Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello from Panama City, Panama!

I am a student, new to the world of aquaponics, and I've been trying to fix and expand the system in the picture. It's an aquaponics system with the fish tank at the bottom, a cylinder grow bed at the top, and two grow beds in the middle. The flush system is currently broken- I used a PDF by Travis Hughey on barrelponics, but the waterbottle gets clogged with algae frequently, and the flush system often get stuck between open and closed (it works like a toilet flush).

How do people feel about barrelponics? Is this a bad method? Would consistent flow be better? I'm trying to expand the system, so I'm thinking about changing it to a consistent flow and adding a lattice of horizontal PVC pipe grow beds.

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the forum Panav

Hiya panav, welcome.
How do we feel about barrelponics?
We love 'em!!!
What is the top barrel and bottle for?

All explained in here Skeggley - http://backyardaquaponics.com/Travis/Barrel-ponics-Manual.PDF

Panav - You can cut down on the algae by shading the top tank and you might paint the outside of the bottle to help with algae as well. Barrel-Ponics is pretty well known and works. Haven't seen too many here in the last couple of years but other people have had some algae troubles.

Consistent flow? Where is this term coming from and what does this mean to you just so we are talking about the same thing?

Thanks! I actually did paint the bottle black to see if that would help. I'm honestly thinking about taking the whole thing apart and rearranging the system.

By consistent flow, I mean that the water is pumped up to the top, and as soon as it is at the top, it starts running through the system. The way it currently is set up, the water isn't released into the system until it reaches a certain height in the upper tank and pours into the water bottle, which serves as a counterbalance. The weight of the filled water bottle opens the valve and releases water into the grow beds in one big "flush." However, the balance system has been very problematic in the sense that it won't close the valve until all the water leaves the upper tank.

OK, that makes sense. Around here we usually talk about either Constant Flood or Continuous Flow. Continuous Flow just means the water is always pumping 24/7. Constant Flood is typically also Continuous Flow so the water in the grow beds is always flooded to a certain height and the water is always pumping. If you switch you'll probably want to go Constant Flood because with the fish tank below as you have it, there will be less fluctuation of the water level than if you went to either Continuous Flow with Siphons or Timed Flood and Drain. I

I forget whether your setup has a drip hole at the bottom of the standpipe - If you decide to go with Constant Flood you'd need standpipes without this (sometimes you can just flip them end for end). With CF your grow beds are usually filled to within an inch or two of the top of the media and the fish tank is full at all times. If there was a hole in the standpipes the fish tank would overflow during a power outage.

When you want to add a grow bed just connect up the pipes and grow bed. Using water from outside the system, fill the new grow bed with water till it starts to flow over the standpipe. Once this is done you can start the system (filling the new grow bed from the already existing system would have made the water level in the fish tank drop further than you probably want). You might need to add a bit more water for filling the pipes as well but do this with the system running. This sort of setup allows you to keep adding grow beds without increasing the tank size.

Hope this makes sense

Oops, been too long since I looked at one of these setups . You don't have standpipes in the grow beds like most of us do. I think to do the CF as I mentioned earlier you would need to add a standpipe and media guard into your grow beds. If you just want to run water through your existing setup without the flush valve you'll also have to use some sort of standpipe in the grow bed to set the water depth since right now that is done by how much water is released to flush the bed on each cycle. Sorry for the confusion.

Barrel ponics are great I would love just $1.00 for every system that's up and running I would be a rich man

Thank you for the clarification on terminology! I have been reading a lot of other posts, and I think I have solidified my plans to change the system. I definitely want to switch to constant flood with a standpipe. Does constant flood offer any additional benefits other than easier maintenance? Also thanks for explaining how to add more grow beds.

I'm planning to take the system apart, remove the top grow bed, and move the two remaining grow beds and fish tank against a wall (the system is on an outside patio). Then, I'm hoping to fill the wall space above the system with vertical growers. The space is about 3.25 ft wide by 5 ft tall, so I've been researching PVC towers.

Any advice? The pump is 120 V with max output of 529 gph, and it will have to pump the water 7 ft along the wall and then up to the height of the towers. I have also seen some models with horizontal PVC pipes, but I imagine that the vertical towers use the space more efficiently. They do look like they might clog more frequently. Thanks again!

You also get a bit more temperature stability because you can completely fill the system so there is more water.

You should probably take a look at the ability of your pump to do what you want it to, before you commit to the towers. Pumps usually have a table or chart describing the flow at any given head height. The head height is from the top of the water the pump is in, to the highest point you'll be pumping to (just above the towers in this case). If you don't have the manual you might be able to find the chart/table online. There may also be some issues with the difference in height between the grow beds and the towers if you're using the same pump to try pumping to both.

When moving the tank and beds around make sure you still have good access to the fish tank.

Towers and horizontal pipes usually warm the water faster than media beds. Sometimes this isn't a good thing for the fish in a small system because the temperature fluctuations are too great. It depends on how bad the changes are and on how tough the fish are but be aware that it might kill the fish.