Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi, I'm Kevin and I've finally got a system up and running and I think the whole thing is amazing. It has far exceeded mine and my family's expectations. It started as a trapezoidal shaped pond against a rendered besser block wall but it got bigger now 1600l and produces both fish and plants. Well, we haven't eaten any fish yet but have harvested a lot of basil. I have 9 goldfish which seem to be growing really quick and 5 silver perch up to about 10cm. The water is now crystal clear, the lilly is flowering and the fish feed hungrily, what more could you want?
I'm going to keep the fish numbers as they are for the rest of this summer but hope to set up a school of 20-30 trout for the winter. I need a lot more grow bed volume which I haven't had time to set up.

Hey Kevin, you're Stafford's friend who came and saw my system right?

Good to see it happening for you!

Yes , That's me Stuart, is it?. Took me a while to get organised

Nice and simple Kevin, glad you got the pics sorted out

Yes I finally got it sorted. Thanks for your help

Yeah, love the pond looks magnificent

I can see a lot of those "must have" landscaping ponds starting a new life with aquaponics

At least they will have useful as well as decorative lives.

Looks like a good spot Kevin, have fun with it.

Hey Kevin, how is the system going?

Very spiffy! Any chance the grow bend could be done with beeser blocks too?

It's going better than ever. I was just going to add some info before you asked.
I haven't increased my grow bed area like I've always planned, partly because I can't quite decide what to do but also because I have no spare money. The great thing though, is that over the last week the basil and the lettuce have really got going. The basil particularly now has those large soft leaves you see in the bunches that you buy and seems to be growing much faster. For the first 10 weeks ( this system started in november) the plants were growing but were sort of scrawny with woody stems but now it's lush and beautiful.
I can't work out why. We've had some pretty hot weather lately but it's not the first time so I don't think it's that.
I've been feeding the fish somewhat inconsistently, like always, sometimes 3 times a day sometimes 1. I'd better go and do it now that's 2 for today. That hasn't changed.
Perhaps it's something to do with the nitrogen/ammonia cycle which I haven't yet attempted to understand but I've read about it on other systems. I thought it only takes 3-4 weeks to settle down to whatever it's supposed to.
The difference with my system than most others I've seen is that I've got a large number of water plants. Maybe they affect the ammonia absorption. They also are growing really well and always have been. The reeds are bursting out of the pot and are huge just like they grow in a polluted over nutriented?! creek.
I just wish the fish would grow a bit quicker though. They don't seem to have grown as fast as I expected and have to be out of there in a couple of months so I can start a school of trout for winter
Kevo

nice one kev.

Ap does that.........potters along then explodes with growth and just keeps going.

It probably could be and that would look great. The problem though is that I would have to pump both ways and I want to avoid that. I really want a system that uses mimum pumping but is also fail safe. My worst nightmare is having a pump not switch off and me coming home from work and seeing silver flat discs on the bottom of an empty fish pond!
The land here has a gradual downhill slope and I want to have the growbeds down the hill a bit 6-7 metres from the fish pond. The area inbetween has been recently paved and is a basketball and badminton play area. It is down 30-40cms. I somehow want to incorporate those fantastic autosyphons. I love the fact that they use no power and are a completely automated system. I also particularly enjoy explaining them to visitors that come and have a look.
The other issue with besser blocks is waterproofing them. I had a few probs with that and spent far too much money but that's another story. I can explain what I did another time if you want.
Kevo

I was thinking that you would have the grow bed higher than the pond and simple have a drain back approach.

I'm interested in the problems you have had sealing the besser blocks - I'm considering them for a large underground water tank (slab with besser blocks with concrete infill). Did you use surface bonding acrylic/cement and fibreglass mesh?

I considered using one of the pond paints or some sort of fibreglass mesh system but I don't think my bricks are stable enough.The back wall is an old garage wall thats been there 40-50 years and has a slight lean and i built the pond up against it. I'm expecting some movement between the two and there is some fine cracking already and so I chose to use pond liner. That was the only way I felt I could cope with some movement and still be reasonably confident of remaining waterproof.
The first cheaper liner leaked because I damaged it during installation but the next more expensive one is still good. I actually left the old one underneath so it's double thick. I also lined the blocks with 2cm thick sheets of polystyrene foam for insulation and protection from damage. The liner is just a large flat sheet that I folded in the corners to fit. Apparently I could have got it made to fit but I didn't want to spend any more. The new one cost $200 and was something fancy from Du Pont. I got it from "Creative Ponds" here in Adelaide. Thinner but stronger than the first one. I think next time I will find something readymade from plastic or fibreglass and build the blocks around whatever shape it is.
Goodluck with your watertank. I've heard they are difficult to keep waterproof and clean in the long term. I'm no expert but I'm sure there are plenty around.