Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Coolest I finally got it!!

Thanks Wilsil for the advice

Julian here is a pic of my system. Notice in the middle.....that is an in built swirl separator before it enters the grow bed.

Mike

Nice toy, did you get the hardware as a whole set?

Yep it came as a kit

My first system was a CHOP system. I used 55gal drums. One drum for the fish tank that had gold fish that started out as micro $0.12 fingerlings and ended up fat and as long as 5 to 6" on average before I had to move a little over a year later. For the grow beds I took another drum and cut it in half for that recommended 1:1 grow bed to fish tank ratio. There was a 45gal sump tank. Both grow beds used bell syphons and were mostly hydroton clay ball rejects I got off of Amazon with a bottom 1/3 of both beds being granite 3/4" gravel. Fed the system with rain water that had the same PH which made things much easier. Built a plastics water pot cage around the pump that dropped required maintenance drastically. Put in auto feeders to feed the fish. Then tried out a lot of different things to see if they worked or I liked them.

It grew plants well. Was not built solid which caused problems. I learned a lot on what to focus on more when building my second system. I no longer have a 1:1 ratio now. So I will have to go lighter on fish for now. I will probably try to end up with 1lb of fish for every 5gal of water... then adapt from there.

I learned that you need to always have many things planted. Don't take out too many plants at once. Nitrates will spike.

Mike. That is an awesome looking little system! You can put that almost anywhere.

Marty

Marty,

"I no longer have a 1:1 ratio now."

What ratio are you using in your second system? Mike has a 3 to 1... FT to GB and that's a mass produce kit. I mean no company will mass produce an imbalance system. They sure have big gun consultants like MR Damage and the rest of experts here.

Thanks

Julian



Mike,

Can you tell me the volume flow rate of your pump at that set up.

Thanks,

Julian

I supposed you are totally right. There is no solid rule. Just suggested ones that absolutely don't have to be followed. Which is what I did as well. My grow beds are 50gal x 2 = 100gal. FT is 150gal. Sooo that ratio is .6666 : 1.

I did keep the recommended 12" grow bed depth, gravel diameter, pump flow rate, air stones in the FT in case the pump fails, etc., etc.

All I think the 1:1 gravel does is make the system's resilient. It would require cleaning out less often... to never and provide surface area for more nitrifying bacteria to grow. More room to grow crops too. If you have a smaller system then it is more subject to swings from PH, Ammonia, Temps., etc. To protect from temps you can make less grow area. To protect from Ammonia spikes you can go thin on the fish... There are a lot of ways to adapt to your situation and environment.

I just found the thread on my old system. Here is the link. I have a link in that thread going to my YouTube channel and videos. I tried out a lot of little experiments in my old system. Also added worms, scuds, snails, and daphnia. I think the scuds would be awesome keeping the filters clean in a DWC system.

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=26708

Thanks Marty,

I'm living in an apartment which has a small court yard so it is ideal and my wife is happy coz it's not in the road of her pot plants etc ha ha!

Julian,

The pump volume rate at zero head is 1300 l/h. The pipe head height on my system is about 500mm so according to the specs it moves 930 l/h. The make is a PondMax, model is PV-1200.
It's a bit of an over kill as my tank holds roughly 300 or so litres. From what I've learned it's recommend that you cycle your water volume of your system in an hour.

Yes Mike the pump is an overkill. When you make a big system dont copy it the bill will kill you. also the grow bed to fish tank ratio seems disproportionate.

Marty,

you are correct that a 1: 1 ratio is more resilient. Its better to have an oversize bed than FT. Plants may not grow well, But heck 3 lettuce could be bigger than one. and fish are safe. Maybe add more fish later to get the optimum balance.

Yeah I brought this system as a kit and it is way disproportionate with the theory figures (3:1... Fish tank water volume : Volume of grow bed media). The power consumption on the water pump in my system is only 20 watts....not much at all really.

In the future I could possibly add another grow bed to balance the ratio. By having a bigger fish tank to grow bed ratio I think decreasing the amount of fish in the tank to match the required nutrients for the plants in the grow bed is what would be required. I think you would also have to decrease the flow rate to the grow bed on a flood and drain set up, especially if it has a bell siphon, because your pump flow rate (L/h) would have to match your fish tank volume.
To compensate for the extra flow rate volume produced by the water pump, it can be bleed back into the fish tank and could be used to introduce more oxygen into the water by the splash created. That's how my system is set up to compensate for the larger pump!

I hope that makes sense to you Julian

I do believe you're correct that it is much better to have more grow beds

When the time comes to upgrade I'll be much more precise with my calculation so I can match them with the correct components when designing and constructing my new system.

Ooops ignore that comment in the opening sentence after theory figures......The 3:1 ratio was my system ratio and not the normal ratios....my bad ha ha

"it can be bleed back into the fish tank and could be used to introduce more oxygen into the water by the splash created. That's how my system is set up to compensate for the larger pump!"

Oh yes then you dont need another pump (air pump) for the air stone. since it is a really small system. makes sense.

Yep sure is my friend

It's dark here in Perth but tomorrow I'll try take some pics for you so you can get a visual idea!!explaining

You just gave me an idea for My system! Thank you.

My 150gal FT system is running off of 25W. I had to back the water way off on both of my flood and drain beds. So I am wasting half of that electricity basically. All while creating a extra maintenance spot at the ball valves that are almost completely closed. I will have to open them periodically to flush debris out. However, if I use your idea to run water back to the tank... I can likely adjust the water pressure there... and leave the top ball valves fully open. Keeping them clean and maintenance free. Only a possible option since since my system is so level.

I can even put a venturi into that return line!

Thanks again!

I would love to add that 3rd grow bed for the 1:1 grow ratio at some point. Not happening while I live here though.

May even set a 300gal IBC on the ground behind it as a CHOP fish tank and surround the system with grow beds. The current 150gal tank would become the sump/fingerling tank.

This is what is fun with Aquaponics. It is limited to your imagination and reality... or where they both intersect.

No worries Marty.
I've put on a ventri fitting on the end of the pipe going back to the fish tank and it creates awesome bubbles.....

Here is a pic of the set up I have on my system!!