Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi guys,

I have been running a small Aquafarm setup for awhile now and thought I'd build something a little larger that included a bell siphon for a flood and drain system.

This system when finished should be pleasing to the eye whilst at the same time functional, plus be able to provide some fresh herb's and salads.

I plan to stock some nice fresh water tropical fish and have the water heated to around 26 degrees C. I may add an ornament or 2 mainly to try and absorb the rush of water from the siphon so that is doesn't disturb the fish as much.

I'm still very new to Aquaponics and I appreciate that doing it on a small scale isn't exactly the easiest way to learn. However this is kind of an experiment and more of a hobby setup which I hope you all enjoy as much as I do.

Please feel free to comment and give suggestions as this will hopefully prove to be a good little 'eye candy' rig that will keep the rest of the family happy .

The 50ltr AquaNano 40 tank.


The 30ltr grow bed on top.


The proposed plumbing from the grow bed to the fish tank.


One discussion that I would like to raise is what type of light to hang above the grow bed.

Clay balls are in. Seems to be working nicely. Currently takes around 55sec to drain, 2min 25sec to fill. I'm not sure how fast you want the cycles to happen but I could probably slow it down a bit.



I plan to build a nice wooden box that the grow bed will sit in and then build a frame up off that for the light.

That tank is awesome!

Any supplemental aeration? I'm not sure that drain would provide enough O2

Yes I plan on putting an air stone in there once I stock it with fish.

Currently still trying to tweak the siphon.

Made a wooden box for the grow bed to sit in. It looks a bit nicer then a plastic tub and once the veggies and herbs get planted it should look even better.



I also added some accessories to the tank whilst it is cycling.


My grow light just arrived so I'll be making a bracket for it to hang on this weekend. Then we play the waiting game until it's safe to add fish.

I still haven't decided which fish to go with. I was thinking a big school of Tiger Barbs with a bottom feeding cat fish to help keep the bottom clean.

This week I was able to build a frame for the grow light and mount it. Hopefully it will allow enough growing space for the selected veg/herb.




This weekend I planted Cherry Tomato, Mixed Cos Lettuce, Baby Spinach, plus 1 Basil and Chilli from my Aquafarm system where I grew them from seed.


The tank has been cycling for just over 1 week. I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of trying to get pure ammonia for the fishless cycle so I'm just throwing in fish food every second day. Waiting for the ammonia/nitrite spike to happen now.

The veggies have been in for nearly 2 weeks and you can already see how the Tomato and Lettuce have grown. The grow light seems to be working well and with the help of the space blanket draped over the top it stops a lot of the light escaping.

The only issue I've found so far with a system this small is the amount of water getting used by the plants. I have to top up around 5 - 6ltr's per week which is a fair bit in such a small tank. Plus it will probably become more as the plants get bigger.

I currently have 3 little Tiger Barbs in the tank with more to follow soon. Then I'll add some Cory Catfish to keep the tank clean.

Also I'm adding API Leaf Zone weekly to keep Iron and Potassium levels up and because it's aquarium/fish friendly.

A lid for the top of the tank will help with the water loss, I loose about 50L per week to evaporation in my 800L tropical tank if I forget to put the sump lid back on and that is only a 45cm x 45cm area. ( maybe loose 5L if all lids are on.)

Thanks Brad86. I do have some acrylic sheet ready to cut to size as the original glass lid won't fit. I'll get it on ASAP to reduce the evaporation.

Tomato is growing really well. The Basil isn't taking off like I would like though and the mini cos lettuce seems to be doing ok.

I have 7 Tiger Barbs in the tank now with some cory catfish soon to come.

I have adjusted the grow light from 15hrs a day to 11hrs a day because I think it was to much for the plants. The baby spinach went strait to seed. Hopefully things will get back on track now.