Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Looks like your enjoying your time

I would concur with skegs - make the holes bigger and another 3 rows higher - Better to have fewer holes and bigger as its easier to remove roots.

I did add another row of holes to the media guards and they seem to be operating well with the gravel thats in there so far. Just need to decide if I'm going to spend $400 dollars on clay or just top it off with more gravel.


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I will be candid, I have expanded clay in my indoor system. I don't know what all the fuss is about. Perhaps I am just used to how scoria behaves. Perhaps it is because the new stuff is NOT ph neutral...

At this point I'm only really concerned with how well root and bulb vegetables will grow in the gravel V clay.


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Root veges? as in beetroot and onions?

I would put more holes all the way up the media guard if you want to save your sanity later.

There are 125 holes at the moment. The reason they are at the bottom is because the beds are so deep and I wanted to try and make sure water didn't just skim across the top, thinking right or not?


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Yes beetroot onion and garlic.


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An interesting question was posed to me this morning about excessive water flow rates, this isnt something i really considered when i put the system togeather, at the moment my system is split by two pumps using the same sump. 3000lph to the trout tank which is about 850-900L, SLO to three beds 500mm deep then returning to the sump, and 6000lph split 4 ways to each of the shalow beds sitting on top of and IBC bottom all returning to the sump. Is there a posability im pushing water through any of my beds too fast?

I highly doubt that it is an issue. Just because your pump is rated at 3000lph, that does not mean that it is actually pushing 3000 lph. If you think that it is too much, you could always divert some flow back to the sump.

Looking at your pictures - I would be concerned more with water dispersement in the beds rather than flow.
I have a few areas in my constant flood beds that don't do as well as others, whether it be flow or nutrient capture, I decided to make some spreaders.

Havnt been on the forum alot in the last few months, quick update, the three new beds are running fine with me manualy starting a drain every day or two (leave it longer and the water coming out gets dirtier). Had been feeding the trout lightly as i could never seem to get my Amm to 0, but after setting up a tropical tank inside and not being able to get it to cycle i had my local pet shop test my water and what do you know my test kit is stuffed, needless to say the trout are now getting all they can eat twice a day woth zeros across the board, all 30 are still going strong but some are definitely bigger than others.

Has anyone tried to keep a few trout over summer in an IBC with a large water turn over, thinking about throwing a few in my sump at the end of the season and seeing how they go in 400L of water with i think around 7000L of flow an hour, i do realize that if my pumps turn off for any reason it will spell the end for them in which case they will become dinner.

Hi Brad,

Have you got some way of cooling the water? High water turnover does not mean it will be cool. Warm water will kill the trout whether it is moving fast or slow.

Regards, Martin.

Skegley did it.

22+ temps are the issue.

IMHO It would be a waste of good fish, and would cause an ammonia spike which would put other fish in the system in peril WHEN they died.


Yes but with only 6 rt's in a 3Kl ft, 5Kl total volume.
I won't try it again for various reasons, at least not until until I have the appropriate gear to consistently keep the water temps sub 24 Celsius and more than likely in an aquaculture set up only.

might move the last two into the sump when i do the final harvest and watch my temp, when i get up around the 22-24 range will knock them on the head, really just trying to avoid having to harvest them all in one hit.