50mm pipes.
Each FT has a 3,500/hr pump, one pumps to the 2 larger GB’s and the other to the 2 smaller GB’s. The pumps operate on a flood and drain cycle. 15 min’s on, 45 mins off. I have timed the pumps to come on 30 mins apart.
The GB’s are filled with a 50/50 mix of 18mm pea gravel and expanded clay.
I have also installed 7 metres of 90mm PVC filled with expanded clay, drilling 60mm holes approx 200mm apart. This sits behind the two larger GB’s on the fence. I have been experimenting with different plants to determine what works best in this set-up i.e. avoiding large root plants which will clog up the pipe.

Results to date:

Note: Water placed in FT’s on day 1, fish added day 2.

Fish:

Placed 25 x 200mm rainbow trout in one FT. No deaths apart from those we have eaten. Given the FT’s are in full shade and the GB’s are mostly shaded the highest temp the FT’s have got is 24C even with the hot spells Perth has had. So the trout are still going strong and growing. We have eaten 5 of them so far and plan to cull this many each week from now on.

FT No.2 had 40 Silver Perch added, ranging in size from 80mm to 150mm. Lost about 5 to unknown causes.

I built a simple Biofilter from a storage container, filling it with cut up drainage pipe and foam from Bunnings. Total cost was $55. I got the design ideas from a Google search. This was to help cycle the system, but to more cope with the excessive waste from the trout in the early stages of the system. I plan on turning this off soon.

Having kept aquarium fish for some years, plus a large outdoor goldfish pond I understand the bacteria cycle.

Plants:

From day 1 growth has been unbelievable. Some things took a while to get going (silverbeet and celery), but once they started they grew like mad. All lettuce varieties have been exceptional. Chard has been a winner also, having not grown or eaten it before it is great in salads. The Ruby chard has a beetroot like flavour. Capsicums are producing nice size specimens. One of the smaller GB’s is the herb garden; coriander, parsley, basil and chives are thriving. Tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini are growing well in another GB.

Sown various seeds, with mixed results. Bok choy grew well but went straight to seed, rocket, spinach and beetroot are growing well.

Overall we can’t keep up with the supply of the leafy vegetables in particular, so looking forward to harvesting lots of capsicums, tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini as well over the coming months.

Pests – having some issues with cabbage moth and slugs, particularly on the strawberries. Apart from hand pruning the offending bugs and feeding to the fish I am now looking at natural sprays i.e. garlic/chilli, but don’t want to affect the taste of the veges/fruit.

Tips

Keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels in the early days, particularly if stocking rates are relatively high. Water changes a must if things start to spike too high. Ease off the food if this happens also.

Experiment with different veges, but stick to the leafy varieties in the early days as these are foolproof in an AP system.

The GB’s need shade on the hot summer days.

Summary

I am addicted to Aquaponics and are planning another 350-500ltr GB in the new year. It was easy to set up the system, only taking about 3 days given that there wasn’t much digging or landscaping to do.

I wanted a system that was both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Essentially people have no idea when first looking at my backyard that I have an AP system.

I've made some mistakes along the way, but had some great fun doing it.

I've just built a much bigger and better system for some friends, with larger GB's sourced from BYA.

Happy to answer any questions.

Hopefully my photos have been added, if not I'll add later.

Welcome to the forum DM - sounds like a nice setup - looking worward to those photos.

For your cabbage moth caterpillars, use Yates Dipel - it's safe with AP systems and also works on the other types of grubs that'll attack your tomatoes.

Yeah, those leafy greens love the nitrates and can certainly be hard to keep up with !

Welcome to the forum!
Hope you can become a regular as it sounds like you have a lot to share.

Also looking forward to seeing the photos or even a video or two

Photos please
Very interesting.

Photos of system

Some more photos

Awesome looking system!

How long have you had th SP's in for?

Brett, I've had the Silver Perch in since day 2 of setting up the systems. As i said, i lost a few in the early couple of weeks (these were all the smaller one's). Still have 35 in the FT and they are thriving.

Having Trout for dinner tonight!

Is your fish thank made from cement?

No, the tanks are fibreglass. They are intended for in-ground use, however, I just put them straight on top of existing paving. I braced them with a bit a timber bolted across the middle of each tank.

Just re-read the start, saw the trout on the plate and assumed.

Thats a real tidy looking set-up Dockerman, nice work