Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hows it going everyone, very new to both aquaponics and gardening so this shall be fun. I just heard about aquaponics couple days ago. Ive noticed i already had most everything to have a set up with 150 gallon water troughs and 3- 3'x3' grow beds. I have been doing remodeling to kitchen and had alot of pvc left over. So only outta pocket came for a pump.
Last night i set up one grow bed and made a bell siphon and acually got it to work second try.. yeah i was surprised.. So now i do have some basic questions that ive got alot diffrent opions on and i prob will here too but here we go,

1. About how long should it take to fill the grow bed and then how long to drain and how many times day/night?

2. the gravel? i live no where close to anywhere that would have anthing do with aquaponics and was looked at stupid today like i was a big pot head at the hardwear store so wont be doing that again. can u use any just as long as clean? cheaper would be nice.

3. and last, i would really like to harvest fish as well. I am a fisherman and crappie season is on.. is it worth the effort or should i use more a .. durable fish like goldfish? Talipia in 150 gallon would harvest about what a month, year, ?? and can u use native fish such as crappie.

sorry for the length but im very interested in this now.. I do have little knowledge in fish and also little bit of handyman so building comes easier.. any info u guys have im open to and thanks again..

1. However long you want. Some do 15 on 15 off. Some do 45 on 15 off...whatever. The general rule though is turn over your complete fish tank volume in 1 hour. So figure out what your pump is capable of, and then run you fill cycles long enough within a hour to turn over fish tank volume.

2. Yes, anything that will not leach bad substances into the water, and that does not contain calcium carbonate. You can test for calcium by putting a small amount of the gravel in vinager, if it fizzes/bubbles a lot, the gravel is a no go. Safe options are generally, expanded shale, many river pebbles, scoria (volcanic/lava rock).

3. Not sure

Welcome to the Aquaponics world!

The cheapest thing for grow beds is river rocks. And they are easy to work with.
In your case because you do not need a truck load, home depot, or Lowes should do it.

Thanks a lot guys, im sure i have hundreds of other questions but im reading and watching everything i can. Very interesting and ive asked myself why ive never heard of it before. since yesterday ive asked around 10 ppl that if they have and nobody around here does. So this website wll be hearing back from me often.

couple other things like to ask is in the planting after i get the water levels all under control and everything timed right, but like to know if just planting seed better or starting the plant in seaprate container then moving it to gravel? ir is it just plant to plant diffrences? im looking at cucumber, lettuce, cilentro, squash, broccli, orkra, and few others. anyone have advise on any those?

oh and 1 other thing, if i went with river rock which i think i am now thanks, would you want to mix lavarocks with? read tha they are good for filtering?
i could just keep asking, heaters? airaters? lighting if indoors beside a window? idea temp for the plants.. on and on but ill read more before i wear my welcome out. thanks again tho ppl//

Welcome to your new home tankcity, sounds like you have enough practical skill to get going right away.

My advice is: look for sand and gravel places - is there a quarry around you? I used to get trunkloads of gravel for $2 each because I had a quarry and they didn't charge more than $2 unless it was heavy enough to require the scale. I would say start with cheap goldfish those are easy and durable. Tilapia would take around 9 months and you'd have to have them shipped to you which is $, and they require warm water which is $ except for the three months of Summer. You can plant by just tossing the seeds in the gravel. You don't need to mix lava rocks for greater surface area or anything. Keep an eye on costs so that you don't spend too much on your first experimental system. Your system sounds big enough to learn a lot this Summer!

Some people layer cheaper gravel on the bottom. And nicer stuff on top... But eventually it will probably all mix together.

Well, you got to look at your total trip expense to pick up a load of river rocks or other stuff. Depending on what you are driving [Diesel or Gas], just the mileage $$ driving back and forth can add up quickly.

So, to get it $10 Dollars cheaper for a load, but you end up driving 50 miles round trip more, it can be disadvantage!!

i was wondering about going to a quarry and seeing about the gravel there.. I do live withing a couple miles or what im pretty sure is the biggest Ash Grove ceament company in the united states so quarrys are more common then farm land around this small KS town. ill check that out for sure. i figured most that would fai a vinagar test so wasnt even gonna mess with it, buit yea would be hell of alot cheaper thanks.

thanks everyone for the help, i hope to have my set up cycling by this weekend, i didnt relize how much a pain in the ass the timing the pump to fill/drain is gonna be. maybe after i get filled with a media it will make it easier on me. still some weeks away from planting so i'm sure you'll hear back soon. once i get it all running and prettied up ill get a picture or 2 to see if im missing anything much,
and anyone tell me alittle about the sump, im just running 3-4 havnt decided GBs and 150gl FT , ratio wise not sure cause i havnt added the gravel so not sure 100% if ill need a sump but i may need to, or just a decent link, A link with PICTURES i like pictures.
thanks again.

Well i did go ahead and get some lava rock on bottom and also had some river rock/rainbow rock stuff pretty cheap as well. $2.50 for .5 cu.ft.?? I still need to add more or lower my siphon.. So question time,.

Is that rock to big?
and how deep is idea? or is there a to deep?

Well-- that means we expect pics from you as well, Tank.

The vinegar test will inform your choices. The gravel can, if you select the wrong one, effect your system's pH... and that is bad. If you pour a little vinegar on, and it bubbles ... that would be a no-go. Lava rock is great because of the little traps in its structure for bacteria to interact on large amounts of surface area. River rock means you won't butcher your fingers come planting time... and easier to pull your spent vegetable matter root systems from your GrowBed. Roots love little tiny places to hang on.

Sumps give you lee-way. The number of things that can go wrong aren't huge, but cycling depends on water levels, and fish depend on aerated water ... so, it sure can't hurt to have that 'pad' of available water.

Ok well here is what ive done this week, jus remember im on my 5th day of ever even hearing about aquaponics so be nice. still needs some work and more graval added. Also may need drain water. i didnt wash the frocks as good as i shoulda the lava rocks had that reddish sand thats turning the water weird reddish color.
Had problem when connected the 2 GBs drain together not understanding why one wouldnt drain till other was finished. Fixed that by unconnecting them.

few easy questions now for you experts out there..
what kind of pump do ppl use? im having problems of mine clogging, it sits on bottom of FT and has little screen under it that sucks up anything and blocks the flow.

is it normal to have a constant slow flood and drain with no timer? or whats the risks there? i could almost off set it so one GB is draining while other is filling making it almost constant drain to make the oxygen in the FT??? let me know on that.

also i got in a little hurry and didnt put in any backup drains so only hole in GB is the bell siphon. Is that gonna bite me in the ass later?

what steps do i need to do now to get cycling?

And by what u can see in the pic, can anyone tell me what Lighting im gonna need get. On the cheaper side if possible. Im clueless on the kind of light but understand the timing day/night and all tho. temp in the room? water close 80degrees? let me know if im on right track. im hoping to get cycling soon.