Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Thanks! I did a lot of planning on this system as well. I had initially planned to put the sump tank on the far left of the growbeds. I thought that would be a better place if I wanted to add more growbeds toward the left. But then I started placing things around and thought pumping from the middle would be better. I hope I don't come to regret that decision as digging that hole was not fun. Expansion on this system probably won't consist of much though.

I have a dream plan of digging a 10' wide x 12' long x 5' deep fish tank/pond near the middle of the of the yard. That would give me 4500 gallons of fish tank. This would act as a FT and eliminate the need for a sump tank. As long as I didn't over stock with fish I could add growbeds at my leisure until the entire back yard was incorporated. I figure I could get somewhere between 450-500 cubic feet of grow media in there while still leaving room in front of the fish tank for a patio with table and chairs for leisure time. I even have a plan to cover nearly the entire yard with a sort of greenhouse half tunnel which would completely screen in the entire system to protect from birds and offer some protection from the hordes of insects we have here in Hawaii. With retirement coming up in about 5-10 years this project would certainly keep me busy with tending the AP system as well as selling all the leftover produce and fish. Well, that's my day dream anyway.

How much GB can I sustain with 1 IBC FT? I'm thinking about adding a 3rd 4'x8'x12" GB. It would change
the layout a bit so it would be best to decide on this before I start placing and mounting things.

I know the answer to this question will depend on how many fish I stock, what type of filters (if any) are
in the system, plant density, etc. But, in general, how much growbed can I sustain from 1 IBC fishtank.

Since the previous post above I did a little searching and reading and have concluded I could easily add an additional 4'x8'x12" growbed to my planned system as long as I keep fish density up. I think 96cuft of GB is pretty much the limit though. I'm sure I could probably do some vertical expansion but we'll keep that in the bullpen for now.

A good many. You can put alot of fish in a full IBC especially if you have good filtration and aeration an feed paterns.

On the growbed side, some of it depends on what media you use and the BSA (Biological Surface Area)/SSA (Specific Surface Area) it has to be able to clean the water for the fish. I know a good many folks follow the "20L of wet gravel per fish" calculation.

2- 4'x8'x12" growbeds = 64cu ft
64cu ft = 1812L
1812L/20L = 90.6 fish

Today's progress. I back filled around the sump tank and started spreading the dirt pile around the yard in various low spots
and inconspicuous locations. I also moved the first grow bed more or less into position. The second grow bed will be placed
over the sump tank and the third will placed to the left of it. Gettin' there slowly but surely.

Today I spread the rest of the dirt though the yard. I then put the FT up on cinder blocks so I could get a bit of a reckoning of its finished height. I also placed the first four cinder blocks which will hold the GB that covers the ST. I took the liberty of placing the GB over the ST just to get an idea of how everything will come together. The GB to the right is more or less where it will be installed but I still have to place the cinder blocks for it to rest on. Now to get ready for work!



Tomorrow and the next day I plan to build the 3rd GB and place all of the cinder blocks for the GBs stands and maybe even get all the GBs properly placed. After that my progress will have to come nearly to a halt since we are going on a vacation for a few weeks. Aside from not wanting to spend vacation money, I also don't really want to start running the system and then leave for 3 weeks. Should something go wrong I want to be here to catch it as early as I can. I suppose I can paint and manage some other finish work but the big stuff will have to wait for a while.

It's really taking shape mate. Nice!

I ended up working today so probably won't get anything done in the backyard. I did get a little bit done yesterday. I managed to place the rest of the cinder blocks for the GB over the ST. I ended up raising the height by 1 cinder block as 2 cinder blocks was just too low for my liking. I'm 6'5" tall and I have a very back back. Not very fond of the idea of hunching over when working in the GB's. My wife wanted them lower but I don't foresee her doing a lot of work in there other than raiding the vegies.





I found out how great it would be to have a nice level space for your AP system. ::)

The bed might look a little high (36" to the top) but I do plan to add some plank walkways between beds after the system is complete. That should raise the gardener a couple of inches at least so its all good.

Your system looks awesome. Are you in nc san diego?

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Sorry, no. I'm in Hawaii, windward side of Oahu.

It looks awesome. Hawaii.... u lucky squatch

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What are you lining the elevated grow beds with? I found this to be problematic and mind blowingly expensive. Curious to what your plan

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I am going to use EPDM pond liner. A local sprinkler supply warehouse stocks the stuff in bulk. I already priced it at $216.50 for 18'x10' or three pieces 6'x10' each. Then it will be another $340 for cinder +/-.

You might be able to get buy with a cheaper liner but you won't have the longevity of EPDM.

There are places to get cinder around here where it's just laying around in piles from a volcanic cinder cone (can't remember if it's Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management land). I asked about it once but you had to buy a truckload apparently (about enough to do a good sized driveway). Don't suppose you need that much, have a truck and have a similar setup in Hawaii?

Well, yes, I will need that much. I figure each of these GB's will take about 1 yard of cinder so that is 3 yards total or 3 pick up truck loads. Won't hurt to have a little extra on the side. And there are places where I can buy cinder by the truck load and I do have a truck so it all works out.

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Today I managed to build the third grow bed. I still have to attach the 2x4 base to the bottom but I'm need to pick up more screws for the job. I don't think I'll have any problem getting these last two grow beds in position before our vacation. That means most of the heavy work will be complete. In doing that I will also need to adjust the position of the GB over the ST as it is not square to the house. Its off by a couple of inches. I know it isn't much but its driving me nuts every time I look at it.



Actually, if someone wanted to build a nice garden feature aquaponics system, having those two boxes stacked like that would be pretty cool! The bottom could be the fish tank and the top would be the grow bed. Pretty simple and attractive if you use your imagination.