Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi DKT i got some from canning vale markets and also some from a friends place he has some also

Hiya Frank, how's the system going, any updates?

Hey skeggley

So sorry for the delayed response life gets away from you at times.

my wall garden is going good just replanting, the main system is off line at the moment a mate I was talking to when I built the system said 3x2 inch wood beams would be enough but it has sagged over time and with getting wet from the rain so I am in the process of a redesign on the benches but also tossing up about changing the system all together.

Yeah Rocket I hear ya, life does.
Changing the system?

Yeah the frame i had made was to light for the weight and over time it wood bowed and finaly split so was thinking of new grow beds and stands and ibc ft but still in the planning stage so don't know which way to go yet plus i am very limited for room. The wall garden is going good but i am trying to track down the Australian kale as the ones i have tried so far has been tough and bitter

Well stands all made up water cycled and fish added plants going great with amazing growth and then we went on a 3 week holiday to come back to sump tank run dry all but 1 of the fish are dead and water looking like fish soup all the plants dead except a couple green bits so I have cleaned out ft that's how I found the lonely survivor so hopefully he/she doesn't get stressed from the water change and when I get back from Albany in a few weeks will start again. I need to find a way to have the sump top up when low but given it drains down when pumping into the ft I am not sure how to fix this problem yet.

I haven't gone back through your thread but it sounds like you are running flood and drain with either siphons or timers. You may want to consider setting your system up to run Constant Flood if your sump is fairly small. Having it CF makes it easier to do the top ups using some sort of float valve and allows the sump to hold more water because it doesn't need to deal with large fluctuations in water level.

Hiya Frank, hope you had a good holiday.....
Yep the warm weather and low humidity has been sucking the water out of our system too, topping up every 3 days or so. The gb media has been too hot to touch and plants have been shrivelling in direct sun.
I added a top up float valve at my low level in the sump when the beds were flooded. Worked well until the expansion....
What was the fish that survived?

Gday lads, Armadale myself .. New to the hobby an learning so much. Love your pics by the way.

Thanks guys yes its on a timer and I have looked at CF and I have a small tank I could use to fit a float valve for top ups, the only thing with CF is if the power goes off the sump will flood and when it comes back on will be lowish. I did have someone that was looking after the place but didn't go so well. I have one lonely silver perch left in the ft and one lonely koi in the pond.

Skeggley the holiday was great just what the doctor ordered lol except I spent to much lol. I have been babying the potted plants back well some of them but a lot are to far gone and my bonsais didn't cope at all.

Andrew its an awesome hobby and addictive we look forward to seeing you set up I am sure they will be loads of help if needed so don't be shy.

More than likely you have a weep hole near the bottom of your standpipe. This is a typical flood and drain arrangement. If you eliminate this for CF you should no longer have the problem with the sump overflowing when the power goes out (the water stays in the grow bed). It's possible to have a removable standpipe that you can flip - on one end you have the weep hole and on the other you don't. With a siphon and the weep hole down you run flood and drain. With no siphon and the weep hole up you run Constant flood. If you can't afford to have any of the grow bed water run back to the sump, just switch to a pipe with no holes at all when you run CF. I used to run some beds CF and some F & D with siphons this way. You can buy a bit of wiggle room this way.

Thanks Scotty i turned the stand pipe as the fitting is not glued i have topped the sump tank up further so it should all be good i am of to Albany on Saturday for 10 days and hope to get some fishing in of the yaks and maybe some crabbing. Once i get back i will get some more fish for my system, since making it CF the kale has come back and looking ok and some of the leaks too but not sure if they will be woody. The lovely wife has just started raw food demonstrations and essentual oils and is wanting to use the patio more so i might get to up grade my system a bit

Hi everyone! Adam from Tamworth here, a definite rookie when it comes to permaculture and aquaponics but was wondering if anyone knew of hands-on courses for a newbie like me in the Tamworth area? Found a great workshop in Sydney https://www.milkwood.net/course/backyar ... cs-160409/
But was hoping to find something closer!

Hope someone from the area can share some information!?

Hey Frank, it's about time you updated this thread isn't it?

Hi Skeggley will be on holidays from Friday after my night shifts so it will have to be in a few weeks once I get back so hope that nothing goes pair shaped while I am away this time given it is the cooler months away