Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

DA-TADA-DAT-TADA-DAAAA!!

Nice and neat pipe work!

What are you using for nitrification?

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My System

My Aquaponic Youtube Channel

The Black-Byron Ice Creamery Youtube Channel

Thanks for your comment, Colum!

Looking at the frontal view picture, a summary of my system goes like this:

1) 4 inch diameter plumbing, zig-zagging from 8 feet altitude to 3 feet altitude, empties out a downspout into:
2) Blue 55 Gallon barrel containing 1x one pound tillapia and 14x 2 inch bluegill (15 fish), exits through bulkhead fittings into:
3) Swirl filter for fish doo-doo made from inverted 5 gallon (Sparklets) water bottle. This filter appears white in picture, due to inverted
cloth bag used to shade the sunlight, and is up against my house. A 1 inch diameter white pipe exits the filter through another
bulkhead filter, and waterfalls several inches into:
4) Orange 5 gallon "Home Depot" bucket that is mostly full of clay hydroten, with a large (bubbling) air stone on the bottom. Oh, yea,
there is a 620 gallons per hour (at no lift) fountain pump that pushes the water 8 feet up through 1/2 inch diameter drip irrigation
tubing to exit:

(Go to step 1), above.

Current dilemma: Because of my local water, my system is at a PH=7.5 or so. I want to add about 1 inch of gravel on the bottom of my fish tank (blue barrel), but I don't want to further increase my PH. In fact, I would like to decrease it a little if possible. Do you have any suggestions for what type of gravel to use?

Gravel is not necessarily a good thing to have on the bottom of your fish tank since it will tend to keep more fish poo in your fish tank.

A starting system pH of 7.5 (provided that is the pH after the water has been cycling around the system for a day or so) is fine for cycling up your system.

Hygromite, Diatomite, or Maidenwell may have a pH lowering tendency though.
Most important part is to test any gravel you intend to use with some vinegar to make sure it doesn't fizz.

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Aquaponic Lynx
TCLynx Bought The Farm
Old Main System
Old 300 gallon System

thanks, TCLynx!

I actually started dry-cycling my system using ammonia in July, and I got my first (1-big) Tillapia in September. Even though I live near Los Angeles, my low temperature worries drove me to get 14 little blue-gill fry last Friday. A co-worker who says he used to have an aquarium hobby recommended gravel- I know it will fill with poop, but I am getting a layer of poop anyways, and my thoughts are that the gravel will facilitate the bacteria growth to help break down these wastes.

My photos above are from at least October- I will soon post current pictures. My plants are at least 5x bigger in size and quantity than the above photos! I think I have 45 or so at this time.

cool looking water slide Jon.

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My Pool to Pond

Took these pictures yesterday!

(Notice the wooden sign on my fish tank-barrel!)

***ANY NET POT IDEAS?***

My system uses 4" diameter tubes with 2" diameter net pots sitting in 2" diameter holes. Works fine, execept, some of my plants get pretty big- and the net pot falls into the tube!

Has anyone come up with an idea to stiffen the lip on the net pot that keeps it from falling in???

I believe there is another style of net pot that has a larger lip from posts I've seen here. You might want to check into that before doing any sort of alterations.

Check the 2" net pot specs here to get the idea. They have two different ones with slightly different specs - https://www.hydroponics.net/c/166

You should also be able to heat weld the net pot, to another plastic "washer". With a soldering iron. The washer could be made out of a scrap piece of IBC or Barrel. If you already have the scrap laying around It would be a free fix with your labor. Or you could do it the easy way and just shove bamboo "skewers" through the last set of holes before the lip. Sort of like the way most people hold up their baffle in a RFF.

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Floridafishin's System

Thanks for the good ideas, scotty435/flordafishin!

Jon,

They also make the skewers in stainless in the grilling section pretty cheap. Each skewer could take care of a net pot. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... lsrc=aw.ds
Although I have seen them cheaper at the dollar store.

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Floridafishin's System

That's a good idea if needed. Bamboo skewers might work even better since they might not get as hot on sunny days. They sell bamboo skewers for shish kabobs in the store pretty cheap. Not sure how long they'd last.