Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

A beautiful little system there mate.

What was the reason for the filter?

I like the look the legs and frame give to that barrel bed in the last photo. Im liking the idea of keeping each barrel bed individual with little legs like that. Makes it easy to move add split up or take for walks in the park.

I like the idea of filtering solids prior to the beds, but my main motivation was ammonia levels creeping up. So I wanted both a solids and biofilter. It really did make a difference in a short amount of time. The ammonia levels are mainly a consequence of overstocking, but I'm not prepared to thin the herd just yet.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the wicking beds behave.

Hey, Jake, I am in Brentwood and beginning the aquaponics journey. How is your system doing this year? I've only found one other person in Nashville doing AP. My husband and I have built a harbor freight 10x12 greenhouse and have 2 ibc's that we are in the process of setting up,working on the electrical rough-in right now and soon the plumbing. Fortunately, my hubby is a plumber

A couple of questions: where to get/what type of fish would you recommend for a year round FT in a greenhouse? We've had a koi pond for over 10 years and our koi do just fine throughout the winter. We don't feed the koi in the winter; they are sort of dormant. I would never eat them, however, so I wondered if tilipia or another breed can take winters here and still eat/produce waste within a greenhouse setting.

I'm thinking with our mild winters, my main problem will be cooling the GH in the summer rather than heating. (I plan on using an aquarium heater in the FT and space heater on the stone floor. So perhaps I can have tomatoes in the winter...)

But even with removing/screening the side poly panels in the summer and a fan, I'm wondering if my dream of lettuce in August should be tempered with reality?

We will eventually have two 40x47 grow beds, 1 similar-sized raft bed for lettuce/greens, and a few towers and tubes. The FT is 200 gallons, with Murray's CHOP mk 2 siphon system.

Thanks for any advice you have!

Sounds like an interesting system plan. My system has done very well this year, besides the occasional attack by tomato hornworms. I stocked my tank with bluegill (see previous page) and they seem to be doing fine after both a winter and summer. Catfish should work as well. Tilapia or trout are going to be problematic due to our temperature extremes, I think, but you could heat the water for tilapia. I did have to increase my filtration due to overstocking, so keep that in mind.

Lettuce in August in TN is probably going to be a problem due to temperature. You can shade the plants, but the water will still get warm. There may be some varieties that work, though, so good luck experimenting. Surely someone has made it work.

Jake,

I am very new at this. Don't have a system yet but very much planning. Would appreciate a visit to see your system. I am just west of Huntsville, AL.

The system is is a bit of disarray at the moment, as I'm expanding, reworking, and moving it into a nicer greenhouse for the winter. To save you the drive, there's not much more to getting started than the pics show, and honestly there are some mistakes that I want to correct when I redo things.

Don't overthink it, just grab some containers, fish (feeder goldfish are good to start with), rocks, pipes, and pump and get learning.

I think that one can help!