Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, if you want to map things out to see distances and routes, use Landenberg PA for my location. I think Newark would be 2 hours from here. If you want to stop by, PM me.

Well that's the good news. Since the original plan was to get a decent amount of fish.

The cost per gallon of stock tank was much more lower at a bigger tank size, so the girlfriend and I got the biggest we could. Increasing the size of the growbeds won't be a problem. Another benefit of this is that it will give me the opportunity to grow more veggies

I was already having problems figuring out where I was going to put all the lettuce and peppers I want to grow.

Also, I was thinking about my NFT system. I got to thinking how to incorporate my NFT troughs into a future AP system. IF we had a big enough ... say gravel filtration box... high enough up above the troughs... it might be able to supply enough pressure to force the water out the holes in the PVC...and hopefully filter out all the hole clogging solids. This would also involve a pump with a higher head.

Now, I dislike math, and I'm sure that there's some way out there to figure out all the heights required and the amount of water that would be needed to force the water through the holes in the PVC....but If I wanted to figure that stuff out I would have become an engineer. I think if it comes down to it I'll use the tried and true (and generally frustrating)...trial and error method.

Is my thinking off? It's been a long day.

If you had a large gravel filtration box above the troughs, and the water level in the box was higher than the water level in the troughs, wouldn't it all be self-leveling? Wouldn't the water want to go to the lowest level it could, and overflow the troughs? I must be missing something. A drawing would be nice.

ehh... this is kinda what i was thinking...but as i was demonstrating my 1337 microsoft paint skills...I realized why the hell not turn the gravel bed into a growbed...and say forget the NFT...then i'd be back to where i started....


but to do a NFT with aquaponics would be different... and that may very well be reason enough.

byadding the nft you would assist in nitrate removal, hence increasing your stocking abilities. The go would be, to keep an eye on ammo and nitrites, and as long as they are kept in check, you are okay. just add more plants as the nitrates rise up, or if you have ammo and nitrite spikes on a regular basis, you will know you need more biofiltration.

Got it. I think that would work, as long as the NFT could drain faster than the input to it. Also, you just made me think of evil thoughts on how to expand my system a little and get an NFT trough into it. I'd go measure to see if I could fit it in, but the fishies are all asleep.

Janet, you could add a dwc trough with a standpipe in it and floating raft.... double bonus of adding more water mass to the system

I was thinking water hyacinth instead of rafts. They float on their own and take in large amounts of nutrients. I have to get the nitrates down.

....cant'......stand...it. Must........go......measure...

Bochener, you may want to put some worms in your gravel beds too. Tilapia make alot of waste that clogs the system.

boch, your last picture is how "steve and anges" + "steves old mans" system is pretty much set up.