Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello-

I will be starting my first (ever) aquaponic system over the next few months. The basement room I am using is a confined space, with very little wiggle room. I plan to integrate components of the system in a gradual build-up-type fashion.

I will attach sketches of my plans, but here is the general idea:

Phase 1- 55 gallon aquarium containing goldfish pumped directly to a 50 gallon media grow bed with a bell siphon directing water back to the aquarium.

Phase 2- Add 100 gallon stock tank for Tilapia, 55 gallon aquarium becomes the sump. Add 1 more 50 gallon media grow bed.

Phase 3- Add 150 gallon stock tank for Tilapia, 100 gallon stock tank becomes sump. Add 2 DWC beds after water is siphoned through the 2 existing media beds.

The small space is challenging, but this will force me to learn efficiency with available space (vertical & horizontally). I am brainstorming ideas as I gather components/equipment. My next post will have some potential sketches of the phases mentioned above.

Slay
PS-this is scary, yet exciting all at once!

Hello,

These are my sketches to far- I would appreciate any and all advice. I posted some of my questions/concerns with the plans:



Phase 1 Questions:
Can I start with a pump big enough for phase 3 (only purchase 1 for all phases, then a backup later when I have money)?

I am thinking 4 ft fixture of T5s to start... my vertical space will be very limited and I am thinking these would allow for the least space between lights and plants?



Phase 2 Questions:
This is (I believe a CHIFT PIST) system except I cannot elevate the fish tank, thus I swapped the fish tank and sump around- does this work? I haven't seen it in other designs ...

Can I switch to tilapia in phase 2? or is 100 gallons to little volume?

I have other concerns that the sump may drain below pump height, but I don't know the dimensions of the pump or aquarium yet.



Phase 3 Questions:
Should I try to start the whole project at this phase? I have considered it... not sure if it would be too overwhelming with lots of different variables...

Does this system plumbing and flow actually sound viable? The DWC beds concern me (if I am getting too complex with my first build).

That's all for now.
Slay

Everything is getting a bit more real now that my first grow bed arrived. I'm a bit concerned- there is a lip that runs the inside of the tank about 2 inches below the very top. Part of it is chewed off- wondering if I should shave this whole lip (or sand it) down? I plan to have a full 12 inches of grow media, and wonder if any of the deteriorated portion will leak? We will see.

I would appreciate any further tips or answers to questions posted with the system plans above! Anyone have answers?

I am considering skipping Phase 1, and starting with phase 2 with Tilapia. Does this seem reasonable for a first timer?

Any and all advice is appreciated. Here is the new grow bed:







I am in the process of clearing the basement room (lots of clutter ).

Slay

I am ordering grow bed media, and discovering just how expensive it is. I am deciding between these two:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LZQH5JG?psc=1 ($90 cheaper than the Hydroton below)

or

https://www.amazon.com/Hydroton-25-L-Or ... s=hydroton



Slay

Ugggg. I'm messing up my pic uploading aren't I! I resized to 900x900... back to the resize thread... [CONFOUNDED FACE]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cheap expanded clay is often a false economy, because a lot of it ends up falling apart in water, but the reviews on that product are generally positive and one specifically mentions that the supplier is helpful and responsive, so it's probably worth a go! (Also, the single one-star review just says "Wanna try it out but idk", so they haven't even bought it! What a wally. )

With the chewed bits on the ridge in your growbed, I'd probably wipe some fish-safe silicone into them to smooth them over, then fill it to the top with water after it cures and see if it leaks at all. It doesn't look like a serious problem; even if it does go all the way through a little silicone will probably fix it, and because it's right near the top there won't be much pressure on it. If you keep a good dry zone at the top of your media (useful to stop algae growing on top!) it might not even be under water.

I can't help with the light questions, sorry - hopefully someone else will chime in! As for the pump, you can definitely start with one that's large enough to run your final design; instead of throttling it back, it's best to run it on its normal flow and redirect the excess back into your tank, which will provide extra aeration. A pump big enough to run your phase 3 idea might be too strong to work well in a tank the size of your phase 1, but should do OK in phase 2.

Your phase 2 plan looks like it'll definitely work - the sump should be big enough unless it's a weirdly shallow shape, but you'll need to make sure you keep it well topped up. The best way I've found to monitor water volume in a flood&drain system is to stop the pump immediately after the growbeds have drained (I turned off taps as necessary to stop one refilling before the others drained), and top up to the maximum capacity; then I turned on the pump again, and took the bells out of all the siphons so the growbeds all filled at once. Mark that water level in the sump; then in future when you want to top up, if you take all the bells out and top up to that point, you won't get any accidental overflows and you'll be topping up to max every time (so less risk of letting it go too long and running your sump dry!).

You will need to clean out your sump regularly; if you're running an SLO from your fish tank into your sump, that should keep your FT nice and clean (especially if you direct the extra flow from your pump into your FT instead of back into the sump, which will keep the FT flowing all the time and nicely aerated), but most of the solids will probably settle in the sump. Some will get sucked up the pump and deposited in the growbeds, but you can't count on it taking them all; if you have one or two small fish (or maybe a crayfish) in the sump tank, they'll move the solids around a bit and send more of them through the pump, but you'll probably still need to clean it fairly often.

I don't know space requirements for tilapia, so I don't know if they'll be happy in that size tank. If you post your growbed dimensions we can work out your wet media volume, which will tell you how many fish you can safely stock!

Hi Veggie Slayer,

to save your pump running dry and maintaining water rotation you could fit a float valve to the bottom of the ST. Some call this an automatic top up device and in my systems it is, some use it for emergencies only.

Most of the time the float will be up and the valve off but in the event of a leak, evaporation or miscalculation the water level could drop the float and keep your pump in water.
It is more work to install and maintain but once it's operating it's one of the many things you need to think/worry less about.
I like your system layout, it would be nice to see some photos of the intended site.

Looks like a solid design, I am excited to see it all put together. If you are trying to save $ on media, scoria has been by far the cheapest option here in the U.S. (like $5 for a fairly substantial bag), but it is a pain in the ass to work with at times.

Mel Redcap- I really like your idea of sending the water to the GB and back to the FT for aeration. I will test the GB after repairing with silicone. I forgot to include a "T" at the top of my SLO- you actually helped me realize that- which will help me avoid siphoning out of my fish tank.

My grow-bed (50 gallon) dimensions are:
Outer- L53 1/4'', W31 1/4", H 12 3/4"
Inner- L47", 25 1/2", H11 3/4" **Note- the inner dimensions are a tiny bit narrower at the base of the grow bed and gradually slopes about 1/2" to 3/4" outward at the top of the grow-bed. If you can provide wet media volume from this, I would greatly appreciate it.

I do not have my aquarium yet (for dimensions) but it is 55 gallons.

Petesake- That looks well worth it- I tend to be a backup (insurance) type of guy, so when I get to phase 2 I will be looking to install the float valve.

Fortheloveoffish- thanks for the tipper on scoria. I am still trying to decide what to do with media.

Status Update:
I have obtained an API freshwater master test kit, an Aqueon Pro Heater 250W, and a seedling tray/heating mat. I am still clearing out the grow room. I am debating on weather to have an electrician come and install GFI outlets or not.... Currently there are no outlets in the small room, and I would be running some sort of power strip from the adjacent room, and then plugging a bunch of devices in to it.

I am really having trouble deciding the lighting. I do NOT want to have to go back and replace a fixture because I don't have enough light. This is pushing me to go bigger rather than smaller. Because of vertical limits, I am still leaning towards the T5 fluorescent fixtures (4 ft 8 bulb) (I can put them closer to the plants without burning):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002T ... X0DER&th=1

or

https://www.amazon.com/Agrobrite-Design ... M0H7P&th=1

I would really like to go LED (to allow for different spectrums- but I don't think I can place this close enough to the plants. Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Ref ... grow+light

If I start with T5s, is that pretty good for full lifecycle of leafy greens (non-fruiting like lettuce etc...)?

Fish Tank:
I am debating on how to set this up. I would like to make it decorative for my family, but I realize this is difficult with aquaponics. Any tips on making my first system "look" interesting for my family? Leaning towards goldfish for the first phase.

I don't have nearly enough money for phase 2, so I am indeed starting with phase 1.

That's all for now.
Slay

PS- this is weird... setting up to grow indoors as the spring weather gets nicer . At least I will be operational before winter!

Okay, I'm no good at calculating volume in inches so I'm converting all that to metric, bear with me. It looks like the inner dimensions of your growbed are about 117 x 63 x 29 cm; knocking off 5 cm from the depth to allow for a dry layer on top and not overfilling it gives us about 177 cubic litres of wet media. Nice and big! The usual rule of thumb is 20-25 litres per (plate size or smaller) fish, going for 20 litres if you've got lower-demand fish or more experience and 25 if you're just starting or have high-demand fish (like trout or tilapia). Let's give your fishies at least 25 litres each... which means you can have up to 7 goldfish. I'd start with fewer, see how the nutrient levels go and only add more if your plants end up struggling for nitrogen.

On the media side of things, yup, scoria is an awesome media as far as surface area for bacteria and good root attachment for plants, but harder to set up and work with; you need to wash it really well, which is a literal pain, and it's pretty hard on the hands. I've got scoria in the bottom 20cm (8") of my growbeds and expanded clay in the top 10cm (4"), which is a decent compromise between price and convenience; it gets stirred up when I remove plants, but so far not too badly.

For making your tank look more interesting, you can buy or make cool background posters to stick on the outside of the back wall - some look like ocean reefs, or other underwater scenes, and I've seen an awesome outer space themed one. It also won't hurt to put a few decorative things in the tank; you'll need to clean around them, but they shouldn't collect too much gunk if you don't go overboard. I wouldn't put gravel in the tank though, or live plants unless you find something smallish and really tough; gravel will collect too much gunk, and most live plants won't do well with all the water movement even if the goldfish don't eat them. (Goldfish will eat them. Goldfish almost always eat them.) A couple of anubias on a nice decorative rock or piece of wood should survive goldfish, look interesting, and be fairly easy to clean.

Given that you're starting with phase 1 and won't have a sump to run your pump in and insulate the FT from water level fluctuations, I wouldn't buy an oversized pump; one that's big enough to run phase 2 or 3 will cause too much churn in the tank. Get one that has a little extra capacity, so you can tune the water flow to make your siphon run well and aerate the tank with the extra.

Mel Redcap- Your calculations are great. I will probably stock right around that 7 goldfish number. A friend gifted me a pump which I believe is about 450 GPH. I'm going to give it a shot and see if it triggers the siphon properly.

System update coming...

Slay

System Update:

The storage room I am using is cleaned out. I have been doing some measurements and calculations, and phase 2 & 3 are most likely going to be modified due to space concerns. Here pics of the room from different angles...

Walking in:


The wall to the left and straight ahead are cement foundation:


Turning to the left, you still see the left cement wall, and the wall with the entrance is drywall with metal studs:


Entrance from inside:


The last wall (the one to the right of the system when walking in the room) is drywall with metal studs:


I have two concerns which I am trying to solve/mitigate-

Water: No drainage in the room, enclosed space without too much ventilation. The ceiling is unfinished and connects to the next basement room. I am concerned that the moisture will not have enough ventilation, but I'm more concerned if there is a system issue and water overflows, leaks, etc...

Electric: There are no outlets in the room. I am really out of money for the project, but safety is a major concern for me. I will have an estimate 5 things plugged in to the system (lighting, pump, aeration, and seedling grow tray light/heat mat). Would it be safe to run an extension cord to a work-bench type power strip? I bought this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-31613-Me ... KPGXHE3XCK

I see that the grow tray recommends plugging into a GFCI outlet. Am I running any potential major risks of fire if I run the above strip from a normal outlet in the adjacent room?

Slay

Moving onto the system itself, I cleaned out a used 55 gallon aquarium, and scooted it into my grow room on an old pillow (my back doesn't like me).



I cut uneven spots, and caulked the inner line of the 50 gallon plastic trough to prevent water from pooling in the small space inside the trough (hard to explain, this wasn't a leak but when tested, it held water within the trough walls).



I used a 1 3/4 inch hole saw and drilled a hole for my bell siphon. I am going to have the water enter in one corner, and drain from the opposite (diagonal corner).





I inserted a 1 inch bulkhead.



I set the aquarium and grow bed on existing shelving units. I played around with height for quite a while, and here it where I think it will remain.




Slay

Looking good!

You'll definitely need a fan or similar to keep air moving; it'll be good for plant health as well as reducing moisture problems. If your system is at the room temperature (rather than using water heaters) and you cover the tank, you should have less condensation etc. Also you miiiiiight need more support under your tank and growbed; water and rock is damn heavy! If in doubt, make things stronger.

With the extension cord and power strip, as long as they're rated for the amount of power you're using AND in good condition AND you take proper precautions to keep them dry, you should be fine. GFCI outlets are intended to prevent electrical shock in wet environments (bathrooms, etc); if the other end is in an entirely different room and the power strip is well out of the way of any water (so, hang it up on the wall out of splash range instead of leaving it on the floor next to the tank) then an ordinary fused outlet can do the job.

(Please note the disclaimer that I am not an electrician and if there is anything wrong with your house wiring all bets are off. )

Tagging along. I am debating about building an indoor system to make use of the waste water in my indoor aquariums so looking for ideas... Right now I have a 240 gal with a 40 gal sump, a 55 gal, a 40 gal, three 20 gals and three 10 gals in my fish room in the house, plus a 75 gal that I'm using to hold water until I get another IBC tote to put by the garden to pump water from the fish room to the IBC to use for watering the garden.

I have moisture issues with all of the tanks in my fish room so I have to run a dehumidifier all the time.