Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The pics aren't working for me. I sure would like to see 'em

Keith, ok that makes sense. How much fish do you think i would be able to stock in that volume once the grow beds have been made to accommodate the system more fully?

Kirbs, here are the pictures presented from a different service.

Here are 4 more pics that represent the system better overall.
I'm adding 2 more 1/2 barrels at the end. bringing the total to 12.

Looking good! What are going to cover it with?

Voodoo,

money permitting, i'll put clear lexan greenhouse roofing and use shade cloth inside to keep the temps down. but i might not do that until later this year, when it gets cold again, until then i'm going to try and put plastic sheeting on and use strips of wood to keep in place. only so that rains wont "contaminate" the young system.

Further down the line once the system is mature i'll add some exterior grow beds.

and in the winter i'll construct plastic sheeted windows to hang on the sides to keep the temp in. i'll need to run a heater for the water, so i'm hoping it'll keep the GH above freezing for what little frost we get here in San Antonio.

Since i haven't laid any pipe for my system yet, what do you guys think of the CHOP2 system outlined here: http://www.ecofilms.com.au/2010/10/28/aquaponics-chop2-revealed/ it seems I have the perfect layout to make this happen.

Should I go for it or keep it simple with the CHIFT PIST (CHOP1) system?

The pump i'm getting is the Quiet One 6000 and my pump height is about 8'


Any comments appreciated.

looks nice and neat

I'm still wondering how he dug that hole without hitting rock.

Ha!.. luckily my soil is pretty good, the only problem we had was a root from the apple tree in the yard next door.

I wish i made the sump bigger though.

I'd stick with the CHOP1 as I like keeping my sump clean. One can always divert some water from the pump back into the tank, just for aeration.

Make sure to get greenhouse plastic rather than the regular visquine. The stuff looks just the same, but regular visquine will only last a couple months before becoming brittle.

I kept about 30 tilapia in a 50 gal aquarium until they reached 4". The growbed was 6'x2'x1' (90 gallons) and I see you have 5 barrels cut into 10 half-barrels (let's say 20 gal*10=200 gal growbed gravel volume), so I'm sure you could keep 75 fish...for a while at least. You will find that they will clog the gravel until it matures. At worst, you may need to add a settling tank (which will also help as a trap for escaping babies).

Hydro,
i'm actually adding 2 more beds to the system making it a 12 GB system.

i've found that each 1/2 barrel can only contain about 8 gallons of water at a time.

would that make my GB filtering volume 12x8gal ? or 12x20(+)gal ?

if it's the total volume including the rocks then according to the 100 gal : 28 lbs of biomass ratio i would have 240gal. of filter meaning i could get 50+ fish in this fist phase ?

Or am I completely wrong?

Hi Garf. Your system is looking good. You've put in some hard work. Seems like the consensus here on this forum is to stick with Chift-Pist or CHOP if given the choice of CHOP2. There are also plenty of people here that don't bother with Sump though also.

I'm also planning to do some kind of convertible greenhouse/shade house, but after looking around through the forum came to the same conclusion about using fish and plants that work in your climate. Good news, though: Tilapia will work for you and grow out in one growing season. A couple of the other guys on the board have done Tilapia in the warm season successfully.

I've had trouble viewing some of your pics, so I'll friend you on Facebook tonight to see the rest of your progress.

Michael

The filtering volume calculations I have seen are based on the total grow bed volume, not the water volume in the grow bed. The filtering work is taking place in the media (not the water). It's really about surface area of the media I suspect, but the ratios have been reduced down to simpler calculations.

That's great then, i'll be able to sustain almost 70 fish
25gal/GB
300gal total GB volume
with the ratio of 28lb of fish/100gal of filter
at 1.25 lbs per fish that's almost 70 fish.
that's great news.
Now I have to go get fish.

What about breeding the fish, does anyone do that around here? I realize you have to separate the eggs from the females before they hatch. I've also heard of filters that could do that for you?
Anyone have any input?

Feel free to add me to facebook http://www.facebook.com/garfield1979