Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Seeing as you already got a good bio-filter set up going...... Just adding some plants is all you need to call it an Aquaponics system. You can do any of the options listed above. Just read up and see what you want to do. Could be as simple as floating a raft on top of one of the bio-filter IBCs to get lettuce going but I think you will want to create some sort of nice grow bed. Since you already have a working bio-filter, you probably don't need a media filled flood and drain bed unless you increase your stocking density. So, it is your personal preference as to if you should go DWC raft type grow bed. NFT pipes. Or a standard gravel or clay ball filled grow bed. You probably don't even have to do flood and drain on a media filled grow bed if you don't feel like messing with it. It could be trickle feed though you need to make sure there is water getting to the plants you want to grow or you could let it be constantly flooded. Since you already have a functioning solid and bio-filter your options are wide open. (Now I almost never tell people these things but that is because they tend to want to hook a fish tank up to NFT pipes or a Floating raft bed and think that is all there is to it.)

And yes, you can totally start out a little at a time since your system seems to be functioning fine as it is.

Great looking pond and all that!!!!!!!

Hazno,

How's your transition going? Got any updates?? You may want to weigh in with your experiencein this thread on biofilters.

CB

Yes i finally have a genuine Backyard Aquaponics grow bed. ( thanks to John at fresh by nature) Stay tuned for photos of the progress of my new garden. OH yeah my trout are putting on the pounds, at a rate that would have Jenny Craig scratching her head

Latest shots..

Yea looking good how many fish are you running now by the look of that pond you could get another 1 or 2 grow beds along the side with just a path between them
Tell me more about your filtering system
the blue drum catches the solids !
and the ibc/s is there divisions in them or water in the top out from the bottom or the other way do they need cleaning if so how
Thats all for now Thanks

Thanks F&F we are definitely working on more grow beds as time and money allow us.We still have about 30 or so trout averaging 300/500grams, 6 extra large koi and a few little show koi we are growing out for a mate,12 silver perch around a kilo and a bit 3yrs old.Hundreds of yabbies to many to count and a couple of black marron i found at the Sydney fish markets.Yes the blue drum is a home made spinner that removes the solids (see start of this thread for full run down of filter system mate) about once a year we pull all the filter material out and hose it off and thin the yabbies out a bit.The water goes green in the warmer month but returns to crystal clear in the cooler months,we have stocked it a lot heavier in the past but its at mums place and she is 80yrs old so we have let stock levels drop off in the last few years.I have to mention she LOVES the aquaponics component and as a keen veggie gardener is very impressed with the ease in which she can plant and harvest her veggies now. another convert for Joel

Has anybody got an up date on this setup

He dropped by only a week ro so ago F&F... now living in Newcastle... new baby...hoping to set up a system in the near future...

The system above is located at his mothers place in Vincentia... and is still going strong...

The trout that were stocked were successfully grown out and eaten...

The Silver Perch are now monsters... some exceeding 2kg...

The koi... likewise...

Hi,
Good looking system,you say you have never done water checks and let nature look after,ok another way to look at your set up is, you are keeping water and if you can keep that as good as it came out the ground you are doing good.The fish and the plants rely on you.Your system obviously runs well as it has run for ten years but without regular monitoring, how good it has ran your not sure and when you add your grow beds what changes will you see and how much better is it running.The point iam trying to make is with a simple pond kit for ph,nitrite nitrate,your changes mean more as you can see what happens rather than just suck it and see.Secondly your information is very important, we can all benefit as you can benefit from all the information on this site.

As mentioned dasboot i do not live at the property , and mum is now over 80yrs old and unable to do much more than pick a few veggies and throw in some fish food(the intended purpose of the system!!!) Secondly the only thing the fish and plants can rely on is their consumption on the rare occasions that i do get to visit. Finally thank you for your valuable input?!