Aquaponics System!

[jkdubs2]

So this year me and my dad are planning on building an aquaponics setup on a small scale. This is going to be a test year for the setup to see if we can and/or want to manage the setup. If we enjoy it we will turn the whole garden into an aquaponics system! The great part about it is its going to be a DIY build so ill be able to get a thread going for people to follow along and give input. Also will allow other people who want to try aquaponics to be able to do it on a budget. Let me know of any suggestions you have right out of the gate. We are looking into acquiring a 275g food grade tote right now. Obviously its a bit big for what we are planning but we are getting it for next to nothing hopefully so we should be able adapt it easily for when/if we go bigger!

*Also as a side note: i wasn't sure if this thread belonged to the diy or the ponds/water gardens area so if an admin could place it where they think is best that would be great! Thanks.

[jetajockey]

I'm in the process of doing a fairly large AP setup myself. I tested it out on the small scale over the last few months and now I have all the materials to make several large grow beds outside. There's a few videos of what I've done so far on youtube, I just updated it last night.

I think the biggest challenge is maintaining a stable environment for your plants, so getting a greenhouse or some kind of shelter (if you are doing it outside) is a big plus.

https://www.youtube.com/user/jetajockey0?feature=mhee

[jkdubs2]

Originally Posted by jetajockey

I'm in the process of doing a fairly large AP setup myself. I tested it out on the small scale over the last few months and now I have all the materials to make several large grow beds outside. There's a few videos of what I've done so far on youtube, I just updated it last night.

I think the biggest challenge is maintaining a stable environment for your plants, so getting a greenhouse or some kind of shelter (if you are doing it outside) is a big plus.

https://www.youtube.com/user/jetajockey0?feature=mhee

We are planning on doing it outside and are looking into different shelters for it. Ill definitely be looking at your vids for ideas on the setup! Ill be out for the night so ill look into and sub your channel tomorrow and im sure ill have plenty of questions for you. Im pretty sure this is going to be an awesome project. Thanks beforehand for any help you're able to offer!

[jetajockey]

Looking forward to updates! I've been trying to make my system as economical as possible. I'm settling on the IBC tote idea also and a CHIFT PIST system.

[jkdubs2]

Ya I've seen a few ways and the best I've seen so far are these setups. Pretty easy setups really. They're just like an overflow in a tank with a few extra levels. Do you know any differences between constant flooded and flood and drain systems as far as plants you can grow?

[jetajockey]

I may do a simple recirculating system without a sump initially, I"m still up in the air, considering that I'm going to be doing this over the course of the next few days you'd think I'd commit to something, but I guess I'll just have to see how it goes and tweak it.

I believe that the constant flooded (DWC raft) etc systems work good for lettuces and the like, but for most veg the flood and drain works better. Without even guessing on the technical side of things, the flood and drain or bell siphon methods give better oxygenation and keep things kinda moving along and not getting built up.


I've never compared the two but on paper alone, but it would seem that you couldn't direct sow into a DWC, and your root growth would be somewhat limited since it's all based in a root pot. That would also limit your choice in plants unless you were constantly pruning or rigged up a trellis system for anything that gets tall enough to cause a problem holding itself upright.

I'm sure there are other pros and cons in both. Have you seen the Kratky method? mphgardener (Bobby) goes over it in some youtube videos. It's basically hydroponics-lite, a tank of nutrient water with a piece of styro over it and plants in it. No filtration, no nothing. Seems like a neat little thing to try out, anyhow.

[jkdubs2]

Ill have to look into all of that. i think Im goin.g to go with the flood and drain system with the bell siphon. It looks to be a really good system. I've just started to build the greenhouse for housing the system. There were 2 cedar trees that had died and were about to fall over our fence so we cut them down and made them into posts and a ridge pole. Ill pate the libs so u can see my video on it and get an idea of what the greenhouse will look like.

[jkdubs2]

What type of fish is easy to breed in captivity if just left alone in the tank and are good fish to harvest for food? Im in Missouri so we have a wide range of temps and i don't want to have to continuously buy more fish for the tank. Options i looked into are tilapia(but need to keep water warm) bass, carp, crappie, and sunfish. No idea what it takes to breed any of these. But i def want ones that will be ok year round and grow fairly quick.

[jetajockey]

Because of the outside temps you are basically limited to sunfish or catfish. They probably won't breed unless you set up some sort of breeding tank system, although the same is true for tilapia farming.

[jkdubs2]

I believe Im going to go with coppernose bluegill. Seems to be a good fish. Ill figure out the details for breeding them i suppose by the time they are old enough to breed. More work on the greenhouse to come tomorrow. Ill keep u updated.

[jkdubs2]

Heresy an update on the greenhouse build.

[jkdubs2]

Just wanted to put out a quick update! Im waiting for some funds to roll in so there isn't much to do but i should make some progress this weekend if weather permits. Ill keep it updated.

[jkdubs2]

Ok so I've done quite a bit on the actual Aquaponics Build because the growing season is coming up and i decided to put the greenhouse on hold cuz i will still need to cycle the system. So ill post links to my new videos so you can take a look at what I've done so far.

[jkdubs2]

Part 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEyc...e_gdata_player

Part 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eryj...e_gdata_player

[jkdubs2]

Hers an update to the Aquaponics setup. The fish have arrived and the system is nearing completion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQFw...e_gdata_player

First video is latest progress and second is the Bluegill i have for the system.

[jimqponics]

Wow, your setup is really good. I'm running a small aquaponics setup too and everything is going great. I've grown loads of real nice veggies and herbs from it.

Things weren't all that smooth initially though. I had a problem with the water getting too dirty pretty constantly.

Those of you who are running a small aquaponics system and facing a problem with solid waste and murky water, here are some tips that may help.

First off, don’t acquire too many fish. Maybe your water quality is not up to standard because you simply have loads of fish waste, which means you either lack sufficient plants to get rid of these nitrites and nitrates, or you simply have too many fish.

Try to find the right balance. I know it can be tricky but fish grow and produce more waste as they grow. Perhaps keep logs on how many fish occupy a given set of area for future reference.

Second, forget flakes, use fish pellets! Fish flakes make you water regularly dirty. That’s because they tend to float to a spot hidden by roots or vegetation, so those flakes don’t get noticed and they don’t get eaten. They just dissolve into the water.

Furthermore, the fish tend to scatter the flakes all over the place when they eat them. Pellets can keep food wastage to a minimum and help maintain cleaner water.

Also for newbies out there, if you’re concerned about your fish not wanting to eat right away, please keep in mind that you just introduced them into a new habitat, so they might refuse to eat for the first day or two.

Allow them to get comfortable in their new environment first. The only way I can tell if my fish is hungry is to try to feed them. If the fish rejects the food, attempt again later or the following day.