Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi folks
Greetings from the great white north. I'm near the small town of Trenton , roughly half way between Toronto and Ottawa , Ontario , give or take.
I never cared about any of this stuff 10 years ago... just wanted a big steak , whisky, ink and 2 stroke smoke. Now it's organic veg , the gym , kayaks , trying to be more self sufficient(still love whisky and ink though).
My wife and I have been growing in the dirt organically the last 3 years but had an eye on aquaponics for the last year or so. Finally decided to take the plunge this year..... when the weather improves. Currently -14C and about 20 cm of snow today. I'm dying for fresh tomatoes and trout.
Been doing tons of surfing and researching and the more I learn , the more questions I have.
Planning an indoor setup in my 14' x 20' garage (lots of south facing natural light and will supplement in winter). Looks like lots of good info here hopefully I can pick your collective brains and make this work.

For you sight vets, where's the best place for me to start looking for advice , just pick a thread that looks about right? Some forums are picky where you ask for specific advice and I don't want to junk up the wrong spaces.
Sorry it's a little wordy
Thanks
Jeff

Jeff, if you haven't already, check out the IBC's of Aquaponics. Great starting point. I don't have any first-hand experience at indoor systems, just know your plans need loss loss of light...be out sunlight or artificial. Lots of guys do indoor though. I think after you get your feet wet,a greenhouse might be more cost effective and productive. Or maybe a split system with fish inside and plants in GH? Anyways, good luck and a few words of advice. Be patient, be observant, and be prepared to become addicted.

Sorry, should have read post before sending. LOTS of light, not loss of light.lol

Thanks coach..... new to indoor growing as well but I have a couple buds who are really good at it on a small scale, not vegetables though.... you fill in the blank. I've got some good advice there re: lighting and the excess heat (a benefit in winter anyway).
The garage will become a greenhouse... large south facing glass wall and I plan to put in sky lights. Of course shade cloth needed for summer. FT's (2 IBC's with trout) will stay inside and I do plan to add a bunch of dutch buckets outside in summer as well as keeping the grow beds inside running.

Winter is my main focus for varied indoor growth, switching from summer to winter while maintaining fish stocks will be a challenge I think. We already have a good handle on dirt growing (when mother nature co-operates) so the bulk of our summer growth will be in our raised beds using sq ft method. I'll keep the indoor beds active enough along with the buckets to keep the fish happy in summer

I'll build all my grow beds (EPDM or durascrim??) and sump tank myself.. I'm stuck with the layout I have..
System basics- 2 IBC's (FT's) , 3 - 12" media beds (84 sq ft total) , sump/DWC raft - 420 gals, all sitting on the garage floor.
Still sorting through pump sizing, plumbing details etc. I can build almost anything, sometimes even while bleeding excessively.

I have read the IBC's of Aquaponics, good info there.
Sorry I tend to jump around explaining stuff . Pretty anxious to get at it , I know it sounds ambitious for start but that's how I roll.

Cheers , Jeff...... PS I have a buddy in Miami, he flew me down for a guys weekend in Feb 2014, I love Florida.