Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hi guys i am wanting to get ideas on how to build aquaponics in to my front yard with out it looking like a normal system. the point of it will just to look good and not really after food form it like i the one i will build in the back

You could make the growbeds look like raised garden beds and the fish tank a pond. No one would know the difference.

I'm planning to build a 2nd system set into the ground with a mix of GBs and wicking beds that wont look too dissimilar to the terraced dirt garden it's going into, but I will be using it to produce food. As with my existing system, the FT and ST will be mostly buried in the ground.

+1 Arbe's tip. Keep it simple and see if you can try concealing the plumbing and filters for a natural look.

Yes, I too agree. Raised beds and a pond. I think that growbeds filled with gravel looks more "normal" than the clay beads. Saw someone who had different color stones in their growbeds in a thread somewhere... Gravel that looked kind of like this:


With some nice plants growing among the stones it might look really pretty. May be some pH-issues depending on type of stone but...

If you are okay with bending once in while, instead of raised bed you can also try ground level lined beds, dug in the ground with 2 or 3 inches of raised edges. Plumbing can go underneath everything properly concealed. Nothing looks formal here and will merge with the natural space. Then as Nikenik suggested, use color stones to make it somehow more appealing.

Hi Zane,

I just finished my first system which I wanted to look good as well as be functional as it is right next to my main entertaining area.

Take a look if you like on my link below in my signature panel.

Zane... have a look at some of Charlie Bacon's work...

http://www.ecolicious.com.au/

http://www.ecolicious.com.au/projects.html

He's got lots more pics... and I've got a few of some of his systems around somewhere as well...

thanks RupertofOZ they look good.

and thanks DauntlessNT

what sort of system would u think is best flood and drain, auto siphon or ntf

i was thinking that flood and drain would be best for beds that are basically at ground lv