Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey! I just got my 1st system up and running. Thanks so much to everyone posting on this forum, i could never have done any of this without your help. A special big up to Nat for his blue barrel inspiration! I'll let the pictures do the typing.

Welcome Jezz

Nice work and pretty spacey balcony you got there. Any plans on cladding the whole setup?

Cheers

Barrels are lots of fun to play with

Be sure to support those beds well

Keep the photos coming.

Only got half way through posting photos. Here are the rest.

Yeh my biggest problem was the plumbing from the fish tank to grow beds was not big enough. The fish tank would overflow at times and I could only run the pump at it's lowest setting. It was a bit of a mission but I upgraded the whole thing to 50mm pvc.

Thanks for the feedback guys, the beds are screwed into the frame with tons of big ass screws, there is also a cross strut at the ends and the sump tank is cut so the grow beds sit on it nice and snug. I was going to make a brace to keep the sump from rolling but the grow beds seem to hold it fine.

I'm not sure what cladding means???

Day 1after planting! Thoughts anyone, this is my first attempt at any type of gardening . System is running at constant flood at the moment, i think i'll leave it that way till it's cycled. No fish yet, I added some seaweed extract, about 5L of pond water from a local dam and put a few shells in the fish tank. The plants look to have perked up a bit overnight. I can't wait to get some fish going! Any good advice on timing to introduce them? I was thinking just goldies, maybe 2 a week for 5 weeks or so for a total of 10. Also i don't have a test kit. Hopefully I don't need one.

Cladding, something around the outside of your growbed frame to make it look nice, hides the sump tank and frame work.. Though you will still need to get to your sump/pump.

Love that technical jargon... Um... size and spacing ??
Wood screws, I'm guessing- how long? And- the paint is lovely- but, where are you? Out in Wood would crack in a summer... other places, not so much.

Looks great, I'm posting this so I can find your system again later!

Haha technical jargon . Yeh I did use wood screws, 32mm to be exact, i didn't want any bigger because the width of my timber is 35mm (by 70mm). I also used a 1.5mm drill bit for pilot holes. I put 9 screws along the long sides evenly spaced and 5 along each end. It's really amazing how flexible the blue barrels are, the screws were able to pull it into place really well. It's real sturdy as well, I tested this by jumping up and down in the beds before the media went in

Oh and the frame I put together with 70mm wood screws and some wood glue.

And yeh i guess the paint probably will crack, especially because i used the cheapest craft paint I could find. Hopefully by mid summer a giant aquaponics canopy will be shading it. I'm sure if you forked out for decent exterior paint it would be fine.

One of my favirot test:grin: probs not the safest but

simply beautiful system.