Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone!

I've wanted to get into aquaponics for years, and I finally have the time, space, and resources to actually do it! I've built a tiny test system to try siphons etc out, and I'm reading everything I can get my hands on. I'll be starting a build thread soon to get advice on my plans for my big system. (Well... big by my standards. I stand in awe of some of the systems posted about here. )

In the meantime, I have my tiny 'Mel Finds Out What Won't Work' goldfish-powered system to play with! Here's a pic from when I'd just planted it out, almost exactly a month ago:



And here's a pic from today:

Hi Mel, welcome to the forum

Hi Mel, from one Canberran to another!

While it might seem to make sense to have a small system, I have discovered that the larger the system the easier it is to manage things like pH etc so don't be worried about up sizing I think you'll find it quite easy to manage over the smaller one. I have a micro indoor system with just 2 goldfish and it's a major pain compared to my large outdoor system.

Anyways, good to see Canberra represented here!

Thanks guys!

Cunningstunter, yeah, I learned bigger = better stability with fish tanks quite a few years ago. Inertia can be your friend! I'm planning for the biggest FT and sump I can easily source, which will give me lots of capacity to increase my growbeds later. We've got plenty of room and we're not doing much with it...

A big part of the reason I'm starting up with aquaponics is because soil gardening has been kicking me in the *ahem* feelings. I did great with tomatoes and some easy-care flowers for a few years, but in the last year or so, nope! It's a struggle keeping the water up to them, I have arthritis that's getting worse so weeding is a literal pain and doesn't happen, and right now you can't tell I planted anything at all except for a pumpkin plant that's doing nothing and a zucchini that won't fruit. A zucchini. I am shamed before my ancestors! Aquaponics is harder to set up - every time I build part of a system I'm pretty well wrecked for days - but once it's going the maintenance should be a lot less hassle (outside of Oh Crap moments at least).

Welcome

Welcom to the forum Mel. Find the Aquaponics Canberra group on FB please. I am planning a get together soon.

I'm not on Facebook, sorry. Will you be posting about it here?

I sure do Mel. Take care

Time for an update!

I'm still playing with the teeny test system, it's a lot of fun and I'm learning things that will be very, very useful when I build my big one. Like... siphons, and how fiddling with the pump can throw them completely out of whack, and how hard it is to pull out the crappy one you built out of random bits of tubing (and siliconed in place, not doing THAT again) and replace it with a proper Affnan siphon, without shifting the media. But it is done! And it works! And I only skinned my knuckles a little! The yabbies in the sump will get over how impressive the flow out of that growbed is now.

I built a little gravel wicking bed to start seeds:


And a strawberry pipe! It's about halfway between NFT and DWC:


My garden cress is coming up nicely:


and the little basil cutting my mother gave me is now a full-sized plant that smells glorious:


I am getting some weeds though, this is the biggest one I've seen yet :


And I think I need some new gardening flip-flops! (Must remember to get open-toed ones so I can post proper toe pictures later):

Two months since I started my teeny test system, and it's doing awesome!

I ate my first salad from it yesterday, tomato was bought but the lettuce and basil were from the aquaponics and tasted delicious:



I got a squash! A decent-sized green button squash! And there are more female flowers developing, which is a relief, because I was starting to think the darn thing was going to produce only male flowers forevermore:




That strawberry plant is probably happier now that the lettuce isn't invading its space quite so much (I picked most of my salad from the leaves overhanging it), and those two look nearly ready to pick:



Yay aquaponics!

Wow! First salad and an excellent looking squash! Congratulations!

BTW, at first I was thinking... Oh, no! Toe Pictures were mentioned, and I barely have recovered from the last set. But I have a feeling your toe pics could only improve the overall quality of toe pics AP-wide.
Bring 'em on!

That is a very, very nice looking, and successful system you've built!

--
Sam

I promise to pre-check my feet before taking any potential toe pictures, and keep them out of shot if they aren't looking good that day. And thank you!

Hi Mel,

There's been some delays obtaining fish feed for the Canb trout group buy... If you're after any fish let me know....

Cheers
Jarrad

Hi Cunning,

I'll be after fish for my planned big system in two-three months or so, but I'm going for silver perch - any recommendations on a good supplier?

- Mel


NOTE TO SELF:

If you are trying to add nitrates to your system because the goldfish aren't pooing enough, and a little bit of Charlie Carp doesn't produce a noticeable result, maybe next time you should put in a little more. A little. Not a lot. Because if you do in fact put in a lot more, you may find yourself doing a major water change and adding salt to help the fish deal with the whacking huge ammonia and nitrite spike you caused, and being very grateful that goldfish are tough.

STOP BEING IMPATIENT, SELF. Love, Me.

Well done Mel. Hopefully my system will get some things out of it like yours

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