Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all! I'm just getting started. So far, I've placed a few small rafts in the top of my goldfish's tank. The tank is still cycling, although it looks like the nitrites are finally starting to go down. I have dandelion seedlings (seeds originally stolen from neighbors' front lawns) and watercress cuttings (part of a bunch purchased as treats for my rabbits). There is one single pot where I have placed some cilantro seeds, in the hopes of getting at least one to germinate. It's next to a north-facing window (very poor light, especially in the winter now), so I'm using a desk lamp with a compact fluorescent bulb (swiped from my parents - it's a regular indoor light, but it's supposed to be equivalent to 100W of incandescent).

My goals are two-fold: do something that will suck up the nitrates in the tank so that I don't have to do thrice-weekly water changes (if I can get it down to every 2-4 weeks, I shall consider that a success), and grow leafy greens for my rescued rabbits. I have a bonded pair of New Zealand mixes, and one special needs/chronically ill little guy. I have a black thumb (I almost killed a cactus once), so I normally buy them romaine lettuce, collard greens, kale, chard, or whatever else is cheap at the grocery store. The little one happens to like curly endive a.k.a. frisee, which is crazy expensive! I'd like to work up to growing a steady supply for him, maybe in the spring when the seeds are available.

I have a steady supply of the styrofoam lids that I'm using as rafts, and I still have at least 9L of hydroton left. I'm out of net pots, but luckily there's a local hydroponics store (how awesome is that!?) that sells them at a great price. (I think I might have bought pots that are a little too small, but at least it made cutting the holes easier - I used a utility knife. I figure that the roots will just grow down into the water, or through the styrofoam.) However, as you might see if I attached the images properly, I've run out of room in the tank itself. Whoops! I'm not sure what to do now, because I don't think I have enough plants to eat up all the nitrates. Sure, this is just one feeder goldfish, but she's over three inches long and still growing. Plus, goldfish are social and I'd like to get her a friend - a total impossibility if I don't drastically upgrade the tank when they get bigger.

I am terrible at do-it-yourself, so plumbing up a real grow bed is a scary thought. Also, because the setup is located in the same room as my bunnies and their hay, I don't dare risk a big flood.

My current thoughts about possibilities are:

A) Set up hydroponic deep water cultures in spare litter boxes (I have an abundance of these) that are not connected to the tank. I would change the water by hand, recycling the water from the boxes if they used up the nitrates. My current air pump is powerful enough to power more airstones if I place everything close by. I could also set them up in another location if I bought another air pump. That would allow me to take advantage of sunlight elsewhere in the house (well, in the spring and summer when there actually IS some sunlight).

B) Purchase a nano overflow box designed for use in aquaria without drilling holes in an existing tank, and use a pump in a sump (Rubbermaid plastic tote underneath the desk) to circulate the water. The overflow box design should prevent all the water draining into the sump in the event of a power failure (I have generally seen good reviews of these devices, whereas I have seen several complaints that DIY overflows or siphons that aren't drilled through the tank fail too easily). Regular maintenance of the overflow box should keep the water draining properly. I would then use either more DWC rafts or try my hand at a constant flood grow bed. If the sump is large enough, I could also do away with the current hang-on-the-back power filter, and fill a section with biological filter media. I would then need to purchase a grow light of some kind for this setup.

I would love to hear your suggestions!

If plumbing scares you Chibikale, think of it as leggo, child's play
Turn it in to fun by joining little black pipes with elbows and directors. People at the hardware or retic store will probably help when you tell them what its for, good luck anyway.

so long as the inlet to the overflow box can only reach an amount of water that is less than the sump you will be fine as far as flooding goes.

i have made one using that very filter i can see in your tank now. it was about as fail safe as you can get. all that needs to be done is the filter slides removed and replace with a stand pipe this keeps the water level above the impeller and below the overflow back to the tank so it can stop and start no problem and in the case of a blocked pipe the water just overflows back to the tank.

Nat - you mean take out the filter media and put a hole (with a pipe in it) in the plastic wall of the filter leading down to the sump? That would be interesting - then I wouldn't lose the mechanical filtration from the power filter sucking water through the sponge on the intake. From experience, I know that the impeller will not be able to pull up water once the tank is half empty, so that would also keep the tank from emptying completely in the event of a failure on the sump return pump. I like that as well. Do you have any images of your overflow box so I can see exactly what you did? What tools would I need? I've never worked with plastic. We have an electric drill, but I don't think we have the right drill bits for larger holes.

I was thinking of buying this overflow box specifically, although it's out of my budget range for now.

I am amused that you recognize the filter. It's about 10 years old!

i think i gave mine to someone i was using it for a marine set up (not aquaponics) about 2 years ago but the guy who told me how to do it said not to drill it as the plastic will just crack so i heated up a mettle pipe over the stove that was the rite size to melt a hole in it then just glued in a piece of pipe i might have an old one of those filters some where i can do it again to show you if i find one.

an over flow box can be good but i found them slow and annoying to start up whenever they stop i havent used that one befor but it looks like it will work and you wont be risking your $75 filter they are also fail safe and have no impeller to worry about so probs a better option

I think I wrapped my head around your explanation, finally. I don't know if it'd be worth trying to get a metal pipe and then another section of piping on top of that. The filter is a smaller model, so it was only US$20, but you're right, I could totally botch the entire procedure. It's a really good emergency filter to keep around, too (once word gets around that you like a type of animal in the rescue world, everyone and their grannies all want to give you one).

I got a nice sturdy tote to use as a sump (only a little begging required)! Now I just need to keep an eye on craigslist for equipment ...

sorry for my lack of explaining skills

No worries! I can't comprehend explanations without diagrams, it has nothing to do with your explanation skills. My dad tried to tell me something about the door locks and I ended up running away screaming while my brother looked on and laughed.

Nitrites are finally zero and nitrates are up to 10 ppm! Although ammonia is still 0.25 ppm. I really had no idea how much goldfish can poop until I got one. It doesn't look physically possible!

I need more plants, but don't know where to put them. Darn.

I rearranged things quite a bit, using a submersible pump (the local hydroponics/indoor growing store, CT Roots, is amazingly helpful). Thankfully, I didn't have a mini-cycle when I moved all the media around.



pH = 7.6-7.8 (I think I would kill for a digital pH meter - this whole guess-the-color thing is driving me insane)
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate = 20 ppm (I probably need to do a water change soon for optimal goldfish health)

Seeds are germinating in peat plugs. If they don't die, I will get some more hydroton (level is currently too low in the box) and plop them in.

Don't do a water change, just plant some more plants

Hehe, I would, but it's the middle of winter here. I'd pay an arm and a leg for decent seedlings right now. The seeds are starting to germinate, though, so I have high hopes that I won't have to do TOO many more water changes!

nice simple set up i like it.
is it cf?
are you using a stand pipe or just holes in the container?

Yup, constant flow, and a 3/4" hole drilled into the side of the box for a drain. I probably could put the pump on a timer for flood and drain, but I wasn't convinced that the extra complication would be worth it to me.

Mystery seeds are sprouting! Some kinds of lettuce (it was a mix) and either watercress or parsley. I can't remember which one went where. Whoops.

I had an almost identical set up running in a 40g tank but I have to start over. I'm 99.9% sure the problem is lighting. Even though it was about 3ft from a window that got some morning light and next to a regular lamp, the lettuce got leggy and eventually died. The two plants that were still alive and leggy I moved outside.

I have to figure out a lighting situation since this is near the front entry and most decent grow lights are pretty ugly. I thought I'd warn you since I see your seedlings leaning toward the light, you might end up with the same problem. On the bright side, it did help clean the water and I stopped getting algae.

Ouch, that doesn't sound good. Thanks for the warning - sounds like I'd better get better lighting together sooner rather than later. I was planning on a spotlight-type LED grow light hung on something nearby. I don't really care what it looks like, but I can't mess with the walls and I've got limited electrical outlets.