Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi guys I am very new to this world. I have setup my tank and grow bed. I have created the IBC tank setup. I have two grow beds sitting on top of an IBC tank. I have filled my tank with water (700ish Litres) I have had yabbies living in it for a few days. They are healthy and happy. I have installed my water pump (5000LPH) and I am ready for fish. OR AM I!!

My Questions are:
1, Do I need an aerator or will the water dropping back into the tank create enough oxygen?

2, Do I need a filter to clean the water?

3, Will fish survive in a tank with only tap water in it? Do I need additives to remove chlorine and other nasties in the water?

I will be stocking the tank with 20 silver perch and 20 Murray cod.
Any help, advice, guidance would be greatly appreciated. Like I said I am new and have never kept fish.

Hi mate, welcome aboard!

If the system has been running for a few days the chlorine should have gassed off by now.

With that many fish you will eventually need a lot more filtration or grow beds as the fish get bigger and produce more poo.

That being the case, you might want to change the position of the grow beds and add a sump tank to your system.

Adding a Radial Flow Filter would be in your best interest also, failing that you'd need to reduce the number of fish. I'm no expert though mate. I'm sure there are plenty of people on the forum here who can help you out regarding fish / GB ratio.


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How deep are your grow beds? The volume of your grow beds dictate your safe stocking levels, 1 fish per 20L of wet media.

1. You have a large pump, I would divert any excess water back to a spray bar or venturi for additional aeration.

2. The grow beds are your filter.

3. Fish will be fine, no need to add anything.

I have two grow beds at 300mm deep. They are the cut off tops of the ibc tank. At the moment i only have one bed ready to go. If i knew how to post photos i would. Seems a little complex. One grow bed will hold 200 Ltr of clay balls.

With that said i will only need 20 fish in total once both grow beds are in full swing.

With watering, do i constantly water or is a timer a better option? If a timer is the option how often do i water?

After watering the water splashing back into the fish tank looks like it is creating a lot of oxygen in the water. Would an aerator be required now that i will only be stocking 20 fish?

If an aerator is the way to go can anyone suggest a good quality item?

Than you all once again.

This is my setup. hope it worked.

JJS4x4,
I have a very similar setup and am stocking 25-30 fish to start (figuring that some may die) and am debating purchasing an aerator also. I agree with your logic of the water entering the water creating aeration. I am holding off with purchasing an aerator at this time. Hope it goes well for both of us!

Hi guys, I have my 20 fish in and about 20 plants. they have been in for over a week and my plants have not grown.

any suggestions?

it will take time.
it will take weeks - depending where you are, being winter now it may take up to 2 months to cycle properly.
once its cycled, it has to mature, which wil take a lot longer, up to a year or 2.
you will see some plant growth in the next few weeks/ months.
to help the plants now, you can add a little seasol and chelated iron, add very little though.
say maybe a cup of seasol and a teaspoon of iron and then just sit back and leave it for a long time.

"That being the case, you might want to change the position of the grow beds and add a sump tank to your system."



How does a sump tank increase the fish capacity of the system Matthew?

It doesnt, the extra growbeds do, which unless he adds more at height, lowering the beds (which is the easiest way to add more i imagine) means he then needs a sump.

You cut out the context of the sentence, which was the one above about ading more beds....

Exactly what Yavimaya said

I am in Victoria Melbourne inner city. I have added 5 gold fish today. I hope they will pick up some of the food sitting on the bottom of my tank. Plus I was told they produce lots of waist. Looks like I need it at the moment. I am going to setup my second grow bed soon. I don't think I will plant in it just yet due to my cycling issue. Might wait until my plants start growing.

Thanks guys you all have been a great help.
If you have any other suggestions for me am all ears

I have 4 half 55 gallon barrel grow beds, two 55 gallon drum fish tanks, and I'm getting ready to add another 55 gallon drum just to have more room for fish, and two dump tanks. All the water is circulating fine, my ph is where it is supposed to be as far as I can tell. I have not been able to keep my fish alive. I have lost more than 40 gold fish just trying to get the aquatic side of my system going. Now what can I do to protect my plants or feed them while I try again to correct the problems with my fish tanks.

Thanks to all forum members for all the help I've received, Gil

Clean out the uneaten food. Some fish may eat food off the bottom but generally not once it has been lying there for hours and seriously unlikely after days.

Fish produce waste in proportion to how much they eat. Some fish may produce more waste than others because of differences in their digestive tract efficiency but the differences are small relative to feeding rates.

How's your water temperature? I started my system with goldfish too. Small system got really warm, stressed the fish, and they attacked and killed each other. I've switched to minnows - so far, so good.

What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels?

You can keep your plants alive by supplementing with liquid kelp. Not supposed to hurt the fish.