Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Ron, i just water from the top at the moment and will see how it goes. Perth winters are Mediterranean and wet so i think i should be fine. I should be able to add a wicking system if the current setup dries to quickly

I can't believe I missed this thread! I just thought it was a long hello thread. But I suppose technically it is.

Awesome looking setup.

Have you had many issues with the fruit trees roots taking over? Blocking pipes and what nots?

Do you want your thread title changed, Gabe?

Probably best to move it from new member introductions too.

Hi Charlie and Ron

I would appreciate if you can move it to the right "folder".

Suggest it's is called "Gabe's mountain retreat setup"

Hi Culumn

I haven't had problems with roots yet. I did a root prune last year - the photos is in the "bonsai fruit trees" theme that Ronmaggi started.

Those trees look great.

Hi Gabe - from your sketch it looks like the fruit trees remain flooded during the off cycle due to the high drain take off, or do they back flow and drain via the pump line?

How much are you feeding per day - I've been plagued by potassium deficiency all summer, your systems looks to have plenty, so just wondering how much feed is required - are you doing any active mineralisation?

All looks very good!

Hi Gabe.. just read through your thread and it is a great looking system you have built.. do you plan to sell the koi when they get very large and replace them with smaller ones? I read somewhere that they are worth a bit of money sometimes.

Thanks Mattyoga!

the fruit trees drain back through the pump line back to the fish pond. The high drain take off is for overflow when flooding - this also drains back to the fishpond. This setup works well for me.

I haven't experienced potassium deficiency yet. (but have had calcium and iron deficiency when i started the system)


Currently i add about 8 small hands of food a day - 4 per day for the koi and silver perch, and four a day for the trout. I tend to overfeed a bit !


No mineralisation - but it is on the "to-do" list

Selling wasnt part of the plan but now that you mention it!

I bought them for $4 each a few years ago. Most is now >12". I see they fetch good prices when they are this size.

One comment - i find the Koi less hardy than the silver perch.

I had a few koi deaths over the past two years - but still havent lost any Silver Perch.

Most Koi deaths looks like "dropsy". Salting seem to help a bit.

sooooo, overall, if you dont mind me asking, how much has this cost you out of pocket so far? I can see alot of items that can be repurposed and save a bunch of money. As far as materials go that you HAD to buy, how much has this cost you?

Hey there, So with your barrels the water is coming up from the bottom?

Hi Jayendra - yes i fill them from the bottom. The overflow from the blue barrel flows back to the the pond. Once the pump stops - it drains through the bottom back to the pond.

I use a decent pump (100W at 7kl/h). Originally i used a smaller pump but found that it struggled to fill the barrels during the "on-cycle".

Excluding the solar system - less than AU$6000. I use quite a lot of repurposed material as well. And everything is DIY!


The solar system and battery backup is also DIY but i stopped counting cost a long time ago