Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all you aquaponics experts!

Happy to be here and to have a place to learn and share. Mostly learning for me right now.

I am trying to grow some basic (?) vegetables and herbs in our small apartment. Tomatoes maybe. Peppers?

I just started to read up on the topic (websites, books, etc.) and I have some challenges.

First, my wife does not want a big mess at home, so I am heavily constrained about what kinds of "stuff" I am "allowed" to keep indoors. I am sure some of you married guys will understand! :-)

I also can't grow on my balcony outside, it's too windy. There is nice sunshine but this wind thing seems like a huge problem. Even my stored stuff outside moves around when the wind is strong, and some of it are heavy boxes.

Right now I am considering starting ONLY with hydroponics before I start doing any "fishy stuff" and so far I have seen a few mentions of things like AeroGarden, which looks pretty expensive ($200+). I do not want to spend big $$$ right now, not only because just like many people I have to watch my budget in this economy, but also my wife might not like the mess and then I gotta get rid of the stuff or at least downsize it or whatever. (Well, until I give her some organic tomatoes or fresh peppers then maybe she will agree to this!).

I was thinking about, for the immediate present time, just getting suitable grow lights, and then rig up something with one of the spare shelving that I have (the ones that you assemble from the wire shelves and pipes, which you can get at the hardware stores). Then I can put one shelf high up and hang the lights on it, and have a shelf low down and put the plants and container on.

For soil, I have not decided yet. I was thinking hydroponics without soil would be "less messy" but then I also want to compost organic food waste and my coffee grinds etc (not to mention vermicomposting but then we are REALLY going to push my wife's buttons with worms indoors! I chuckle because I can imagine her expression!). So, probably purely hydroponics for the time being.

What do you guys think?

And what lights do I need to get from Home Depot?

Thanks!

Hi and welcome.

Usually small apartment systems that pop up consist of a small aquarium with a grow bed on top to grow plants and herbs in.

But if you want to start hydroponically, Ill let someone with experience chime in because I dont know much about it or what lights are required.

OK thanks; that is interesting already because I did not think to have the grow bed right on top. But it would save some horizontal space.

I wanted to start with a hydroponics bed, and then add an aquarium later on the side, but now maybe I can start with the (empty) tank on the bottom. I have a friend who has a disused old tank which he said he will give me or at least lend to me indefinitely (it's been sitting around in his home for a couple of years gathering dust).

Check with people who have done hydroponics - I had a friend who had a room under the house and some of the smells of the chemicals were enough to make us leave. I don't know if he was doing it wrong or what...

Also I don't know if you can just 'add a FT' later to convert HP to AP - I'd think some of the chemicals you'd wind up with in your HP system might not be good for fish.

OK - I am reading some books about (only) hydroponics. If it turns out that, like you said, it becomes difficult to convert to aquaponics, then I will just go right into it with fish.

I went to check out lights today and saw some CFL types with 6500 K color temperature - and there were also metal halide ones (200W, 400W), which I also was told could be used. The CFL ones were much cheaper.

I have decided to go the full mile to aquaponics, not hydroponics.

I am still confused about the lights.

Can I use the $10 CFL lights (6500 K at 27W or 65W)? Or do I need some special "grow lights"?

Hi there!

I think i almost managed to turn my husbands head in the direction on AP by sneeking it it into conversations every now and then. He happens to be a fan of everything organic but as your wife wanting to keep the living area neat.

Been trying to check what others do for their indoor setups:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=7396
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=14936
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=14813

Try to make your setup into something neat and decorative (and not too noisy) and your wife just might fall for it.

Otherwise you will just have to sell her the idea of a glassed balcony so that you can covertly start to transform it into a greenhouse

/H

Haha, glassed balcony is going to be difficult and anyway that would create an unwanted greenhouse effect (not to mention all the money going into it).

Thanks for the links to the set ups; those are very good to see. Mine will (one can hope) probably look something like Web4Deb's. (First link you posted).

Is a 10 Gallon tank sufficient? I would put maybe 4 small fish inside.

I am only looking to grow chilies right now.

check out my setups..

i think they work pretty well, just an addition to a fish tank really.

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=15111

Thanks! Will take a look now.

Some new questions popped up today:

Why are we using T5 lights?

Is it because they are smaller and easier to place?

Is there any difference if we use regular T8 lights?

Is higher wattage / output better for plant growth, generally?

I've grown with hydroponics for 8 years now so I'm here to chime in. It would be extremely easy to convert a hydroponic set up to aquaponics, and even easier if the initial design had that in mine.

I have a few questions for you;
You mentioned it would be in a window, but how many hours of direct sunlight does it get?
What amount of space are you working with?
Aquaponics is actually cheaper to set up than Hydroponics, would this set you back on the aquaponics course?

You said an aerogarden was too expensive... and yes yes it is. A diy set up provides the same quality for cheaper, just not as sleek. Since you are new to hydroponics I recommend ebb/flow for the following reasons; simple, out of the many hydroponic options it's more fail proof, easiest to convert to aquaponics.

Hi - thanks for your inputs - I have decided to go with aquaponics right off the bat, and your comments have reinforced that decision. So, thanks for your input.

I keep getting different opinions regarding ebb & flow (I assume the same as a flood system) versus constant flow.

Constant flow seems easier to construct (i.e., no need to construct flood system) and just put the pump output into the GB media.

Or was your comment about that for hydroponics, not aquaponics?

Thanks!

T5 lights are massively more suitable for plant growth than T8. The higher intensity puts off a higher PAR (Photosynthetic Active Radiation) which is what plants need for photosynthesis. Lumens are just a measurement for what we see, Watts for power, etc. Kelvin which is the color temperature just measures the wavelength of the light being emmited because when a plant photosynthesizes they benefit more from certain ones over others throughout their life cycles. For a hobbyist, full spectrum is the best and more efficient than changing out bulbs and light duration to control your grow where what you are growing isn't a commercial business to make it cost effective or a highly profitable crop that is illegal in most of the world (Disclaimer: Ex-cannabis grower. I was/am license and may legally grow cannabis in my location. I no longer do so because of personal reasons, even though my bank account misses it. ^_^)

If your window doesn't get much direct sunlight and you intend on using T5 I don't recommend fruiting plants, oh it'll grow and you'll find fruit but for the space you are better off with herbs. They'll thrive in the light and yield to their potential. Unless of course you don't use herbs then what is the point.

Sorry I ramble and have to force myself not to go off on tangents explaining details your may not need... I fail a lot.