Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Looking forward to learning more here and hopefully some good advice.

Welcome Rairdog... you've come to the right place for both...

Thank RO. I promise to go easy on the Prime lol.

I can see that you're going to fit in just fine....

Welcome Rairdog from KY, your neighbor to the south.

Welcome, your neighbor to the west.

Has anyone nearby found a good source for AP feed. Around here if you mention AP or hydroton you get funny looks. I have even asked the suppliers as they are stocking and no luck with any AP supplies.

look for pond stockers, or feed mills.. they'll have fish food..
for hydroton, if you can afford it, check out hydroponic shops..
i've been using "river gravel" - 3 yards for $85 +20 to deliver.. much cheaper! just make sure the media you use is ph neutral
scoria works as well but is rough on the hands..
expanded shale is another option, i'm going to try a bed with a new product i found called "hydrocks" - it's a lighter material i found at a greenhouse store, made from recycled glass

I got my hydroton from a local hydroponics dealer. It was $33 for a large bag. It took 5 bags for my setup, pic attached. My tank is not cycled yet so I have not tackled the feed issue.

Just curious, how big is the large bag? $33 sounds like a really good deal. I bought a 45 liter back for $60 and I'm probably going to need 6-7 more.

I believe it was a 45L bag. If you come down let me know. We could meet and I could show you where the store is and my setup. We could compare our experiences.

That's a really good deal. Wish I could find a store that has that. I would if the drive wasn't 9 hours. Do you have a system thread on here?

Your system seems to be a lot more elaborate than mine. I went the standard IBC system.

Hey RairdogAP what part of indiana are you in? I know in Spencer you can get IBC food grade off of craigslist. I would be interested in seeing your system and sharing ideas. I am an IBC system with plan on converting an old garden shed into a green house, its dealing with the winters. but its free if I can get it home so I figure why not. sheds can be pricey and this is a nice size.

I am in Noblesville, just north of Indy. I found 55 gal blue food grade barrels with bung hole for 12 bucks just up the road 10 minutes. Picking up some tonight. He also has 275 gal IBC's for 75 bucks.

I also found Haydite which is Indiana mined and processed expanded shale for 78 $/cy for the smaller grade. There are 27 cf in a cy so thats 2.89 a cf. Pea gravel is 2.50 for .5 cf. Check landscaping yards and concrete batch plants for expanded shale. It is light weight and hold water similar to scoria(lave rock). It is also graded and doesn't have sharp edges. Hopefully it's ph neutral.




I am just experimenting now with un-used deck space and free scrap 6 in pvc. I plan on trying indoors with T5 florescent this winter.

I also picked up some Sportsmans multispecies pond feed for 16 bucks for 25 pounds at Tractor Supply.
36 % protein. It has large floating pellets and smaller sinking pellets. Hopefully it will work.