Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, here is my first go at aquaponics. I am a plumber by trade and an overall diy'er, so I figure it should be that difficult.
I am starting with one 55 gallon barrel for the fish tank, filled to the top. Along with it, I have two 20 gallon grow beds. A simple system with one pump in fish tank, pumping to the grow beds filled with pea gravel. Gravel guard made from 3" PVC with holes cut to allow water and not gravel, and a 1" stand pipe with a 2" bell on top. Both draining directly into the fish tank. I had 20 gallons of the gravel cycling on top of my 50 gallon aquarium with several large goldfish for the past month, then added the second growbed with new media.
So far I just put 4 goldfish and a cutting from the grape vine from the yard to see whats up.
Next weekend I will be putting in some tomatoes and strawberrys. I would like some dwarf fruit trees as well.

Cool, keep the pics coming.

Good to see people not afraid to do some digging.. just wait till your next system when you decided to bury a couple of IBC's underground..

Yeah, being a plumber, I am used to digging. Plus, I have some yard apes that lend a hand...

I have a great line on IBC's, but as we are renting at the moment, a 55 gallon will suffice.

The wife brought me home some seeds yesterday, lettace, cuccumber, carrots, squash and a few others.

Does anyone have a better way to seed the grow bed? Just broadcast, or germinate in a papertowel first, or buy seedlings?

Thanks for all your help and this site is awesome!!

And by the way, I am in Northwest Florida USA!!!

Just have a go and remember - or find out - what crops grow best and when
Your seasons are way different to ours!!!

We have done a little experimenting; it is quite interesting what grows better from seed.
Have fun

SO, here is the semi-completed first system. (2) 20 gallon grow beds, pea gravel filled, 55 gallon fish tank with 8 goldies. I have the stargazer lillies popping up, it took awhile, but they are finally a 1/4 inch above the gravel, so my daughter and I planted some squash, spinach, cukes, and carrots.

Just alittle update:

Only after a few days of sowing seeds, I have carrots and spinach about 1.5 inches above the gravel. The fish tank is absolutely crystal clear and the goldfish are getting really big.

After building a few biological trickle filters for my aquariums, I am very impressed how well the BB in the grow beds are working.

I went to Blackwater River yesterday with the family. Picked up some awesome driftwood, a great tan, and also I was fish watching. I saw thousands of rosey red minnows, and I also saw some bigger fingerlings with a spot on their tail. After I got home, I did some researching online to find out what kind of fish they were...and I believe they were Striped Bass.

Has anyone used Striped Bass in their AP system? I know I only have a 55 gallon tank, but I am sure that I can remove the goldies and insert a handful of Striped Bass fingerlings to grow out for a season. Anyone have input?

You would only need 1 of these to keep your system running

HA

Yeah, i hear ya, I was googling striped bass, and heard the average is 20 -25lbs and record was around 100 and about 5 feet long. Image the fillets on that bad boy!!!

And imagine the bioload