Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

He rarely tries. I'm really pretty spoiled.

Do not worry, enthusiasm for Aquaponics grows with time. You think you are excited now...

Sorry for the delay in responding. I forgot to subscribe to this thread.

Keep in mind I only pretend to know stuff on my blog. Around here everyone knows more than me, so if I say two pumps are a good idea, it's probably only me that thinks so.

Having said that, I can safely predict that you will find a use for every container you ever see, and if you haven't already started to, you are about to see a lot more containers everywhere you go

I see office air conditioning units and boats on trailers that all look like fish tanks to me

Fish grow at different rates, and they also feed at different rates. Sometimes this can lead to your small fish staying small as the big ones take more than their share and get into a bit of a turf war with everyone else. Some people grade their fish as a result. ie they pick out the big or small ones and put them in a different tank. This can still be connected to the main tank (some people float a plastic clothes basket in their main tank.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that if you do start small, you will probably find a use for the smaller system.

Some of your friends, family and grandchildren will no doubt want a system as well, so you will always find a home for it.

If I was starting again, I think I'd look at making lots of separate IBC systems all run independently so if something goes wrong with one, the others might not suffer the same fate.

I found that plumbing fittings cost me more than any other single cost when I added 3 growbeds to an IBC. The standard "grow bed on top" design for an IBC system has only the siphon to be plumbed, and there is a good reason the BYAP retail versions use the same layout.

here are some things that are worth a read (along with everything else on this site)...

this one is a test the BYAP people did at their shop and compares constant flood, siphon, and timed flood and drain systems side by side and really is a "must read" for anyone starting a system.
So far the only plants I've found that really dont like constant flood are strawberries, and capsicums.

BYAP system trials

And here are some things contributed by gurus.

Ratio
Ammonia
Nitrogen cycle
Nitrite

Are you thinking of using the barrels upright or lying down?

But you do it so WELL!


Are you saying it's okay to keep my 100 gal Rubbermaid tank? Because I was secretly really wanting to keep my 100 gal Rubbermaid tank. I can see this could get out of hand really quickly. I already have a whole cabinet full of "possibly useful containers" that my family members roll their eyes good-naturedly at. Although I'm pretty proud of the chick feeders and waterer that I threw together last week out of 2 Nestle Quik containers, a couple of soda bottles, the bottom of an ice cream bucket, and a bulk coffee creamer jar. But I'll need more than a kitchen cabinet for hoarding aquaponics-level "potentially useful containers!"


Yeah, I've been thinking about that, now that my daydream has expanded from 100 gallons to 275 gallons. Specifically, a 6-barrel sump means a lot of fittings, which means not only a lot of expense, but also a lot of potential points of failure. I've already broken the news to my amazingly indulgent hubs that I may need 2 IBCs instead of just the one. He actually seemed to take it pretty well.


Awesome. I've been reading stuff in my free time all weekend, and learning a bunch. I only get a weekend every 2 weeks right now, so I have to cram in as much as I can when I get the chance!

When there were going to be two of them, I was visualizing them upright, to make maximum use of underground temperature stabilization effects. But when the two in my original daydream multiplied into six, I started seeing them lying on their sides. Until I imagined them springing leaks and having to be dug up, and then I started thinking of them all being replaced by an IBC.

The two I have already are really nice, sturdy barrels, with screw-on lids. I'm already imagining one of them becoming a rain barrel for the goat shed, to feed the goats' water trough and a chicken watering system (which is still a little out of focus in my mind), so I don't have to lug the hose out there so often.

Dang, I'm not sure how much more enthusiasm I can handle. I should probably think about work at least once in a while. At least when I'm there, anyway1 Although I had a great aquaponics discussion with the psychiatrist on our team the other day -- found out he's doing hydroponics right now, but is really interested in aquaponics. Worked with the man for a whole year and had no idea he had those sorts of interests. Go figure!

Yep, I give you full permission

It really will come in handy. Even if all you do with it is fill it with gravel as additional filtration and plant a lime tree in it.

In fact....Fill it with gravel as additional filtration, and plant a lime tree in it.

As soon as you have a firm plan, or before - whatever, it's a good idea to post some drawings.

Do you know google's sketchup cad program? Lots of people use it here, and there are some pre-made objects in a thread somewhere that people have drawn - things like IBCs etc so you can just drop them into your design.

Sketchup is really worthwhile for designing a growhouse layout. You can even put your location in and it will allow you to scroll through a year of sun positions and shadows. There are some tutorials out there that will have you using it comfortably within an hour or so.

here tis..

sketchup components thread

I do not recall seeing citrus grown much in Washington. Deciduous fruits like apples, cherries, peaches, pears, and plums dominate there. Kiwi fruit might be an interesting prospect. Then again, it is going to be in a greenhouse, so limes might be the coolest thing on the block! It must seem Wierd to you when people grow blackberries in their system. Oddly I have thought about it myself, as they do not grow in San Diego. The first time I saw blackberries grown on purpose the first thing I thought is, why? Now I miss them, and the purple hands that accompanied them.

Yay! I actually have two baby lemon trees I'm hoping will survive until I get the AP system up and running. My son brought some really delicious lemons back from his grand-in-laws' house in CA a couple of years ago and I planted some of the seeds. Out of 5 that sprouted, I've managed to keep 2 alive. Maybe they'd like a lime tree friend.


I've seen it mentioned, but haven't gotten around to playing yet. If I'd known about the sun position part I'd have tried it already, that's awesome! But I've gotta force myself to wait until later, after sundown. There's goat-shed-building to be done today. And compost-turning, if my tiny little rototiller can hack it (previous owners left me a nice pile, but it's a bit neglected...some nice little tomato plants sprouting out of it, maybe I'll snag them for my AP/greenhouse) and maybe some fence-painting. And *hopefully* some greenhouse-building, if my builder-guy gets done at his fencing job early enough to stop by!

I just looked at my calendar and discovered I don't work tomorrow. All weekend I've thought I was working tomorrow. YAY!!! Tomorrow I will go IBC shopping. (The places that sell them are all closed on weekends.)

One of the things that happened to me after I became a nurse was that I forgot about the significance of weekends to the rest of the world. Usually the only way I even know it's a weekend is that it's easier to find a parking place at the hospital. Or that something I want is frustratingly unavailable because other people have this strange expectation of always being entitled to having certain days off.

Ooh!


It does make me smile. I always want to pipe up and say something about planting a dandelion and crabgrass border around my garden, or ask for advice on propagating kudzu. I have just spent the last several weeks (and still have more to do) getting things set up to accommodate my newly-acquired goat herd -- whose express purpose in life is to keep the blackberries from taking over the habitable portions of our property. And who knows, perhaps, eventually, to carve out a few more.


And faces. (Taken yesterday, after our walk in the back yard jungle)

A question: (taking a quick break from outdoor chores)

What are the pros and cons of larger vs. smaller grow beds? For instance, if I have a total of 24-25 feet of grow bed in length, is it overall better to make, say, two 12' beds vs. six 4' beds? I can think of a few obvious obvious issues...the more beds I build, the higher the expense in materials. But the fewer beds, the bigger the potential fallout of any failure to drain, etc...

Any other pros/cons I've missed thinking of?

Wheee! Hubs found someone selling IBCs who is available on weekends. Not that I couldn't have waited until tomorrow. (I could have. Honest.) But (he says) this way we can go together to get them (he's one of those people who have weekends off all the time), and it will be like a date.

Did I marry the right guy, or WHAT?

Sounds like a plan, get them home and acouple of chairs, a bottle of red and plan the next stage