Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Everyone,

I am in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and am trying to design and start my first aquaponics system! I am really excited but I am also feeling overwhelmed. I have been trying to do as much reading/watching videos etc. as possible but it feels like each time I think I've come up with something that will work, I read something else and have to start all over again!! I really just want to get started!!

Things I want to do:

-I am hoping to design a system that would have the potential to be moved outside in the warmer months and inside in the cooler ones.
- I am leaning towards doing an IBC Tote set up (with new tote) as I like that it's food safe, relatively easy to set up, reasonably priced etc...This would leave me with an aprox 200 Gallon fish tank and a 100 Gallon Grow Bed.
- I want to raise fish to eat.
- Want to do a Media based system

What I don't know:
- What system to do: Food/drain, CHiFT PiST, two pumps set up, CHOP 2 etc.
- If I use a SUMP tank how small can it possibly be?
-What kind of Fish....we were thinking of doing Tilapia since there is a local source for it (Noa Fisheries) and they seem like a good fish to learn from but I am worried about the temp for them in the winter (will be in a heated basement though) and I also like the idea of growing something more local.
- I want to try to design things so that it's expandable later but am not sure how to do that.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I know that's a pretty vague post but I'm just trying to get a jumping off point so I can get started!

Thanks everyone!

Welcome Meg2013! Everything you need is in the IBCofAquaponics link up top. Your system has been built many times and it is a proven winner. Just remember to not overstock it with fish.

Already in the right direction by coming to this site. It's been a real help for me personally.

I haven't seen anyone with a mobile system yet. In my readings people with outdoor systems will just shut down everything during the colder months. If you have the resources and space to take it from outside to inside all the more power to you and I would be extremely jealous. Having an indoor system requires artificial lighting which can cost a pretty penny in the electric bill and equipment.

If you are going to need a sump tank then I imagine you will want to keep the water level in the Fish Tank at a constant height with an overflow. So if the pumps were to shut off and all the water was to return into the fish tank, the sump tank will have to be big enough to contain the excess water in the system that will come from the overflow. So if you have a 200 gallon fish tank at a constant height, and then have a 100 gallon grow bed that fills with 30 gallons of water the total water capacity will be 230 gallons. So you would need at least a 30 gallon sump tank.

Tilapia are great for beginners. I love my Tilapia, they are very forgiving. I've read that their minimum water temperature is 55 degrees. I keep mine at 65-68 with water heaters. I live in an old house with a dirty old root cellar. If you have a heated basement you are more than okay and again I am extremely jealous.

My biggest suggestion is just to dive in and get your hands dirty. You learn a lot on the way. I started with one system and from that experience I made two more. When you do start a system, I suggest making a new thread and posting the progress along the way! Warning, this can become very addicting.

Hi Meg,

This is what I would recommend but it depends on the terrain and your options for locating growbeds and tanks.

Recommendation 1-
For a situation where the Fish Tank will be the high point and the Sump tank will be the low point of the system.

Chift Pist (Constant Height in Fish Tank... Pump in Sump Tank)
Constant Flood (this keeps the sump smaller because the water level doesn't fluctuate as much. It's also easier to expand because you don't necessarily have to enlarge the sump).
SLO (Solids Lifting Overflow) - from fish tank to growbeds.

The nice thing about this is if a pipe breaks the fish will have water (the pump might run dry though). An autofill valve added to the sump with reduce the need to manually top up the water (otherwise plan for the sump to hold more so you aren't constantly filling to compensate for what evaporates or is transpired by the plants)

Recommendation 2-
For when the Fish Tank is the low point of the system with the growbeds above draining back into Fish Tank (sumpless)

Constant Flood with pump in Fish Tank.

This works well but doesn't protect the fish against having the water pumped out of the tank if a pipe breaks or the fish knock something loose. You should put the pump up off the bottom to prevent pumping them dry but this isn't as good for solids removal. If you're confident that everything is secure, you can add an autofill valve in the fish tank to help replace water lost to evaporation and transpiration, otherwise, it might be good to have a larger fish tank so you don't need to manually top up as often.

As far as moving the system inside in Winter and outside in Summer - you can do it but it's a pain. You might be able to have an outdoor portion of the system that you can drain in the Winter with a ball valve to cut it off from the rest of the system when you need to. You'd need to cover the beds to keep water out of the pipes where it could freeze and break them.

I like the first system better but both are good. Because they use Constant Flood the pump runs 24/7 which costs a bit more but the pump can be smaller than with Flood and Drain so it isn't that different and there is a bit less wear and tear on the pump switch.

Tilapia - They work well but the temps need to be high and this can get costly if you have to heat the water. Yellow Perch would be your best option I think and maybe Bluegill (durable but grow slowly) or Catfish after that. If the water stays below 75 degrees F then trout would be a good choice.

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies!! This forum seems like a great place!!! I really appreciate everyone's input!

After reading your posts and watching some youtube videos :-) I was thinking that maybe what I would do is use my IBC as the fishtank and the sump and then use barrels cut in half as the grow beds? My thoughts around this are that then everything can be food safe/grade and if I am able to move the system outdoors the part that I think would be the hardest is the growbeds bc of the media weight. There is a reasonably sized basement window right near where I'm hoping to set up the system. I am hoping that if I used the barrels, maybe I could lift each grow bed up and pass them through the window to get them outside? I am guessing that the fish tank and sump won't be as tricky as we could pump the water outside through the window....I may be being nieve though and I do realize that it will be a lot of work!!

@Ronmaggi. Thank you for your welcome and link suggestion! It looks like a great resource and I have watched the video and downloaded the pdf Thanks for the suggestion!

@jeezy. Thanks for the welcome! I agree that this forum seems like a great resource. I do not know anyone who is doing aquaponics (I don't think anyone I know has even heard of it!) so it's great to be able to connect with everyone here. I am really wanting to get started so I agree with you that it's probably best just to jump in! I am planning on trying to get started this weekend! Thanks for the Sump explanation too! That's a big help. I feel like getting a SUMP is a good way to go as it will allow me to expand? You mentioned that you heat the water for your Tilapia...Have you found that expensive? The basement is "finished" but the room I am planning on using (our laundry room) has a concrete floor so may be a bit cooler then the rest of it. I also agree that it's addictive! I feel like this could end up taking over a lot more space then I'm anticipating

@scotty435. Thank your explanation of the 2 systems. I really appreciate it! I think I am leaning towards doing a CHiFT PiST as it seems like the better choice, easier to expand etc. I agree that moving it may be a pain and I like the idea of keeping connecting an outdoor and indoor side of the system rather then moving the whole thing...I hadn't thought of that!! Thank you for the fish info as well! I looked and my local supplier does carry Yellow Perch as well! Have you ever raised them? In the description on their site it says that it's a good choice if "you've raised fish before" Are they tricky to raise? I'll do some more research on them but thanks so much for your thoughts!

Thanks everyone for your input so far! I will make a new thread when I get things started! I am really looking forward to getting started and can't believe that i didn't know about this ages ago!!

Hi Meg, welcome to BYAP.

Something to think about is using basic heating for anything outdoors in winter. You could trial passive solar heating of the water - basically a glass fronted box with black piping in it that uses ambient light to heat the water. If not glass then look for something with similar thermal properties. Glass doesn't pass infrared very well but most people think it is the sun's heat that heats the water - instead it is the light being 'downgraded' to infrared that does the job.

Another possibility is a rocket mass heater - it might even be possible to set the RMH up so it heats the basement as well as the water outside. They are very efficient and use very little wood. (as in a handful of wood will warm the thermal mass for maybe 6 hours or more)

Good luck with your journey.

Thank you for the welcome and response Journeyman! I really appreciate it. I will definitely look in to the two heating ideas you suggested!! If we end up doing a cold tolerant fish it would be great if we could have them stay outside.

Thanks again!

Either of the systems I mentioned are very expandable, it's the Constant Flood component that makes them this way. When you add a growbed you add water to fill it and the new piping for it and your set. If the power goes out the bed will hold the water, not the sump because there is no weep hole at the bottom of the standpipe like in a flood and drain system. The growbeds are ok for a day or so flooded like this.

Yellow Perch are illegal to transport in Oregon although we do have them in some of our lakes. I haven't grown them but I know that they tolerate higher temps than trout (up to 85F trout only go to 75F), grow fast and taste great. They've been grown by others here and are grown by GrowPower in Milwaukee for their setup. I also know that they aren't picky eaters, I've seen them eat slugs, worms, minnows, commercial pellet food, and other things, they just aren't that picky. If I could grow them I would but at the moment I have Bluegill and Catfish.

The pickiness of my tilapia has dwindled as they have gotten larger.

If you want it to be movable where do you want to move it to/from?

You mentioned passing barrels through a window but even light weight media can be heavy by the barrel or even half barrel.

Yea the only hope they have of making anything movable is to build it into a trolley.
Even then, they will need a winch/ pulley system to get it up stairs / a ramp.
They are thinking of putting it in a basement in winter.