Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I found out about aquaponics several months ago and started researching. Some of the best information, resources, and knowledgeable operators were on a *sigh* forum devoted to growing controlled substances which is now closed down. C'est la vie, all I want to grow are tomatoes (love love LOVE them) and peppers and other tasty legal veggies.

I have a office/workshop with counterspace along one wall (and a sink in it! bonus for draining emergencies!) and cabinets underneath. Originally I diagrammed out something like a 40 gallon fishtank on one part of the counter with an additional resevoir in a rubbermaid if necessary, along with a biofilter container, and then tomato plants in bubbler buckets. Not sure how I'd handle beds of smaller things like salad greens or veggies, but that's how individual large plants would be (naturally using proper grow lights for everything). Didn't read too many positive things about ebb and flow stuff.

The whole thing would ultimately involve at least one big pump and quite a few aerators in addition to making use of surface area and waterfalls for increasing oxygen content. I'll hunt up my notes and post them.

If it works out, I have tons more space down in the basement for growing even more stuff, and a hot-tub size fishtank could fit.

Nice to see this forum

Edit: here's a few.



I have several blue plastic drums that were previously used for storing grains, not sure about cutting them up but they are available for tanks along with tons of rubbermaid containers (not sure if I trust those to be foodgrade though), and I am pretty interested in a glass fishtank to go on the counter. Available growspace will be at a premium though, so perhaps the tanks will go under the counter. Might use a few tubs linked together with sections of 4" PVC pipe, or make use of the bathroom directly next to the room for a fishtank area and connect it through the wall.

Tostitos,

I think i know the site you're talking about. LOTS of very good info on the differnt types of Hydropinics systems.

In my opinion DWC (for those who are un familiar with this term, it usually means that the plant roots are directly suspended in the water with direct aireation via an air stone) probably provides the fastest growth rates when people are looking at getting their "tomatoes" turned over as quickly as possible.

What needs to be realised i think with aquaponics is that it is a synergistic (i hope i spelled that right) system best designed to be as un reliant as possible on external inputs. DWC is great, but if the air pump or power fails you not only "drown" the plant roots but starve the fish of oxygen, more so becasue the plant roots take up oxygen.

having the water cascading back into the fish tank is a good idea as it puts oxygen into the water. My system will also have an air pump so both would have to fail for the fish to loose oxygen. (i'm more concerned with the fish as they are harder to get and cost more than veggies). I think you'll find that in most systems the water is 100% O2 saturated already due to design to keep the fish happy.

If you look at some of the growth rates pictured on Joels site then DWC seems unnessesary. Also by incorporating the "gravel" in the grow beds they actually become your Biofilter.

But hey, people doing things differnetly is what mkaes a group like this GREAT. And i'f be interested to see if DWC increases growth in an aquaponics system.

Keep us posted.

PS you may find it cheaper in the long run to install sky-lights HID lights for peppers may get expensive

I'm serious though about the tomatos/tomatoes. If I were going to grow pot, I'd say so.

Gravel growbeds is probably the way I'm gonna go, because of things like lettuce etc.. but might as well get some practice at doing DWC in at least a bio bucket or two in case I ever move to BC. It does seem like the best way to grow large plants and the 'one gallon bucket of gravel suspended in a five gallon bucket of frothing air and water' thing might work well.

I wasn't trying to say that you weren't growing veggies

Just that high powered lights might get expensive on the power bill.

Whats BC?

Steve

I've been meaning to try a DWC set up for a while since reading about them many many months ago on both one of 'those' growing sites, as well as another aquaponic discussion board.

The person I spoke with had been using a DWC aquaponic system without any bubblers under the roots of the plants but he had very high flow rates from his fish tank, through the buckets... I'd love to see some photos of a DWV aquaponic system up and running, there was an interesting discussion a while back about it on another aquaponic discussion board, if anyone is interested in finding out more, try here.

Is it too cold where you are to grow outside Tostitos?

No, but my whole planning involved having this setup inside so I wouldn't have to worry about things like rain or extension cords etc. I do have an unused (est 100-300 gallon) goldfish pond around 6' away from the only porch where this would really be worthwhile setting up near... and the place in between the porch and pond would be optimal for some growbeds.

There's also a concrete-block building on the edge of the property that has the roof rotting and falling down, might re-roof it in glass (hah, with ALLLLL the money that violently flies out of my wazoo!) into a greenhouse and fill it with plants and a fishtub.

Hm.

The countertop system might become more of a small sub-experiment than my main start.