Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all,

I am in the process of building my system and want to share with you my photos and plans.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

The system will consist of 3 Blue Barrels cut lengthways as grow-beds (6 growbeds in total) and the 500Ltr tank for the fish.

I have placed 4 of the grow-beds on an old Computer Server Cupboard (which has had wood bracing added for extra strength) and I am planning on having the other 2 grow-beds up on the balcony close to the kitchen for easy access.

I have purchased a submersible pump and will be using the Flood & Drain method with the water flowing back into the fish tank via gravity.

The water will be pumped up to a reservoir (probably a bucket) attached to the top rail of the balcony where it will flow onto the grow beds. I will be placing an overflow pipe on the reservoir for water to flow straight back into the fish tank, helping to oxygenate the tank. I am considering having the pump only work during daylight hours to try to keep the cost of electricity down.

To ensure that there is enough O2 for the fish overnight I will be purchasing a bubbler to run all the time.

As for fish, I will start with Silver Perch. 20 to start with then a further 20 staggered over a couple of months to try to get a constant supply of maturing fish for eating. Up here in Lismore there is a fortnightly market which has a regular stallholder who sells silver perch for $13 for 10. Is that a good price?

I am including a couple of photos of what I have done so far. Don't be concerned that the grow beds are not level, I have only placed them there to see how they fit. The tank and 4 beds are under the balcony and I will be netting it to protect the fish. At this stage I am not sure if I should use shade cloth as well. It is North Facing, and during summer can get pretty hot. However, because it is under a balcony the sun is off the beds by about 1pm so it might be ok.

Anyway, this is a work in progress, and I am hoping to have the system complete in the next 2 weeks and cycling to build up the bacteria etc.

I will keep you all posted as to how it is going.

Thanks

Simon

An interesting system simon. Im not an expert, but will you get sun all year round where you have it located? Once made and established, you wont want to move it...

With it facing north (southern hemisphere), you will have good winter sun...in summer it may get a bit hot but a piece of shadecloth dangled from the balcony should fix that.

SP price is good for fingerlings, we pay $1 each but need to buy in bulk from hatcheries (minimum order 100)

With the reservoir on the balcony, make sure your pump is rated to move water to that height with sufficient flow - pumps give a rating at zero head and also a max head height - at this height no water is flowing

Thanks for the replies,

As for the amount of sun, I am sure that it will get enough sun. As EllKayBee has hinted, it may be too much sun. I will have to wait and see.

As it is, in the summer that area under the balcony has sunlight from sun-up to approx 1pm which is more than enough.

The pump that I purchased has a head height of 8 meters, and the balcony is about 4 meters up. I have tested it already and found that it is able to reach the height with a good flow of water.

AllKayBee, the guy that I will be buying the fish from is from Qld. If you want I can give you a contact number. You can see if he travels to Brisbane. He travels to Lismore every fortnight so he may be travelling Nth as well.

Thanks

Simon

glow worms are cool. your system looks cool too. i should have used netting i lost alot of fish lately to birds

Well, I have encountered my first problem

The lids needed to be sealed. I have secured them with screws and I used a product recommended to me at Bunnings.

After letting it cure (instructions say 3 days, I gave it a week) I filled the barrels with water to see how they would go.

I have just had a look at them and the sealant has dissolved!!! [schild=3 fontcolor=000000 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]Not Happy![/schild]

I have had to remove the damn stuff, and it washed away when squirted with a hose.

I have just gone back down to Bunnings and purchased silicon sealant which I should have purchased in the first place.

Now I will have to wait for that to dry before I can continue.

Ah well, all part of the learning curve I suppose.

Simon

Yeah setbacks like that are annoying


lol, yeah i didn't like waiting for the sillicone to dry in my tanks, couldn't wait to fill em up (my parents couldn't wait till the sillicone dred either as it was taking up a full car space under the carpoart, lol)


Yep netiing is important, i lost 15 (50%) to im guessing kookuburas, didn't notice they were dissapearing till i caught em all and did a stocktake

Yeh pchook, love to know the guy who is supplying SP and whether he does any other fish (like barra )

The name on the card is "The Fish Trap" and their names are Pedro and Narelle.

The phone number is (07) 5465 5230.

Hope they are able to help.

Let me know if they do Barra as well.

Thanks

Simon

I was looking at those tanks on Saturday at my local. Why do the lids have to be sealed?

Welcome PC!

Put up a wire lattice or hanging twine and your plants could grow up the lattice nicely in that space.

Make sure you change out all the water and flush the system good before adding the fish, who know what might have been in the sealant...

Thanks Dave,

I was planning on washing everything once it was finished just to be sure, but thanks for the reminder anyway...

Erik, the barrels that I have have black lids that just sit in place (no thread). I have secured them with nuts & bolts and I am adding sealant prevent leaking. They do have a rubber seal that sits in the lid, but IMO it is better to be safe than sorry.

Also, one of the lids has a little notch/hole in it that needs to be sealed.

Simon

What was the name of the sealant Simon - so others can learn from your problems.

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the lid on the fish tank

Will contact them and advise pc