Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well, I am finally starting to assemble my system. After months of reading around this forum and getting help; thank you all for the input!

Today I am going to buy the tanks. Picture will follow. I am going to do this in two parts. One 900 gallon fish tank at a time.

I noticed that there is no one doing intensive planting; not compared to the way I do it with hydroponics. So, I plan on using 2 foot deep grow beds instead on one foot beds. Anyone see a problem with this? This will mean less surface area for plants, but should not be a problem if I grow intensively. I will have 1800 gallons of grow bed for each 900 gallon tank. Doing it this way means I can buy the materials locally.

I have a clearing that has about a 40 foot by 40 foot level area. This is where I am going to put my tanks and grow beds. The only level area on my land.

My goal in all this is to provide 360-400 pounds of meat per year and loads of fresh veggies. Am I hoping for to much from 1800 gallons of fish tank?

**EDIT**
The season is getting late and I do not have time to grow out a large batch of fish this year. I have decided to grow my fish at the rate I need them. This also avoids the need for a large freezer. These systems will be indoors so that the fish can survive the winter. Further, I will be using fluidized sand bed filters to process all ammonia into nitrates during the winter. Outdoor beds will not be used. A bubble washed bead filter will be used to remove excess solids and clear the water. An intensive NFT along with partial water changes will be used indoors during winter with LED grow lights to remove nitrates. All this will allow normal fish growth through the winter. The rest of the season I will be using 1200 gallons of pea gravel grow bed with a 420 gallon sump. With the indoor tanks (100, 300, 300) I will have 1120 gallons of water in the system with a total of about 90 pounds of fish each in their own happa nets ranging from first month to 12'th month; 12 happas. Each happa will hold 30-40 fish. Once complete I will have 4 systems like this one.

Good Design, sounds good. I think with the deeper beds, it will encourage a bigger root system.

Is do-able with those ratios Dandi.... Intensive perhaps from a monitoring sense but judging by your previous hydro results I'm sure you'll be on top off things.....

Looking forward to the pictures

Exciting times Dan. As for nobody growing intensivelly in AP - not quite sure what you mean by that. I know a lot of people who jam as much into their grow beds as the surface area will permit. I think there is still some scope vertically in some instances though.

An example of intensive growing would be planting a tomato then once it gets 2 feet tall the lower foot is trimmed off and a medium sized plant is planted under that and then a small splant like lettus under that. All two or three inches of each other.

Progress,,,

oh yeah, that is gunna be fun watching. Lotta work for u but fun for us! I wish I had ur carpentry skills, i really am just a farmer wannabe. It is going to look fantastic, keep the pics coming, it will keep u motivated to see how far you have come, when u think u still have a long way to go.

looks good DanD

is that a fiberglass vessel i see ? was wondering what its off ? a softener perhaps or just a filter

Looks like your gonna have alot of fun with that project, wish you all the best

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Unattended children will be given an Espresso and a free puppy


http://www.backyardfarming.com.au/phpbb ... f=24&t=270

Thats a water pressure tank and bleed off tank. It is pumped full of water and air when the well pump cuts in then a valve bleeds the air off. It removes a sulfur odor. Some of the local wells needed it. I dont, but still a neat tank. My water test at only 24 parts per million and I'd bed most of thats iron.

Im have learned over the years. I just watched others to pick up the skills. I have built several structures over the years and made many mistakes. The trick is to cover you mistakes

oh, and I used a 16 inch chain saw to cut the lumber, LOL.

24 ppm wow! thats surprisingly, extremely good!

Dan,
Why not use the slope on your land to advantage. Have grow beds up the slope and draining back to the FT. Could save the use of additional pump(s).

What ever you are happy with and can put into reality should work fine.
Happy New Year,
Tony

I was thinking about that! I was a little worried about long runs of pipe because of cold weather. I am tempted to place the fish tank high and let it drain down to the growbeds and then pump directyl out of the GBs and back to the fish tank. This way there would only be one pump and no sump.

I also considered doing a pond liner and have a large duckweed growing area as a sump.

Does it get that cold in texas? Would the cold problem be freezing, or just chilling?

BTW nice looking place, how much land u got?