Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

This is probably going to be a drawn out process but i figure i have to start somewhere.

I want to do an indoor herb garden aquaponic system. I'm sure there are a bunch of reasons not to start small and I am looking for input, but these are my current reasons for what i am planning.

I want it indoor, in order to have more control over the temperature, weather, and wildlife.
I want to keep cost down, i plan on this being a learning experience and don't want to waste a bunch of
money.
I plan on, providing this small system works, building a bigger system outside for livestock and vegetables.


Below is a flow diagram I drew up with minimal detail and a few sizes of an idea i'm throwing around in my head. I want to make sure i'm not missing any vital equipment for this small system.

I didn't add a solids filter because i figure if my tank size is appropriate then we're talking 3-4 fish so my solids shouldn't be a filter worthy amount, if i'm wrong let me know.

I also don't have a sump tank, because I wasn't sure if it was necessary for this design.




This design is based on roughly half of the space I have for this system, so I could potentially double the fish tank or the grow beds (or both) if needed.

my first system was using a 50g fish tank, 6 gold fish and three 20L rubber maid grow boxes. Learned a lot from that and now i am up to about a 120G system and still having fun and have not bought any greens for about two months now. You have to start somewhere and if you like it you will have the constant urge to upgrade and grow your system. It a lot like HP sickness... you always want more... I need a bigger basement......

What volume are your GBs? Looks like it says 28 gallon each? Combined that would be more water than your 30 gallon tank!

You don't need a sump in a system like this if the GB volume is not too large to empty the tank too much. I've made a system pretty similar to this, GB on frame above FT, no sump. My FT is about 150 litres, filled to 130 maybe, GB is about 40 litres maybe. Taking into account the space occupied media and plants, i'd say GBs can be up to a 3rd of the volume of the FT, maybe even 1/2, without causing too much of a water level fluctuation in FT.

Also, when you build the bell siphon, drill the holes slightly up from the base of the bell so that the siphon doesn't completely empty the GB, that way solids won't be recirculated back into FT.

I was curious as to how much volume the media would take up in the GB, so I either need to remove a GB or up my fish tank size. (will probably up my FT to support 3 GBs and start with 2 GBs, so I can expand if wanted)



That brings up a good point, I wonder if the piping trap that is connecting the 2 grow beds would collect the solids. I could even put a valve at the low point to flush the line every once in a while to remove the solids.

Sounds a lot like what I'm planning to do. If you can remember, about how many plants were you able to grow in 3 20L grow beds?

maybe the pipe that connects GBs could be some way up the side of the beds rather than underneath? Then it wouldn't be the lowest point and shouldn't collect solids.

In fact, the GB receiving the water would probably catch nearly all the solids and the 2nd in line with the siphon would stay pretty clear... This would also facilitate cleaning, especially if you have a 3rd container; disconnect GB, connect new one, rinse media off and chuck it in the new bed and ready to go.

Sounds a lot like what I'm planning to do. If you can remember, about how many plants were you able to grow in 3 20L grow beds?[/quote]

I grew a carpet of cilantro in one tub. 5 Italian basil, 3 regular basil and a couple of heads of romaine in the other two. I made the rookie mistake of using pea gravlie that had lime rock in it and had a struggle with ph. last time i will make that one.

this is what i had.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBTPeVkeVKs