Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

It's been a little while in the planning, but my system build is nearly finished:

System Component Specifications
Fish Tank: 1000l IBC, 50mm diameter SLO
Radial Flow Filter: 220l plastic drum
Sump: approx 400l cut IBC
Grow Bed: 800l black poly grow bed (2.4 x 1.2 x 0.3m) on 20mm square gal tube stand
Grow Bed Media: Nutrifield Hyrdro Clay - 700l
Grow Bed Cycling Method: Flood and drain
Pump: 4000 l/h pond pump (PondMAX Evo II EV3900). Split flow to grow bed and fish tank.
Air: Venturi set up in the fish tank. Backup 12v air pump still to come.
Fish: Still to come (I'm thinking 20-25 Silver Perch)

Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Still a work in progress. I'm planning on cladding the whole system in timber to tidy up the look a bit, and I still need to sort out the backup air supply. And get the fish of course, just as soon as the system is cycled.

Big shout out to Rob Bob for the inspiration and his endless tutorials on his YouTube channel!

Very neat set up Tom.
Making use of lockdown?

I agree, very neat and clean setup.
The venturi looks interesting. Have you done a comparison with and without it? Just curious on the effect it has.
Looking good!

Absolutely!

Yep, I have run the system without it. It does restrict the water flow a bit, but the upside is that I'm hoping to avoid having to run a separate air pump: the venturi does that job for me

I've been waiting (im)patiently for almost a month for signs that my system is starting to cycle, and have now got some signs of Nitrite. I think the cool winter in Melbourne may have slowed things down a bit!
Ammonia: 3.0ppm
Nitrate: 0.5ppm
Nitrate: 0ppm

On the plus side, my various seedlings are starting to take off!

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Looks good Tom, well done, cant wait to see the cladding.
Yeah cooler weather retards the cycling process but you probably want the water to warm up a bit before adding the perch. What size are you going to start out with? What size is the inlet on your SLO?
I’m also wondering if the overflow on the SLO is higher than the top of the fish tank.

Thanks Skeggley!
I actually haven't sourced the silver perch yet. Any suggestions? The SLO intake is just a PVC end cap with 5mm holes drilled in it. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the SLO overflow, but I've attached another photo with the tank full. I've also made a bit of an adjustment to the venturi: angling it into the tank.
The cycling is progressing well:
Ammonia: 2.0ppm
Nitrate: 2.0ppm
Nitrate: 40ppm
Ph: 7.7
Temp: 12c

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No suggestions over your neck of the woods for suppliers. When I got my first silvers they were so small I’m sure some of them disappeared into the 10mm holes I put in the SLO before I realised.

And no mate that’s not full . What would happen if the 5mm holes blocked up would the water go over the lip of the tank or into the solids lifting overflow?

Hi Tom,

Where did you get the grow media from? I'm in Glenroy and need to source about 400L for a setup I'm building that is very similar to yours

Thanks
Greg

Hey Greg. I had a bit of trouble finding places that had any in stock. I used http://auhydroponics.com/ in the end: plenty in stock at not a bad price

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Hi Tom,

I'm not sure if you have found any silver perch yet. If not, I've pre-ordered some from https://australianfishsales.com.au/ in South Morang.

Cheers
Greg

It's been a little while since I've posted, but I'm happy with the progress of my system.
I got 27 Silver perch at the end of November, and they have been putting on size nicely.
I used a few days off recently to finally get around to adding the cladding to the sides of the tank and the grow bed (the colour will change). I've made it so I can easily remove the panels on the GB so I can access the sump tank, which I'm happy with.
I've been getting a good amount of veggies out of the system too, which is nice, although it's getting a little warm for the lettuce. I've added in some eggplant and some carrots to see how they go.

Good call skeggley, and good eye! I tested it out and it was overflowing over the edge of the tank. But I got the heat gun out and was able to reshape the edges of the tank so now if the bottom of the slow happened to block up, it will overflow to through the top of the slow and back into the RFF. Problem solved!

Looking good!.
Is that lettuce in bottom right corner (the big plant)?