Basement System setup - 55 gallon aquarium

[Cooper Breeden]

I'm working on setting up a small system - my first system - in my English basement. So far all I have is a 55 gallon aquarium. I'm getting excited about getting it up and running so I'm making it a goal to have all the supplies and get it set up within a month. However, before I make any of my next purchases, I have some questions. First I'll give you some specs:

I'm setting it up in a little nook 56" wide; ceilings are 81" high

aquarium size: 48.5" x 13" x 21"h

The aquarium will sit on a desk: 46" x 20" x 30"h

 

My initial plan was to set the grow bed directly on the aquarium or make a stand for it so that it would hover directly above it. Now for my questions:

1) Grow bed size: Does 8 or 9 cubic ft make sense?

2) Grow bed container: there are luckily a couple hydroponic stores near me here in DC, but the grow beds they sell seem pretty expensive for what they are - $50-$80 for 2x2 to 2x4 sizes. Are there cheaper options? I checked Home Depot today and I wasn't able to find any containers that looked like they could be transformed into grow beds.

3) Since I'm making this in my living room, I'm trying to make it somewhat pretty, so I thought about making a custom grow bed out of plexiglass and nontoxic sealant. Has anyone tried this? Is it feasible or ridiculous? I'm tempted to just scrap the idea because I really don't want to have to deal with the mess that would result from a construction that couldn't take the pressure.

4) Plumbing: I was originally planning on making a bell siphon, mostly because that was the only method I knew about, but I've since learned about others: looped auto-siphon, flush, and a combo of a timing and draining straight out of the bottom. The looped siphon seems the most appealing now. Any reason to use one method over another? I happened to see Sylvia's article in Urban Garden today (http://urbangardenmagazine.com/2010/11/aquaponics-explained-%E2%80%...) and was wondering if there was a reason she didn't mention the looped siphon.

5) Pump: what size do I need? The smallest one I saw at the hydroponic store here is 40 gal/hr (http://www.capcityhydro.com/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_i...), but I'm curious if this could handle the effluent from the aquarium or if it's strictly for hydo use.

 

All input and criticism welcomed and appreciated! Thanks!

Cooper

 

[Cooper Breeden]

Great - thanks so much for all the advice! I'm sure I'll have more questions in a couple days.

[Cooper Breeden]

Just to make sure I understand the concept - my aquarium holds 55 gal but the system will have much more flowing through it - probably something like 80 gal - right? Or should I only have 55 gal in the system as a whole and the aquarium level will constantly be rising and falling.

I would hate to go out of town and come home to find a broken pump and a huge wet mess in my 750 sq ft basement (which also happens to be my living room, dining room, etc).

[TCLynx]

Well you have two choices.  If you want to do flood and drain then yes the water level in the fish tank will fluctuate (unless you set up a sump tank and then that water level would fluctuate.)

 

Or if you do constant flood you could have a more constant level in the fish tank and a constant level in the grow beds so then there would be more water total in the system.

 

When you set up you will want to unplug and make sure that when all water drains out of the plumbing that you are still not overflowing the fish tank or sump tank so that you don't have to worry about an overflow disaster happening.  Keep in mind that the media will take up some of the space in the grow beds (so do the test after you have filled the grow beds with media.)

[Cooper Breeden]

If I were to buy a 250 gal/hr pump at a store near my house and it turned out to be too much, would a ball valve allow me to regulate the flow without putting strain on the pump?

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Cooper,

You can put a bypass line with valve in your Fish Tank if your pump water pressure going to the media beds are too high. This way you do not put a back pressure on the pump output which will damage it over time.

[TCLynx]

Yep, listen to Harold there.  You can always reduce flow to grow beds by directing some of the flow back to where ever the pump is.

[Cooper Breeden]

I've still got to build a stand and assemble a couple things before I get this up and running, but I've been trying to think ahead about what kind and how many fish to get. Originally, I was planning on Tilapia fingerlings because I know a teacher in the area who breeds them in her science class. For 55 gallons, how many should I get? Or would it be better to start with a different species entirely - perhaps a more expendable one - until I can get a balance maintained?

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Cooper,

Glad to hear you're getting started. I recommend reading the rules of thumb on the top left hand side of the main page for all suggested AP component ratios. I've copied and pasted some excerpts below( No. 2). And if you're interested in a more humane way of cycling called fishless cycling. This way we do not put the fish at risk and subject them to stress and you guarantee the water is totally safe for your new fish.

1) Cycling Link   http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/how-do-you-cycle

2) http://aquaponicscommunity.com/page/aquaponic-gardening-rules-of

3) Excerpts from R.O.T:---

Stocking Density –

• 1 pound of fish per 5 – 7 gallons of tank water (.5 kg per 20-26 liters)

Steps for Planning your System

1. Determine the total grow bed area in sq ft (or sq m)
2. From grow bed area, determine the fish weight required (pounds or kg) using the ratio rule 1 lb (.5 kg) of fish for every 1 sq ft(.1 sq m) of grow bed surface area, assuming the beds are at least12” (30 cm) deep.
3. Determine fish tank volume from the stocking density rule above (1 pound fish per 5 – 7 gallons of fish tank volume or .5 kg per 20-26 liters). When your fish are young and small, reduce the number of plants in proportion to the size of the fish and their corresponding feed rate / waste production.

For example, if you plan to have 2 2’x4’ grow beds, then you will have 16 sq ft of growing area.  Plan to stock so you have a mature weight of 16 pounds of fish which require an 80 – 112 gallon fish tank.

 

[Thom Mueller]

Hey,

This sounds like what I was thinking when I started my garage system. I splurged on a 2x4 flood tray ($50) because I couldn't come up with anything else that was as suitable. It worked out great! My system uses a 380 gph pump ($50), continuously pumps into to aquarium. From there it overflows into the grow bed via a siphon/overflow. It varies the level in the aquarium by about 1 inch because the output rate varies from straight overflow (slow) and siphon (fast). That was intended to help kick the main siphon in the grow bed to stop flowing-- and it does.

The main siphon is 11/2" pvc to the reservoir. It is off the bottom of the grow bed about 1/4". The grow bed is on a slight incline to make the siphon pick up point the highest point. This helps it stop flowing too. Guessing... I'd say it cycles every 6 minutes.

The plants are growing like crazy and the fish are happy!

It's been running non stop for 2 months now with no problem. I enclosed the whole mess with the intention of moving it to the living room this fall. It keeps the noise down and allows me to close off the garish lights over the plants and to keep my gold fish from staring at me when I want. It's a natural entertainment center.

Work is still in progress. I have a 30 gallon tank almost ready to replace the 10 gallon. And paint.

Good luck!

 

 

 

[TCLynx]

Stock your fish based more on the amount of filtration you have than your fish tank size.  I generally recommend one fish (that might grow out to be edible) per cubic foot of media filled grow bed for a media system.  A cubic foot of media is about 7.5 gallons.  Most people doing backyard aquaponics are not weighting their fish to figure out how many fish to how many plants to saying you need a pound of fish per some area of plant bed isn't all that helpful for starting up a really small system.  And the higher protein feed you give the fish, the less of it you tend to need to grow a fair area of plants.

 

Each system is gonna balance out a bit different but if you start out with about 1 fish per cubic foot of grow bed you should be off to a fair start.  The BYAP systems that have 500 liter grow beds usually recommend starting their systems off with 20-25 fish per grow bed.  Once your systems mature, you will better know how you can adjust to suite your needs.  I've had some systems that require less fish to provide ample nutrients for the plants while another system I keep adding more fish and the plants are still claiming they want more nutrients (to the point I had to add more aeration so the fish would eat more.)

[Cooper Breeden]

TC,

 

You said you used mortar tubs for grow beds. How did you drill the whole in the bottom? A friend of mine has a hole saw bit that has teeth similar to a circular saw, but he seems to think this wouldn't work well for drilling the hole in the tub.

 

ps. I tested my bell siphon out on a milk jug and was very excited to see it working. I'm about to head out of town for a bit but I'll be ready to set it up when I'm back.

[Harold Sukhbir]

Hi Cooper,

You can use a masonry hole saw bit. The metal bits will cut it but they wear very fast.