Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi all, at the moment my system consists of one 1000L tank and 4 bed that are around 300Ls each, this runs as a flood and drain set up.
I also have a 5000L tank and a VOR TEC 20000 filter that are currently doing nothing. I would like to make one big system with this hardware and also incorporate four 3 meter long NFT tubes. I have a 3.5 by 5.5 meter shade house to use and was thinking of putting the fts and the NFT tubes in that and put the gbs outside to get more sunlight(it is set up in the shade house area now without shade on it and does not get alot of light because of my patio and a big tree)
I have some ideas and somewhat of a plan but any help would be greatly appreciated.

some pics of the area you have to use, your shade house and tanks etc would help us get a good idea of what you have so we can make suggestions.

Just saw you are from the central wheatbelt - where abouts exactly?

Cunderdin. i will try to find some pics now and post them up

these photos are taken at different time with different system running in the same area but hopefully it can give some kind of an idea for the time being

You seem to have a good setup there, but maybe the 5000L fish tank needs something more. I am thinking chift pist and using the 1000L as a sump
In the future another 1000L sump and more grow beds, and I mean lots more grow beds
All fun

i just remembered that i have a UV light as well if they are any good in AP?

I would say that would kill the beneficial bacteria as well.

With the space and equipment you have a CHIFT PIST system would be pretty easy. A 1000L sump should be large enough for 3 x 300 litre beds (is that 300L before media or 300L of water per growbed with media?).

As Mantis suggests your 5000L tank will take many more growbeds (but you will need another 1000L sump for more GBs), but for now just stock it with the right amount of fish for the amount of filtration you have.

I have a 5000L fish tank as well, but only 3 BYAP grow beds. For added filtration I will also be filling up a couple of 200L blue barrells with media and will only be stocking the tank with 100 fingerlings.

Cunderdin is a nice spot. I will be moving to Dowerin in the next 12 or so months. Love the wheatbelt.

thank you for the advice, yes the wheat belt is very good!
I think the beds hold 300L of medium so only a percentage of that is water.
Will the vortec filter be worth using in the system, i cant seen to find alot of information on them and i picked it up cheap second hand. i would like to stock the ft fairly high and feed as much as possible so it would be good to use the filter, if not it will have to be low stocking rates.

If you made a list of what you have ie pumps, pipes, size of tanks & GB's (size width) etc then iam sure there will be a few sketchs coming your way for perusal(I would take all the good points out of all the entries and build it as (If you build it they will come) hehehehe

I would also put in what sort of thoughts you would like ie Id like the tanks in the ground or I would like some GB's at hip height and some at ankle height etc that sort of thing you need to give us a rough idea something to work together for you

It may add to your filtration size which could mean you could stock more fish but I think you need someone with more AP experiance than I to comment on that - where is EB, Rup and the others when you need them?

Here is a link to your filter with some information: http://www.aquatecequipment.com/product ... on/3/page5

Chuck the filter in the ft you have now, get it cycling. Then you can work out how many fish it will support and use it to raise stocking level on your suytem till you get some more GBs

so with that filter i should be able to stock 5000L highly with ease?

I have one 3000L/h pump
one 7500L/h pump
one 12000L/h pump
one 5000L ft
one 1000L sump
GBs are 1050 by 1100 and 300 deep x4. all are in stands and above sump height

i would like to keep the tanks on the ground but i was planing on using NFT tubes to take the water back from the sump to the FT. i have found the tubes i would like to use and they are 3 meters long and are 225 mm wide and i was going to have 4.

I'm on a iPhone so don't know the specs of the filter.... Rate it this way, divide the lph flow thru it by the volume of the filter, then do the same for your GBs. Then you'll have some idea of how they compare also I would go ft-gb-nft-sump-ft with your water flow

The Oase Vortec 20000 is a serious filter for large koi ponds...

Rated at a filtration capacity of around 10-12,000L ponds... more than enough for what you intend... but needs a flow rate of about 7000L/H...

Great filter... but with 4 chambers...1 for the vortex, another with 8 brushes, another with 6 "bio cartridges", and the last with 3 foam pads.... theres a lot of regular maintenance required...

It will certainly allow for higher stocking levels... and meet the needs for pre-filtration/solids removal for any NFT....

Given you have several pumps... you could run the 7000L for the filter and the NFT... the 12000L for the IBC grow beds, with a bleed back to the fish tank for extra aeration...

Aeration will be the key to your success... especially if stock heavily....

You certainly have some nice gear to start a system with...

Sorry... for that model it's... 4 chambers...1 for the vortex, another with 4 brushes, another with 3 "bio cartridges", and the last with 3 foam pads.... that's still a lot of regular maintenance required...

They do have a back flushing mechanism...