Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello Everybody,

Welcome to my thread about my Aquaponics build.

Here is the basic idea.

I dug a hole in the ground.
Its 4 meters long, 2.2m wide and 1m deep.

The Pond


I plan to build in the filters and grow bed all in 1 concrete structure.

Here are my designs





Details:
* I plan to stock it with Rainbow trout.
* It will have a, Radial Flow Filter, Mechanical Filter and Bio Filter.

I'm currently experimenting with the idea of a Sand Filter as the Mechanical Filter, with Fine sand on the top, small rocks next and then large rocks at the bottom.

My question to you is will a Sand Filter work as a mechanical filter and will the water flow through it to the Bio Filter or am I better off just using brushes or some kind of mesh to catch any small particles?

Any input would be welcome so that I can improve the design further.

Kind Regards,
Steve

Cool setup. I can not comment on the filters, because I don't use any...

i don't know about sand filters either.. unless you have a "moving bed" biofilter with sand in it..
if that's not what you're doing, sand will clog up..

I used sand in my pond as a filter, it is the best non-bacterial filter ever, however it does require frequent cleaning and moving it can sometimes be messy. I would suggest removing it from your setup for simplicity. the grow beds are the same concept, and allow space for the bacteria to grow. In my opinion if you would replace the sand with pebbles that would be double the filtering and bacteria growing, with no cleaning involved. Also a swirl filter somewhere in the system for easy cleaning would be ideal

just my .02

In my view if you have medium based grow beds you dont need additional filtration.

Filtration is only needed if you have DWC/NFT setup.

I think you run the risk of removing all the valuable nutrients from your system with your filtration system

Gabe

Go brushes rather than the sand, SLO the FT (bottom drains are nice but risky). Have you worked out how you are going to get the crap out of the RFF, bottom of the mechanical and the biofilter? and what are you going to use for the biofilter media?

There are a few more but I will wait for any reply.

@ Ronmaggi - Thank you, just wait for the finished product. When I'm done hopefully it should be a very cool design

@ keith - I wanted to use the sand filter as my mechanical filter. I know it might clog up and there might be a bit of maintenance involved with sand filters.

I will also have a Bio Filter in but with bio balls.

@ ppanopoulos - Thanks for the info, I will remove the sand filter for simplicity, my grow beds should do the job also.

The pebbles idea is also great, I wanted to use a mixed sizes of rocks to act as a mechanical filter to catch any further sediments and place for bacteria to grow.
I'm making a Radial flow filter instead of a swirl filter, apparently its more efficient than the swirl filter and simpler to make.

@ Gabe - Thanks Gabe, I just wanted additional filtration to keep the fish happy and to provide nice clear water to the plants and fish. Also I built and IBC system and after a while the fish waste can clog up the grow bed, so I wanted to avoid this in my new system by making these filters.

Hopefully I can get crystal clear water in the end

@ Sleepe - Thanks Sleepe.

I defiantly think I'll go brushes instead of the sand for simplicity.

May I ask why bottom drains are risky?

I thought long and hard about how I'm going to get the stuff out of the Radial flow filter.
I wanted to first build the filters in big plastic containers/bins with a drain at the bottom with a tap to drain it.

With this system I cant do that since its below ground level and built into the pond, so I figured when I need to clean the filter I will remove the pipe going into the filter and close the water supply to the filters.
Then I'm going to make removable trays that sits on the bottom of the filters where the sediment rests and take it out easily when need to be cleaned.

Do you know of any better design idea as to how to construct the filters for easy sediment removal?

I'm going to use these blue plastic bio balls for the bio filter media.

Thanks for all the info and help Sleepe.

What does SLO and FT stand for?


Thanks for all the replies, looking forward to building this thing and sharing it with you.

Hi. Being a newby myself I will not comment on the design, but a FT is fish tank and SLO is solids lift overflow. You can find pictures of one if you google for sLO images. It is a perforated pvc tube lying flat on the bottom which sucks the fish poo from the bottom of the tank and exits your tank in a way that you can't accidentally drain your fishtank (like with bottom drain).

Edited to clarify and remove typo.

Heres Jaymie's forum acronym thread.... viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1275

@ Janna - Thank you for clearing that up. I had a look at what a SLO is and I don't think I will need to build one.

My pond will slope down into a centre point where I will place the bottom drain, the bottom drain will get gravity fed to the Radial flow filter.

@ Charlie - Thanks for the link to the acronym thread. Didn't find the acronym for a SLO and FT but Janna cleared that up for me.

The only reason bottom drains are risky is that you have no access to them ie fish stuck leak etc.

I would run an airlift to the parts of the filtration system you cannot access ie the radial flow filter and the biofilter, the one with brushes should be accessible. They would only be activated when you need to remove detrius and are cheap to build.

Thanks Sleepe

I will pit a grill on the bottom drain to avoid fish from getting stuck, also going leave the bottom drain pipe open and not cover it with cement for easy maintenance if needed.

Do you have any links to airlift systems that I can see?

Since energy is not a concern for this operation, I will be opting for high pressure air, simple drawing not to scale.

Hello Everybody, its been a while since I've been to this forum.

Had Exams, went well and holidays started.

That gave me time again to work on Aqua Pond.

Here are a few pictures to show you the progress I've made so far.
Structure and plumbing was all done.
Fish and Plants to come.

Grow bed and pond walls are up.


Structure done and painted with concrete sealer.


Filters - Gravity fed Radial Flow Filter > Sand filter (3 Layers) > Pump (Bio-Balls soon) > UV Filter


Gravity fed Radial Flow Filter Flowing up.


My first ibc system going well, Cucumber, Tomato plants and Tilapia growing


UV Filter and power


Systems current view!


Fish and Plants still need to be added

Going to try grow Rainbow Trout in this system.
If anybody has experience in growing Rainbow Trout any advice and tips would be appreciated.

Peace out