Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Good day,

I'm volunteering at a community garden at a local elementary school in Houston, TX.

My plans are to create an IBC (or plastic or fiberglass) fish tank aquaponics system raising channel catfish, and vegetables yet to be decided.

I have located 2 IBCs via eBay and am hoping to start construction in August.

Currently, I am designing the system, so good feedback would be greatly appreciated. I have read quite a bit online. I saw what the Aussies were doing with IBCs, and thought I might do something similar to teach the students responsibility, science, husbandry, and what fresh catfish tastes like!

Here is the IBC of Aquaponics http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/compo ... onics.html
It is a great resource if you are looking to do anything with IBCs. Aquaponics is a great learning tool and can be a lot of fun too. The document links to Youtube videos and systems built by forum members that you can link to for further info. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

I am also considering HDPE plastics, but can't find anything suitable. Fiberglass is another option, but that would age in the sun...

Anyone have an old milk tank to donate to the school?

I've seen those blue barrels split lengthwise for beds. I believe we manufacture such things in and around Houston. I should have better luck with this than I am. Saw some HDPE pipes manufactured here; wonder if I could split some spare pipe in two and seal the ends somehow. The type of beds I was shooting for are pea gravel filled, constantly flooded. I was going to install the fish tank as the drain (so no sump). The beds will be raised above the water level of the fish tank (sand to fill underneath). I'm planning for plant beds (12 inches deep) 7 times the surface area of the fish habitat and a final fish density of 1/4 to 1/2 lb. per gallon of water. Is 40 fish per IBC too many? I'm looking at channel catfish to be supper.

Does the plan make sense? See any holes?

hi and welcome
if i was just starting out you couldnt start anywhere better than on that link faye posted, starting that way gives you the chance to build a system quickly and get it up and running with very little chance for things to go wrong, then once the system is running it is a very easy system to expand upon, the stocking density does depend on the size of the fish tank but it is more dependent on the area of growbed that you have, the growbed is your filter so you can only stock based on the size of that,
So 40 fish will probably be too many to start with.
definetly start with fayes link and go from there
good luck

Just got a message from a Texas fish farm that Bluegill might be more forgiving in terms of temperature. Anyone raise Bluegill?

(Thanks for the link, Faye. I enjoyed the article.)

i've got a few bluegill in my ft w/ yellow perch, some have grown quite well, a couple have not.. but i think i had a mix of hybrid and regular..
pond people use hybrid because they are mostly male (95%)
if a hatchery or pond stocking place near you has bluegill they're likely to be best suited for your area..
my bg handled temps into the 90's and down to the low 40's

I was doing some reading about bluegill. About how the commercial fisheries cull the small males. Seemed to be a little work intensive and I wouldn't have a place for the small males to go.

Then I was reading in Aquaponic Gardening (Sylvia Bernstein) that catfish could tolerate winter. Could the fish farm I got the advice from just be pushing bluegill?

What has been your experience with raising bluegill? Do you have to cull the school? What are hybrid bluegill, how are they produced, how do they grow? Are those fish similar to the tilapia in terms of how the fish are hybridized?

The science teacher has expressed an interest in a pond. I think a pond could serve well, if properly protected from tadpoles/birds and young students. Four feet deep seems to be a good depth for preventing egret fishing. Has anyone seen such a system extant?

The growth period for catfish is primarily in warmer weather, but the school year extends through winter with summers off. Could I cycle the pond up in August with catfish growing until harvest in the early summer for a sort of dinner party at school-year's end?

i wouldn't bother culling... commercial fisheries have specific goals and a different environment than an ap system.. they rely on a mix of pellet feeding and forage..
i'm pretty happy with how my bg have grown, but the place i got them from told me they were "Hybrid" bluegill, after sending a few pictures to some experts, i found that i have a mix of hybrid and regular bg, and maybe a pumpkinseed or two.. if you get good regular bg, they will most likely spawn in a tank if you provide the right environment.. i posted this on another thread:
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G9473
i haven't tried raising catfish because my better half is allergic to them..