I am a total amateur and this is my first attempt to construct an aquaponics system.

I plan to use river gravel for my growing bed media and I'm leaning toward bluegill for fish and the nutrient source for my veggies. I'd love to grow channel catfish, but I think my tank is a little on the small side for them. An alternative is bull head catfish, but I can't seem to locate a source for them in Florida.

You may notice that my grow beds will not completely drain out all the water. Since I live in a sub-division with neighbors very close-by and I have an irrigation system, I decided not to dig out the 10 inches or so that would be required for the grow beds to drain fully. As it stands, 10 inches remains in the bed and 15 inches drains back into the fish tank.

I plumbed the PVC through the side of the fish tank so I can attach a lid for shade and to keep out the occasional red shoulder hawk and osprey that might find it easy to feast on my fish.

I'll post more pictures soon as things progress farther.