Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Newb here... I wanted to see if I could get some suggestions on how to improve my setup. Also, correct some things I may be doing wrong.

I have an 8'L X 3'D X 2'H trough. Trough water is pumped into rain gutters and drains through a sock back into the trough. I have the plants in cups, but I was contemplating filling the entire gutter with cinder. I have a temporary sun shade setup to ease up on the sunlight. I'm planning on a more permanent setup soon. Also, 3 Koi and some guppies swimming around. There's usually a good breeze blowing through this side of the property.

My problems:

The water is going green. There's solid junk in the gutters. Plants aren't growing as fast as I've seen in other systems.

I have thoughts on what I could do, but I wanted to get feedback from more successful individuals before I made any changes.

Any help will be appreciated.


Temporary sun shade


Manoa lettuce, Romaine lettuce, aro, and green onions


Koi trough


Socks to filter out crap


Green water

For green algae the usual response is to cover the water so no sunlight gets to it

How about the solid junk? Is it common to have carbon filtration systems?

By your explaination and the photos, the only filtration you have is the socks?
If so, then you dont have enough (any really) filtration, you have some mechanical in the form of socks, but no bio filtration at all, you need to get some (quite a bit) of that going.
It also looks like its time to clean out your socks.
Some people have used charcoal, but rocks are far more common and better to work with and will last longer long term - charcoal will break down and send black particles through your system.

All filtration should be before the gutters.

basically you need some medium for bacteria to grow on.

Eg fill the rest of your rain gutters with clay balls or even just gravel.

Thanks for your input. A lot of systems I've seen (haven't seen them all) did not have a bio filtration system in place. That's kinda why I left mine out. I will definitely look into possibly a sump type setup.

Thanks for the tip. Hydroton is quite pricey, so I've been using cinder. Gravel may be a possibility. Easier on the hands anyway.

Just going by the photos as mentioned fill the gutters with rock/gravel or other media to the top the full length, empty the plantpots, wash the soil off and plant directly into the gravel.
Make use of the full length of guttering for the plants and maybe add another one or two(this will also cut out the light to the water and reduce algae).
Take the socks off and adjust the hole so that the water level is an inch or so below the surface of the media and away you go, you have a constant flood system.

Asap add more gutters(or a growbed), maybe comming in from the other side.

Thank you. Adding more gutters is a good idea as is filling with gravel.

I personally think filling the gutters with media would prove to be a PITA when harvesting and replanting as the roots will tangle along the length of the gutters. Also, the gutters have the chance of blocking over time.

Make a GB, sit it on top of the FT and be done with it.

+1

Charlie, can you explain the difference between a long thin GB and a short wider GB in constant flood? if they have the same volume surely they are the same or am i missing something?

I'm not trying to be smart just trying to learn

Thanks for the tip. Hydroton is quite pricey, so I've been using cinder. Gravel may be a possibility. Easier on the hands anyway.[/quote]

I recommend you pick up some lava rock. It should be plentiful and cheap there, is far superior to gravel and has thousands of tinly little holes providing monstrous surface area for bacteria to grow on. Then, get some composting worms and throw them in there with the rock and you won't have to worry about the gutters clogging. You said you're using cinder, probably the same thing. Very porous and much of it floats?

Biofiltration wise there is no difference but my thoughts were more related to the practicality of them filled with media.

Usually a GB is recommended to be around 300mm deep and the gutters are quite shallow. I was thinking along the lines of the roots that I have seen grow in my DWC, they are very long and they all tangle together and I could see it possibly being a task to harvest and replant in a shallow medium filled gutter. Ive seen members post difficulties with medium filled strawberry towers that clog and overflow.

I think if you pulled out a ready to go lettuce, a lot of the media and other plants would come out with it and you would end up with a mess in the FT etc. You have a bit more control digging around in a standard GB arrangement I think.

There is a slight difference, It comes down to light exposure.
Any bed that is not deep enough or too thin and made of a material light can get through (like the PVC gutters in the photos), then they are not as suitable.

I had 100mm pvc tubes filled with bioballs, it seemed like it should have been dark inside the tubes, but was not dark enough for bacteria to grow.
Although they are very good for holding plants in ( especially in tubes rather than opentop gutters) i would never recommend gravel/balls in tubes, not after having done it.

If you cannot be bothered making a new bed, try to find yourself a 200l blue/black barrel (with a lid) and make filter filled with rocks with that. Just a simple SLO with grill, then fill with rocks.