Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey guys!

Been a while but rest assured I've been stalking all of you quietly ;]

So am a bit settled in here in Saudi Arabia now, and been missing my fish like crazy, finally gotten to a point where I can't take it anymore and will be putting a system together real soon.

So plan is to either get a an IBC and use the IBC manual for inspiration or a pair of blue barrels and plagarize a picture I saw in the BYAP display shop thread. Hydroton is available here and there are some aquarium shops as well, though I haven't visited them yet, so shouldn't be an issue getting materials and tools.

Thing is, I'm worried about two things. Both of them have to do with the weather.

As some of you may know Saudi Arabia is a desert country, it gets up to a boiling fifty degrees here, and stays that way for quite a while, even the nights are boiling. This understandably worries me, as do the sand storms.

Am planning to have the system in a balcony, but does anyone have experience with AP in such high tempratures? Also very fine dust and high winds every now and then? will it survive outdoors, perhaps with a plastic wrap greenhouse around it all or will I have to have it indoors/in a glass greenhouse with an AC to keep it cool? Also gets hella cold in winter so might even need a heater.

Any thoughts/experiences are most welcome, exciting updates within a couple of weeks with video and pictures

Welcome back!

Interesting challenges, keep us informed how you're addressing them. I guess you'll want to shelter the fish and roots as much as possible and only have the tops of the plants exposed in any way, and even then under shade cloth... If it really does get cold then maybe you'll have a short fish growing season that is too hot then another for the Winter that is too cold?

Also, maybe the FT can be inside and only the plants are on the balcony, and you could have separate water loops for the FT and primary filtration then the plants on their own loop on the balcony, and exchange water sometimes but not continuously, maybe at night?

Hay Abdul, maybe you can try and go for the record of setting up the most AP systems in separate individual countries. Good that u are spreading the virus around the world

Yea lots of shade cloth is what I had been thinking but don't want to reduce sunlight to a point that restricts growth.

Hahaha thats something we should all try for Luke :]

Another option I've been mulling is indoor system, electricity is cheap and available in plenty here so the system could have it's own AC and heater and light indoors. Lets see what it winds up as :]

That's some tough weather abdul. If it wasn't going to be on a balcony I'd say bury the tank, put up some shade cloth and a windscreen - unfortunately it doesn't sound like that's going to be an option. If you have lots of room indoors then I'd go that route. If not then I'd put it outside. How's the price of water? An evaporative cooler maybe?

Been thinking about the cooler scott but i think its too humid for that where i am