Indoor aquaponics questions!

[Amy Smith]

Hi everyone!! I hope I am posting this in the right discussion forum :-) I joined this site to get some experts insights. I have been learning about aquaponics now for a month or so, and am SO excited to start! We live in a rental house in TX, so making something permanent outside isn't really an option right now. Plus I would like to start small to get the hang of things before I do something bigger.

 

So this is what I have so far; a 30G fish tank, the perfect room (lots of light and tile floors), "Aquaponics 4 U" eBook, and some PVC piping.I have not purchased a pump or any pump-type of equipment yet.

 

My plan is to make a stand where my tank can go on the bottom and my grow bed(s) and sit on the top. Thinking about 18" deep and 4 feet long should do the trick. Plus I am going to put some wheels on the bottom to make it mobile if needed.

 

I have a some questions though!

The first, million dollar (I wish!) question is;

1) Should I do a continuous flow with and irrigation grid or an ebb and flow system? My worry is the fish tank level will get extremely low with an ebb and flow. But with a continuous flow, I am worried about water logged roots.

 

2) If I go with ebb and flow, should I stick to a really shallow grow bed? (to alleviate the problem of the fish tank water level getting too low). What is the rule of thumb when planning what size grow bed you can have? Are rubbermaid and alike plastic storage tubs safe to use?

 

3) Along the lines of the second question; Would this put a hamper on what I can grow? (Right now all I really want is some herbs, lettuces, and maybe a tomato plant or two)

 

4) What size/type fish should I go for? Also, is the rule "1 inch of fish per gallon" applicable here? With how small of a system I am going to have, having edible fish isn't too much of a concern.

 

5) Should I buy an air pump for aeration of the fish tank?

 

6) Is hydroton monetarily feasible? I have read a bit on how expensive it is, but I am thinking that I should just go for it since it is so lightweight. 

 

7) Do I need an extra charcoal filter for the fish tank?

 

8) Would a sucker fish or two be okay to handle algae growth?

 

I know it is a lot of questions, but if anyone could take the time to answer a few (or all), I would be very grateful! Also, I will be posting pictures as my system takes shape.

Thanks in advance!

Have a wonderful day :-)

 

[TCLynx]

The rules of thumb document here may be of assistance to you.

 

1--Continuous flow can also be flood and drain if you use siphons.  Or you can go constant flood (only having the water flood to an inch or two below the top of the media.  Or you can do the timed flood and drain.

The flood and drain methods do fluctuate fish tank water level unless you set up with some means of controlling water level fluctuations (like a sump tank or indexing valve or CHIFT PIST or CHOP)

If you do constant flow/flood you need to have enough flow to keep the water well aerated and make sure the surface of the gravel stays fairly dry or you will have problems with crown rot.  I've had lots of plants do fine in constant flood as long as the top inch or two of gravel stays dry.  If you do flood and drain with a simple system where the fish tank is on bottom and the pump lifts water from fish tank to the grow beds and grow beds drain back to fish tank then you can only really handle an equal volume of grow bed to volume of fish tank.  So if you had 50 gallons of fish tank you should only do 50 gallons of flood and drain grow beds and your fish tank volume may fluctuate by as much as 40%

 

2--I like deep grow beds since they give more depth for filtration which is what dictates the amount of fish you can really grow.  A shallow flood and drain bed is often more challenging, especially for siphons.

 

3--If all you want is lettuce and herbs then a shallow bed might not be too big a deal.  Tomatoes have a bigger root system so may be a bit more restricted by an overly shallow bed and need more external support to keep them from falling out of the bed.

 

4--Aquarium stocking valves don't really convert over well to aquaponics.  How much grow bed you have and what your goals for the system are will be more important here.  I'm rather shocked that the e-book doesn't at least give you some means of figuring out how many fish you should stock, that info is readily available for free on the internet.  Around here we usually recommend 1 fish per cubic foot of grow bed media (7.5 gallons of grow bed) for a starter system.  Now that is usually for fish that will grow out to eating size but if you are stocking goldfish and you feed them a high protein feed, then those numbers may still apply.

 

5__Air pumps are a handy way to add aeration and having something separate from just a single water pump can provide some redundancy in case one pump fails the fish will hopefully not be belly up before you can correct the issue.

 

6--it costs alot but if you are only filling up a small system it might be reasonable.

 

7--Generally a charcoal filter isn't needed as long as you have enough grow beds to support your system.  I like equal volume of grow bed to fish tank for a start.

 

8--a sucker fish or two might be fine but I recommend shading your fish tank from sun to reduce the algae growth.

[Eric Warwick]

Aquaponics4U is, or at least affiliated with, a scam site that steals peoples pictures and doesn't let you leave the site. I've also heard that the e-book is a copy of someone's free work. Anyways if you go to "the good the bad and the ugly" group here you'll see about the stealing picture part. http://aquaponicscommunity.com/group/thegoodthebadandtheugly Here's the specific forum thread: http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/shady-web-sites?groupUr...

.

[Amy Smith]

Thanks so much!! I can't wait to start :-)

TCLynx said:

The rules of thumb document here may be of assistance to you.

 

1--Continuous flow can also be flood and drain if you use siphons.  Or you can go constant flood (only having the water flood to an inch or two below the top of the media.  Or you can do the timed flood and drain.

The flood and drain methods do fluctuate fish tank water level unless you set up with some means of controlling water level fluctuations (like a sump tank or indexing valve or CHIFT PIST or CHOP)

If you do constant flow/flood you need to have enough flow to keep the water well aerated and make sure the surface of the gravel stays fairly dry or you will have problems with crown rot.  I've had lots of plants do fine in constant flood as long as the top inch or two of gravel stays dry.  If you do flood and drain with a simple system where the fish tank is on bottom and the pump lifts water from fish tank to the grow beds and grow beds drain back to fish tank then you can only really handle an equal volume of grow bed to volume of fish tank.  So if you had 50 gallons of fish tank you should only do 50 gallons of flood and drain grow beds and your fish tank volume may fluctuate by as much as 40%

 

2--I like deep grow beds since they give more depth for filtration which is what dictates the amount of fish you can really grow.  A shallow flood and drain bed is often more challenging, especially for siphons.

 

3--If all you want is lettuce and herbs then a shallow bed might not be too big a deal.  Tomatoes have a bigger root system so may be a bit more restricted by an overly shallow bed and need more external support to keep them from falling out of the bed.

 

4--Aquarium stocking valves don't really convert over well to aquaponics.  How much grow bed you have and what your goals for the system are will be more important here.  I'm rather shocked that the e-book doesn't at least give you some means of figuring out how many fish you should stock, that info is readily available for free on the internet.  Around here we usually recommend 1 fish per cubic foot of grow bed media (7.5 gallons of grow bed) for a starter system.  Now that is usually for fish that will grow out to eating size but if you are stocking goldfish and you feed them a high protein feed, then those numbers may still apply.

 

5__Air pumps are a handy way to add aeration and having something separate from just a single water pump can provide some redundancy in case one pump fails the fish will hopefully not be belly up before you can correct the issue.

 

6--it costs alot but if you are only filling up a small system it might be reasonable.

 

7--Generally a charcoal filter isn't needed as long as you have enough grow beds to support your system.  I like equal volume of grow bed to fish tank for a start.

 

8--a sucker fish or two might be fine but I recommend shading your fish tank from sun to reduce the algae growth.

[Amy Smith]

Guess its a good thing I didn't pay the full price LOL I think I ended up with 4 or 5 eBooks for 11.99 on eBay.

Eric Warwick said:

Aquaponics4U is, or at least affiliated with, a scam site that steals peoples pictures and doesn't let you leave the site. I've also heard that the e-book is a copy of someone's free work. Anyways if you go to "the good the bad and the ugly" group here you'll see about the stealing picture part. http://aquaponicscommunity.com/group/thegoodthebadandtheugly Here's the specific forum thread: http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/shady-web-sites?groupUr...

.

[TCLynx]

Between this site and BYAP and asking questions you will have all the info you need to get going.

I'll also recommend the IBC's of Aquaponics put together by BYAP you can down load it for free from the link.  It is mostly pics and info of people's systems but there is also some really good reference info supplied in it.

[Amy Smith]

Great, thanks again TCLynx! I am drawing up some sketches today and possibly getting some wood to start putting things together.

TCLynx said:

Between this site and BYAP and asking questions you will have all the info you need to get going.

I'll also recommend the IBC's of Aquaponics put together by BYAP you can down load it for free from the link.  It is mostly pics and info of people's systems but there is also some really good reference info supplied in it.

[Todd Sowell]

Hi Amy,

 

I would also look at the Practical Aquaponics forum and get Murray's first DVD. Take your time and do a little research before you jump in. You'll be happy you did.

 

Enjoy

 

Todd

[Amy Smith]

Will do! Thanks Todd :-)

Todd Sowell said:

Hi Amy,

 

I would also look at the Practical Aquaponics forum and get Murray's first DVD. Take your time and do a little research before you jump in. You'll be happy you did.

 

Enjoy

 

Todd

[Amy Smith]

Here is the indoor grow box and stand I designed and my super handy fiance put together for me! Next week sometime we will be buying some pond liner and pvc supplies for the grow bed :-)