Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I have been bit, and now I am in the full swing of preparations to go full on AP by next year. I really see a future in this as a self sustainable way to provide, minus the electricity! Moreover I see a huge business opportunity in Atlanta, GA and surrounding areas.

I have good access to free IBCs, a 3/4hp pump with large sand filter from our now defunked pool, and a lot of soil and hydroponic growing experience. I will be jumping in head first as I take a crash course and learn from hiccups and failures along the way.

I will be burrying a 275 IBC this week for my sump. I took the pump apart, cleaned and rewired it today. Hooking it up tomorrow to test it! I cleaned out the sand filter to sanatize it. I plan to add back 8-10 inches of sand then about 2000+ bio balls (as much as will fit) to fill it to the top. ANY OPINIONS THERE? My 4 250 gallon IBC fish tanks will be in my barn and two rows of stepped beds 4 in each row beds outside (for those who have been skimming that's 8 16 inch deep IBC grow beds). I mixed pea gravel and 57 gravel for my medium as expanded clay is out of my price range and I have seen many great systems in gravel. I really want to grow duck weed for my 30+ chickens so that is somewhere in my future, more research!

So yeah lots of ideas, lots of IBCs, hopefully a great big pump... Now I just need to sit back listen and go through a few more hundred sketches and depend on all you AP veterans to do it right from the start.

Peace and Chicken Grease!
Joshua from Georgia

Welcome to the forum ap is addictive.

Welcome Joshua start reading and planning you will get there in the end. Cheers

Welcome aboard

what kind of business had the totes? So far all I have found here in north central Florida is a couple of lumber mills.

You can get them by the semi load for $20 per in La Grange, GA. I have a solid hook up in West GA from a chemical company. Good ones for $25 and if they holes in the top they are free. The free ones are perfect for pallet mounted tanks and beds. I just cut most of the cage and tank away for the beds. I have used these for hydroponics before, but the fish are adding a whole new, demintion of difficulty and fruit. I am in the market for winter plant ideas. A greenhouse is out of my reach right now, Dave Ramsey may teach me to retire well and be debt free, but man does budgeting it make it tough right now!

I just saw your first picture from your system! Something so simple, but for some reason I never thought of it! Cut down the tub and leave the cage... DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH! I fell like such a retard for all the cages I have cut down to size and spent hours smothing and sealing just to add supports to stake up plants. OMG I can't believe that I have never seen that before!

Welcome. If you haven't seen the IBC's of Aquaponics then you should check it out. This link will take you to the information (same place the Information link at the top of the page goes) section where there is a link for this.

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/information.html

I read it, downloaded it, printed it, put it in sleeve protectors and read it again.

Sleeve protectors? Yeah you've been bit hard by the AP bug.

Go Dave Ramsey!

Got more pics?

You should see my hydroponic and mushroom library! I have a hacker buddy who spends all day on the computer so I have him find pdf versions if books I want. He downloads them, I read them and if I like them I print them and sleeve them so they don't get ruined when something over flows, randomly sprays water or i leave it in the rain. Lost a great composting book that way. I rhink I'm going to officially start a project thread. I am pretty early and may not be able to really plant much till spring but it depends on what kind of winter plants I can find. In my profession I pray for cold winter, and until now I have just fires up the grow lighs. However half yard of gravel per gb is a bit much to move around.

I just started a small system in my house and would love to check out a larger, IBC tote system. You doing any tours of your system?