Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm extremely new to aquaponics, here's my chop and flip with 2 fish tanks and 4 grow beds.

I'm fishless cycling at the moment but i'm thinking about modifying it before going too much further.



What i'm considering is putting an IBC between the 2 fish tanks as a shared sump and then putting a solids lifting pipe in each fish tank which runs into that shared sump.

Then running the pumps from the sump to the solid filters (Square buckets above the grow beds which feed them water)

Any feedback to this idea?

New to this myself as well (6 months into it) but this forum looks kinda dead. Maybe it gets more active in the summer. Do you have 2 separate systems right now? The separate systems could work well if you have trouble cycling like it like I did. If you wanted them connected, a sump would probably work well. I regret having my sump underneath the growbeds. Would think about putting a floating raft on the sump. You may want to move those fish tanks out from underneath of you have the space. It’s fun looking at the fish.
What is your goal in changing it?

Space is a bit of an issue really which is why the beds are over the tanks.

They're separate at the moment, i've got space for one big sump but not two which is why i was considering joining them via a sump.

Welcome, that's a tidy looking system. Be patient with the cycling as it can take 4 - 6 weeks with adequate conditions. Also, once cycled that gets you to a starting point but you still need to be careful when you add fish. Watch closely for ammonia and nitrite spikes. They will kill your fish quickly. I recommend 1 - 2 ppt chloride salt to protect the fish from nitrite poisoning and most freshwater pathogens. But you need to be very careful about the type of salt and the correct concentration. Let me know if you want more information.

A sump is a very good idea, but not necessarily the way you mention. Mostly a sump provides a means to allow for water evaporation, etc. while keeping your fish tank water level constant. Fish get very stressed if the water level is changing rapidly or significantly. My tilapia will start jumping if the water level starts to go down.

By moving solids through a pump, the solids become macerated and much more difficult to remove. I have a set up with a pump in the fish tank, but I use an oversized RFF to separate solids because they are so fine after passing through the pump.

Here is some feedback and a few observations / recommendations.

I think this is a great starter system that will help you learn about caring for the fish, maintaining water quality and operating the system, etc. The growbeds are very shallow and because of that you may have trouble growing larger plants. It also reduces your wet media volume and the system's ability to process ammonia.

For this system I would be sure the pump(s) are not at the bottom of the IBCs. That way if there is a problem (roots plug a drain, etc.) the pump will not remove all the water from your fish tank and kill your fish (when you get them). The shallow growbeds will help to minimize the water level changes in the fish tank, but typically I would steer you a different direction especially for your first system.

Anyhow, the growbeds should be about 12" deep, but what you have will work with some limitations. I do recommend using solids lift overflows (SLO) from the tanks. In your case the only way that works is if you add a sump. I do think it is a good idea to add the sump, then the pump can be on the bottom and your FT water will be constant. You may have challenges keeping the flow balanced between two separate systems, so you may want to consolidate and have one filter and one delivery system to the GBs. You may still have problems getting the GBs to drain evenly between the two FTs, so perhaps tie them together with a U siphon or PVC pipe between the two.

To avoid all of the engineering and maintenance headaches described previously, I would recommend an alternate design, though that is likely not an option for you at this time. But if it was I recommend leaving the IBC fish tank at full height, using a SLO to let it overflow to the GBs (insert RFF filter if desired), having 12" deep growbeds that drain to a sump (clean water). Then the one pump returns clean water to the fish tank to complete the cycle.

If you look into IAVS / sand gardening, then you will see that filters are not needed, and things like bell siphons, loop siphons, etc. go away. you need only a timer to cycle the water on and off for the appropriate time.

Anyhow, welcome again to the forum. You will find many detailed builds and lots of information if you search for it. It is definitely a ghost town these days compared to a few years back when there were a dozen people sharing new builds and twice that many old-timers answering questions and giving advice.

Good luck with the new system.

Looks good!

What fish are you going to get?

Are the blue pots wicking beds/pots?

Thanks!

Yeah they're wicking beds, due to the paving i'm going to build a bunch more.

Living in Perth AU with our restrictions on fish breeds and temperatures, i'll be going with Silver Perch

Looks good. Solid filters are nice to add an extra level of ammonia control. You could interconnect the two systems with a shared sump. More water volume is more better. Only extra idea i would add since you have two seperate tanks. Think of a way to isolate them in an emergency. In case of dissease out break.

Honestly though a full IBC as a tank is big enough to feed 4 grow beds. In a month or so i hope to rebuild my system after we moved and thats my plan.

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Silver perch is a very popular choice.
When I've been having a look through the members systems,Silvers turn up alot.
I didn't know about those restrictions.

Keep us updated on how the systems doing..