Hi Farrel!   Yeah, I am sorta doing the same thing as you.  New to aquaponics, and planning a basement system to sustain the basics during the winter months... lettuce and tomoatoes.   I'll see how it goes with me, but I can envision this turning into something larger, if my basement experiment goes successfully.   I might try a backyard project, during the summer months, if I can find a way to grow the fish large enough to harvest within the limitations of the weather :-)   The idea is exciting, even if I never see it come to fruitation.

   Just curious.  How far is Ashton from Rockford?   When I was a college student, I frequently drove back and forth to Jacksonville, IL, so for all I know, I could have been driving near an Ashton exit.   I'm about 40 miles east of Rockford.