I started an Aquaponics system last spring, i started cycling the system with minnows, then added 20 bg (found to be a mix of hbg, gsf, bg),, after a few weeks i added 25 yp.. the tank was a 110 gallon stock tank, the growbeds were two 55gal barrels cut in half..last fall i moved one pair of the gb's inside to keep the fish alive over winter, and used 3 55 gallon glass tanks on the floor for the fish, i added rosy red minnows and crayfish in one of the 55 gal tanks,, bigger fish in one tank, and new yp in the other tank.. i lost a few fish last year, some to disease, some stolen... the only fish i lost in the basement were 5 jumpers the first night (netting was added the second day, just ran out of time) then i started thinking,,,, and thats when the trouble started.. i found an 8' intex pool for 15 bucks, so bought it and set on 1.5" insulation in the basement.. seeing all that water, i bought 50 rosy reds and a 3 dozen crayfish and put them in the pool.. i found two crayfish that made it from last year and they went in the pool as well..so since i had a pool with fish in it, i did up a quick filter in a 55 gallon drum.. i found 2 more 55 gallon tanks to use as well.. then i got 4 IBC Totes.. these will be cut down to be my growbeds and i'll continue to use t8 flourescents (32 watt) for my veggies... so, i downloaded google sketch the other day and layed out my "basic" system.. the pool filled to the "fill line" is something like 696 gallons.. i'd like to have at least 1:1 growbed to ft volume, but will probably have to settle for less.. the "formula" that i have been using is 25lbs grown out fish for every 100 gallons of filtration..so with 1:1 i can safely grow out 150lbs of fish.. i've got glass shrimp in the tanks, and daphnia.. snails made there way in with some duckweed (using duckweed for my crayfish tank filtration, been running for one month with now problems, but i regularly test my water for ph, nitrites, nitrates anyways, enough of the rambling.. here's the layout; [img]http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/download/file.php?id=40124[/img]
That's cool! I hope to dabble with aquaponis this winter. Might as well use the water from the fish and in turn reduce the nitrates running it back. I asked the wife what I should grow and she said cherry tomatoes. She uses them for her lunch salads.
My big tank is cycled now and if I had time to even breath I would move the bluegills in. Lots of irons in the fire and deadlines right now. I also have on order a 4 foot circular tank from Rural King (didn't have to pay shipping) and will put my yellow perch into that one. I'll run them off of the same RBC and another clarifier drum. I'll also break in a small upflow sand filter at the same time. I hope to get over to the high school and finish plumbing their system.
Keep us posted! I don't know squat about aquaponics yet but I can produce lots of fishy water loaded with nitrates!
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 11/01/1107:57 PM.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
Not sure I am 100% correct so any one can feel free to correct me or add to my statement.
I did a small 20 gallon Aquaponic thing with Flat Minnows and used Mustard Greens as my Nitrate filtering device. I used 2 inch Net pots from a Hydroponic store and Styrofoam to raft the mustard growing in the net pots hydroponically. This was only a short term deal to keep bait alive. The Air Stone was good for both the Fish and the Mustard Plants and while this wasn't a long term thing it did work better than no filtration system. AND It was a cost effective method. My test strips showed the water as very low in Nitrates. I am told Mustard Greens have a high demand for nitrates and that is why this works.
for a small tank like that, and minnows that is a great, cheap short term solution to keeping some minnows alive.. the problem with this type of system is that you'll get some solids buildup and may have to "vacuum" out the tank occasionally.. by using gravel growbeds, you trap much of the solid waste, i added some red wiggler worms to further break down waste.. i'm using duckweed and anachris(sp??) to keep my a crayfish breeding tank running, and i'll be getting some water lettuce for minnow breeding tank i want to set up..
i'm working on adding images, but having a little trouble - i can't do photobucket or imageshack, as those are blocked from work, where i do most of my computer work..
i wonder if my website is still up..(my wife and i used to manage a band's webpage).. i'm sure my wife has the access to it, and i could upload my pic's there.. since this is the pond boss, and i've reference this site quite a few times on this other site, i'm just going to direct link to my post for now, and save us all a little bit of grief.. oh, and happy holiday! i just picked up 120 (or so) yp, and 10 blue tilapia this past friday from Shelby Fish Farm in ohio this starts on page 6, with all my recent work (i'm rather proud of it, but still lots to do!) http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=8354&start=75
i'm working on adding images, but having a little trouble - i can't do photobucket or imageshack, as those are blocked from work, where i do most of my computer work..
Keith -- you might try Google's Picasa. We have pretty tight IT restrictions where I work, but Google is not blocked, thus Picasa is not blocked. Plus, I really like the way the whole Picasa package operates. Most of my Pond Boss photo posts in about the last 3 years are from Picasa (see Posting Photos with Picasa).
yeah, that one is blocked too.. i'll get our webspace back up.. we only pay a few bucks a month, and have quite a bit of storage available.. i've been meaning to use it to track my systems anyways, and the pb gives me a little more incentive
Keith Sounds great 150 lbs of fish is a lot for that system to handle Check out the you tube videos by Murray Hallam The folks I know with systems follow his rules regarding #s of fish/ sq feet of growbed/h2o capacity
since i have another day off, i went ahead and created a google picsa account, and uploaded all the photo's i've taken over the last couple weeks.. so now i should be able to post pictures directly into my posts... i've got lots of pics, but i'll just go over some of the highlights (to me), i'm rather happy with where things are, but i still have stuff to do! here are my 3 growbeds, each one is 1/2 of an ibc tote, on 2 of the beds, there are 3 pairs of 32watt t8 lights (48") and 4 pairs on bed 3.. enough talk, pic time.. growbed 1:
the only seedlings i planted were the strawberries in gb1, and in growbed 2 2 tomato (better bush), 1 ichiban eggplant, and 1 regular eggplant.. the rest is all seeds i planted, the only thing that hasn't sprouted is fennel and stevia.. anyways, here's gb2
regarding my "livestock".. i started in spring with travis hughey's barrelponics system, with 2 pairs of growbeds, and a 110 gallon stock tank...then added a couple dozen minnows (emerald shiners) and a couple dozen crayfish (papershell) to start the cycling. then i got 15 bluegill (2 to 3")- early posts made me think that some were hbg, some not.. in july of that year i got 25yp (3").. i went out of town for a few days and when i got home, 8 yp were missing (there was a net over the tank) and i lost a couple when it got really hot, so in the fall i moved it into the basement.. after i set it up, i was pretty happy with how the fish were doing and started planning an expansion, and gathering stuff.. i had shoulder surgery last year, so i just kept planning and doing little things..i got the 8' swimming pool for 15 bucks and had to set it up, so i used a diy filter and ran it with minnows and crayfish for months, then finally found totes for 40.. the gravel was next, and after rinsing enough for the growbeds and a few aquariums it was game on. the 100 yp are in the pool, and i have 5 tilapia each in 2 different glass tanks.. planning on a fish fry for the older fish, biggest yp is 14", and the yp from last year are 7-11" oh, and last year, i started a gammarus culture, set up a glass shrimp tank, and i got a marmokreb (self cloning crayfish) that is in berry.. more pics to come
so lets do livestock pics now; greenwater is in the kitty litter buckets
scud tanks (adding daphnia soon)
i put scrubbies in the scud tanks (4 in each tank) and use them to harvest.. i harvest one tank every couple days
glass shrimp in berry;
marmokreb in berry
papershell crayfish in the pool - since moved to the sump
almost forgot about the rosy red's! (i've had them quite a while now) they're in the pool with the yp, and i have some pots in there for them to lay eggs, i pulled a pot full of eggs (and the male) out of the pool and put it into a 40 long tank
a few yp didn't make the trip, i think about 15 or so died since friday, but the rest are looking good, eating blood worms and crushed pellets.. the ones that didn't make it;
settling in nicely with the rosy reds.. they'll be gone soon (the rosy reds that is)
being a ring pool, it is an odd shape, but i was inspired by the pb posters to make a couple of things.. i made a cover for the pool out of 1/2" pvc, with a cutout around the drain lines, and hinges out of pairs of 1"pvc glued together side by side;
and i have to have a way to harvest the fish,,, i don't want to try fishing them out and putting a hole in the pool! so i made an odd shaped crowding net that swings 360
Too bad you're not in Indiana. I could supply you with bluegill and yellow perch without the expensive VHS testing. The ones that don't perform as well as the others I usually give away. They be perfect for an aquaponics system.
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
so,,, uh.. just a note to others... don't use milkcrates! had one growbed drop by a few inches, found it crooked when i got home from work, and kinda freaked out, but took a minute, grabbed a couple car jacks, jacked that puppy up, and replaced the scrunched crates with blocks.. i'll be replacing the rest
Milk crates would work, you just need the older ones - metal or wood!
I was on a fishing boat in the middle of the ocean, and some of the guys drug out fireworks that they had confiscated (Utah State Police). A 4" mortar completely flattened a plastic milk crate when it went off.
good news is that i found a pot full of rr minnow eggs after i put the yp in the pool, i was able to get the male with the eggs, and i'll take him out after they hatch
no fish losses since last tuesday or wednesday, i think i lost of total of 18 to 20, my older fish (1 lot from '10 and one from '11) got moved into the pool as well, and are settling in nicely... i don't expect the rosy reds that are still in the pool to last very long;
i have one yp that has a messed up tail, i call him bendy.. he might be slow, but he's fat!
all the crates are replaced with blocks, and started to get the parts out of storage to start a single tote system and noticed a dead yp in the pool.. i happened to be home at lunch today and took a look and didn't see it.. anywyas,it was very bloated and i noticed a couple of spots of fungus, i had a rapala fillet knife still in the box so decided to take a quick check, and test my fillet skills - it's been 30 years since i've filleted a fish! so a couple pic's