Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi All,

First of all what a great site & excellent source of information for newbies like myself.
I have been trawling the site for a couple of months now & found the majority of the info I was after in The IBC Of Aquaponics Doc. Never had any experience with aquariums or gardening but the thought of fresh vegies & fish for my my family really piqued my interest.

So after very little research (looking back) & sketching some designs, I went out & picked up 2 IBC' & a 200 ltr barrel. Now came the tricky bit. I am currently renting & a FIFO worker so the system needs to be demountable, relatively maintenance free & simple enough for the missus to look after it while I am away. I am also limited by space & the fact I can't make any changes to the property (run external power points, dig holes etc)

With this in mind I went for a CHIFT PIST system with constantly flooded grow beds. First job was to take the top off the fish tank & set it up on three pallets to get some height. Then I cut the the top 350mm off the other IBC for the Sump tank, removed the base & sat it on on top for a grow bed. Installed a 2000 ltr/phr pump in the sump tank which supplies the fish tank, then exits through a 90mm SLO to the grow beds. The grow beds are 1 x 200ltr drum cut vertically supported on timber frames I knocked up plus the cut IBC growbed which isn't in use just yet. From the grow beds the water overflows the standpipe at approx 30mm below the Hydroton & gravity drains back to the Sump. The pump runs 24/7 & keeps the grow beds constantly flooded also providing the aeration to the FT.

Enough talk, I will post some photos. Sorry I haven't got any time line photos, I was in a bit of a rush.

Date-13.04.13

Blue barrels in front, growbed waiting on gravel, underneath that is the sump & the fish tank in the background wrapped in shade cloth.

90mm SLO in the FT with 5 rainbow trout fingerlings.

The system has been cycling now for about 2.5 weeks, still haven't seen any evidence of nitrites but have been assured elsewhere on the forum it's just a waiting game.

Please feel free to point out any issues you might spot in the photos. I would appreciate any feed back be it positive or negative, I feel I rushed into it a bit & might of missed something.

Will post updated pics shortly. Been away for work last 2 weeks so very interested to get home & see how it looks.

Cheers
Dan

Sorry about all the extra text not sure where that came from.... First time uploading photos.
If anyone has any pointers please let me know ?
Working with ipad2 and tapatalk app.

Looking good but I wouldn't have stepped down from 90mm to 25mm to the growbeds. 90 to 40mm would give larger flow options.
Great work

Cheers Mantis

Trying to save a few $ on the ball valves & the 25mm seems to be keeping up with the pump.

Hi Folks

It's been 23 days since the trout went in & still no hint of cycling... 0 nitrites 0 nitrate.

Ammonia is sitting on 0.5ppm to 1.0ppm & pH steady at 6.8.

Trout have grown & feeding well, plants are doing ok....But I reckon they are looking forward to some nitrate action even more than I am !!

Here's a few pics from this morning

Looks great.

You can supliment with a splash of Maxicrop + iron to assist your plants for the moment. It makes your water a light brown colour but it doesnt stay like that.

Thanks Charlie

I've got some organic Wormiboost here at home, will that do the same job ?

Nice barrels and barrel stand. The side support looks like its in the perfect spot.

Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2

Thanks Nat

Yeah love the barrels ! Cheap (free in my case) & simple

Checked out your system...nice.... Given me a few ideas ideas

Might have to get me self some more barrels me thinks !!

A couple suggestions. If you or someone you know has a freshwater aquarium, toss in a used filter and water next time they do a water change to get your bacteria going. Also, you might want some further reinforcement around the cut rims of your blue barrels. They tend to bow out with the pressure of media and water.

Awwww, come on, the bowing just gives you a little more grow bed space...

Unseasonably warm weather down here yesterday & woke up to another beautiful day this morning. Made even better when I tested the FT and got a reading of 0.25ppm Nitrite..... Yeeharr !!

Finally after almost 4 weeks of cycling. I'm thinking this warm weather has something to do with it. Its forecast for 28c today & 26 tomorrow so fingers crossed my new friends nitrobactor & nitrosomonas get their love on & multiply...

As far as the barrels bowing out, it's already evident but happy to let it go if it gives me a bit more space.

Anyone had any issues with their barrels splitting over time ?

SD2

Congrats on the Nitrites

Still nothing in mine but hopefully the warm weather will give it a kick too...

Cheers Timbo

Test today came back the same as yesterday, no nitrates yet.

Any changes for you today ?

Quick update

System is still cycling after around 4 weeks. Plants & fish doing well.

Water test today;

Ph = 6.8 (no change)

Ammonia = 0.5ppm (no change)

Nitrite = 5.0ppm (big change.. Yesterday was only 1.0ppm, first nitrite reading 4 days ago)

Nitrate = 0 ( no sign of nitrate yet)

Was just reading up on another thread about high nitrite & it was suggested adding salt helps the trout deal with the elevated nitrite levels.

As yet I haven't added any salt to the system from day one.

So, do I need to worry about salting or once the nitrate kicks in will that lower the nitrite naturally ?

SD2