Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

My aquaponics setup consists of 2 growbeds (GB1 is 150x200x30cm=450L and GB2 is 200x100x30cm=600L) both growbeds have gravel as growmedia and are made of glassfiber. My fishtank is 100x300cmx35cm=1050L and made of a bamboo frame with a special liner.
I am using a Resun 9904 air-pump (8w,9L/min) and a Resun SP-3800 Water-pump (25w2000L/h, Hmax 1.8m). The water-inlets are at 100cm height from the pump and supply a sufficient amount of water to the growbeds. I made some modifications to reduce the restrictions in the plumbing and got about 30% more water to the GBs than earlier which at that time was already working well. As you can see on the photos one of the GBs is a bit higher than the other and I added a piece of pipe with an elbow to regulate the waterflow so it balances the GBs waterinlets. Both air and water pumps has been running for a year without any problems.
The siphon is an affnan/bell with an airhose, which works like a charm. I made the modified siphon after experimenting a bit over the past year to get the most reliable/low-maintenance solution. GB1 flood time is 18min and drain time is 6min and GB2 is a tiny bit more. All the plumbing is done with 3/4inch except that I am using a 2.5inch pipe for the bell and 4inch pipe to keep the grow media from getting into the siphon.
I have about 75 small tilapia and a bit fever plants than I would like but will add some plants this week.

Total cost for the materials has been around 350USD

Looks very cool Hassan. Out of curiosity, did you make your growbeds? Any concerns about the bamboo not holding up?

I would have made the growbeds myself for several reasons, two of them being saving money and getting better quality/strength, but I couldn't find a place that sells glassfiber mats and resin untill recently. If I get a chance to expand I will be making growbeds from plywood and glassfiber.
The bamboo should hold long enough till we get our farmland further up in the mountains and I can make a FT in the ground and have the growbeds lower. Bamboo is very strong and if I don't get termites it should be able to last at least 5 years although I sure hope I will move way before that.

Kewl "Abu"....