Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all, wasn't too sure where to post this, feel free to move it you wish.

For a while i've been thinking up designs of a bigger AP system to build in the backyard. I want one with a large fish tank and multiple types of beds (media, dwc, nft) to compare how well plants grow in each and thought maybe i can incorporate a wicking bed in the loop as well. Sounds good to me in theory.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11903

^That's the only thread i found doing this and it seems to be going pretty well

So enough long talk, tell me what you guys think about this design

This is the actual bed:



And this is the general layout:

Sounds like an interesting plan. My only recommendation is to be cautious with your soil/compost choice for the wicking bed. Purchase really good quality stuff. Looking forward to your design.

p.s. the fish in your image looks wrapped about it anyways.. lol

If you are running AP water through a wicking bed then the soil/media could even be inert like perlite , as the nutrients are there and not needed from the soil. But then it would become just another media bed

I was thinking about this a few months ago and that is the conclusion i came to as well. Not to say i thought very hard about it. You dont really know what is in any soil that buy, ie soil wetter. One thing you could try is use some rope as a wick into the soil. Sort of in intermediary between the two.

Have separate supply and return lines for.all the beds back to the sump, then just have the wicking bed supply set to just a dribble just to keep it topped up. Good idea ?

im new to aquaponics but have a history in hydroponics and i would suggest if you had a slow flow rate (a dribble) you would have trouble with loss of oxygenation in the water under the wicking bed.

i think its a great idea. i think coco or perlite would be an awesome substrate to use and some nylon rope dangling down into the gravel bed would really help wick it up. you would end up with roots all through your gravel though if you used shade cloth to separate the soil and the gravel. perhaps something like "bidam" or "Geofab" (the white fabric used in civil construction to separate different layers of soil and to stop silt from contaminating gravel drains etc) would work well plus its easy to acquire if you know anyone in construciton.

@ stutter:
i was just reading the replies and thought that same thing about the low flow rate. every thread about wicking beds has concerns about anaerobic zones so i think having the bed in the AP flow loop is one solution to that problem. thanks for the "geofab" advice, i'l see if i can source some here.

the rope is great idea as well because in the link above the guy said he had to compact his compost alot to start the wicking action. i think i'l build a couple stand alone wicking beds first to get the hang of it before incorporating it into my system, find the right soil/compost mixture etc.

i've seen a few threads where they fill the lower level up so it just soaks the bottom of the compost layer and add a bit of gravel above the shade cloth too. i think its time to start experimenting!

thanks for the thoughts and ideas guys, they're much appreciated. i'l start another thread when i get around to building the wicking beds

It does seem nice to be able to run water under the plants and give them everything they need from the AP water including oxygen.

As long as there is a spacer to make an air gap above the water level I would think you would not get anaerobic conditions in the bottom even with slow watering.

If you're using AP water then you should be able to use soilless media and still give the plants what they need... maybe?

EG aca Crusty is the one that have really got a grip on this IMO

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=11544&hilit=crusty

go to his web site if you want updated info on the inflow soil beds

cheers

A normal wicking bed doesn't have oxygen problems so instead of filling it from the tap it us filled from the AP.

Following your thread with a lot of interest and looking for answers to solve my wicking bed problems with leaching.

I had problems with the water rising too high into my compost layer and a lot of "brown colored" water came out. So how does one get it to wick up and not leach out the compost?

There has been much discussion about the Earthan Group and how his inline setup was designed. I was able to chase down his site describing the design. He may have some ideas. Unfortunately one must navigate away from this forum to see it.

http://www.earthangroup.com.au/earthan- ... -together/

I like the general WB idea for root crops but I like the simplicity of inert rock media beds vs using soil based beds.

I'm wondering why use an inline bed for anything other than root crops? It would seem that rain would leach the compost in to the water going back to the fish tank. Any more ideas for wicking water up into the compost layer without leaching?

Maybe more folks could chime in?

It would seem to me that a seperator that can collect water and guide it towards an overflow is needed.
I have drawn a simple design, you will have to use your imagination from there - I think i have seen a similar thing in fridges (dont quote me), a tray with holes, a raised edge around those holes so water cannot flow down the holes.

This design would collect "some" rain water and direct it, albeit slowly, out an overflow that is not joined to the AP system, if excess water is dripping back from your soil, this may also avoid a small amount of water getiing back in, however if doing that, then water will be lost, lowering water level would probably be a wiser idea.



If one can get a plastic fabricator to make it, i would add a dome over the holes, with one side open to allow water to wick back up, with few holes in the plastic seperator, rain water should not get back into the system (theoretically).

I dont see the point of having an inline one at all. As SV has said, i dont think wicking beds have a problem with O2 unless they are getting overfilled.

Funny the way people think differently, i would have said the exact opposite, why bother carrying water to the bed when you can place it inline?

There is nothing stopping you have it fill automatically, but why would you need to have a continuous flow with water returning?