Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey Yeah !!

watch the coppers mate !! They will be knocking on your door or running through your patch in no time. Nosey bastards They have nothing better to do 'cause it is to hard for them to go and catch a real criminal

Your system is looking awesome. Well done. I am looking forward to being able to watching this grow Thankyou so much

cant wait for the coppers to show up mob handed and all pile into the polytunnel to be confronted by a sea of lettuce and tomato plants lol
as for the gravelbed EB, you are right i just need to configure some cheap and nasty way of doing it, am thinking of doing the beds in 2.4m x 3m sections in a 39 meter long line, pallets are useful as we can lay them as the bottom of the beds and they are the perfect size,they measure 1m x 1.2m i just need to get 160 of them now lol

so done water test today and ph was 5.4 aghhh
was my fault, luckily no fish in yet, i must remember to test stuff before i add it to the system, i bought a different fish bone blood meal and added it without thinking, tested a small amount in water from tap that was ph 8.0 and it dropped it to ph 5.4, so had to fill a bucket with lime and stick the return flow pipe in it to keep it agitated and it works kinda like a sand filter in the sump, ph in system starting to climb up again

a few more pics of progress so far and a before and after shot 2 weeks apart

some pics of growth please note beans tomatos and pepper lol
the broad bean plant was a sickly stunted one that was no good to go outside with the rest, it is now twice the size of those outside and has loads of flowers and the first bean showing, its also grown about 6 foot in 2 weeks

more growth shots

my solution to a low ph level, half fill a bucket with oyster shell and lime and put outflow pipe in it, ph was 5.4, it is now 6.8

A specific pH stabilizing bucket is a great idea for a large system. I used the shells in some pantyhose buried in the gravel method haha. I have hopes of joining the ranks of large scale systems worldwide but patience is required of me. In the meantime, I get to follow in awe all the ones being developed.

How is your system going now that it is the middle of summer, GBHTREV? (Or don't you know because you are down at the Olympic velodrome watching your countrymen/women cream the Aussies and Kiwis?)

I am in Plymouth England and have a backyard IBC system, using it to cut my teeth. This Cornwall project looks good and is what the UK needs. Please keep us up to date with the results. Have a look at www.aquaponics-uk-forum.org.uk. This forum has been set up to promote AP in the UK and help spread the word.

Good Luck CM

hello GBHTREV, whereabouts are you in cornwall?

I am thinking of building my own backyard system in Falmouth area, I would love to see a working setup in the region.

Any chance I could visit?

I think is off the game! He has not been posting for a while.
I've set up an aquaponic hobby farm in somerset and you can view some pics in the commercial system section ( mew small venture starting in UK).
All the best with your system.
Just ask any question you might have.