Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi spindog:

Here is a CHIFT PIST setup using two small aquariums and a no holes overflow: viewtopic.php?p=125119#p125119

Edit: (kind of CHIFT PISTy)

Here's a diagram of a simple small setup:

Hi all as you all no as soon as you get a system up and running you start thinking of expanding I have a courtyard setup
with a1000 litre tank and 500 litre gb I would like to no how to expand and add say 5 to 6 half barrels only because of the narrow space I have next to my courtyard setup as a newbie I understand it a lot better if I see a diagram can someone help please as you can see I want to go to the right hand side of the picture I have a three high brick edging 1.2 metres wide and 6metres approx long I would like to put a green house ontop of the bricks it would be long and narrow that's why I was thinking half barrels cheers

This is the most useful information I have ever got about the plants and other living beings regarding aquaponics through these great and elaborate diagrams and pictures that surely will help a lot. Thanks

I've learned a lot from all the diagrams you've shared..
Thanks and hope more ideas you've shared with us.

Are you doing timed flood and drain? Or using siphons? Or doing constant flow/flood? Will barrels be cut long ways or round the middle? Would you be willing to use a separate pump for the new barrels or add a sump tank or Only add the barrels? What pump are you using now? How many Liters per hour or minute at what height?

It is hard to design or diagram a system for you if one doesn't know more parameters than just 5 or 6 half barrels. (is that 5 or 6 barrel halves or is it 5 or 6 whole barrels cut in half to make 10-12 beds?)
Are they 200 liter barrels or some other size?

There are actually at least several ways it could be done.

thank you everyone for sharing information. I'm trying to decide about the sump. I didn't plan it in the rockwork, and my setup is more aquaculture oriented, thoughts? Is the sump for volume balancing?

Volume balancing and a backup.

I've had a few times where something has gone wrong, and the entire sump has been drained while I was at work. If the pump was in the fish tank, I'd have probably come home to flapping fish, or no longer flapping fish.

However, it depends on your setup. If the tank is big enough (look at PLJ's big concrete tank, or slowboats pool to pond), then I wouldn't worry about the sump, and yours does look pretty big, also depends on your grow beds, yours are above the tank?

thanks I look for PLJ's big concrete tank. I am finished with my recovery from a minor surgery and anxious to get back to building my system. Brian

Sumps are the lowest point in a system in which you place pumps normally. In flood and drain systems the sumps need to be sized to handle water volume fluctuations while flooding/draining the grow beds. In aquaculture or raft or constant flood systems the sumps are really just a place to put the pump and need to be big enough to handle all the water in the pipes when power goes out and have enough extra to allow for a few days worth of evaporation/transpiration without needing to constantly top up the water.

If your fish tank is where you will be placing your pump, you can often provide yourself a bit of backup simply by placing the pump up off the bottom a bit so that if water is being pumped out of the system due to a failuire, your pump will suck air before it pumps the fish tank totally dry. Most fish as they get bigger will stir up the solids enough that the pump will usually still suck them up as long as the pump is placed appropriately and there are no corners or objects that will collect the solids in the tank.

I've sort of painted myself into a corner with my pond being several feet below ground. I can build a fail safe water level control system, maybe, one that shuts off the pump at a certain water level in the pond. Thank you for pointing this out.
Brian

I think this will come in handy on a few discussion threads......

Spot on haha

wealth of information thank you

Thanks TCLynx for answering back I put this post up months and months ago but no feed back I ended up building my blue barrel ibc system (chift pist) it is working well you can have a look on my thread if you like