Homemade Aquaponic System - Update

Not much has changed with my system. Still no fish. Bummer. But, I have adjusted several aspect of the growbeds, or more precisely, the bell siphons. The timing is perfect now!

Initially I had 1/2" standpipes, with a 1" bell pipe on each, and a 2" gravel guard around each bell siphon (see picture). Several problems arose from this set up. Because the gravel guard was so tight fitting, it meant the gravel was, basically, right next to the bell siphon. This equated to not much air available to break the siphon. Thus, the siphon eventually reached an equilibrium with the input flow rate.

Now, I have cut the height of the standpipes about a 1/2" below the surface level of the pea gravel grow media. I have also replaced the 2" guard with a 3" guard! This pushed the gravel back a bit allowing air to flow straight down to the siphon and break it, making my grow beds fill up again, & again, & again. Thus, its finally an ebb and flow, as opposed to an ebb (once ) and then flow (continuously).

Not the space between the bell pipe & the gravel guard

Sown: Basil (front), Cilantro (2nd row), peppers (3rd) & bibb lettuce (2nd  grow bed)

Cilantro babies (prior to adjusting stand pipe height).

I sowed a few cilantro seeds early on, as well as basil and peppers. About two weeks later I sowed some Butterhead lettuce seeds. Two days ago I sowed the remaining spaces in both growbeds. Now I have got to get fish! I have some connections to get some tilapia for free! But first the system is due a heater ... tilapia don't care for 62oF water.

The above was written a weeks ago.

As of five days ago, I bought an aquarium heater. Water temperature is now 72oF! So tilapia are on the horizon! More to come.

Homemade Aquaponic System

I have just finished the construction of a mini and homemade aquaponic system in my basement, and sowed seeds today (basil, cilantro, and peppers)!!! Before much more, let's break it down...

AQUAPONICS = Aquaculture + Hydroponics

(see pictures at bottom for a sample system)

• Aquaculture = producing aquatic life forms (primarily fish, but not limited to them) in a man-made artificial system, in which some or all environmental factors are regulated and controlled

• Hydroponics = producing horticultural crops in soilless (organic soil) conditions, being dependent upon mineral solutions for maintaining adequate plant nutrition for proper growth, development, and fruit production

That is each of these two facets of agriculture in a simplistic fashion. Aquaculture and hydroponics are made for each other. As a Christ-follower, I cannot but recognize God's divine and majestic design of what we know as the sciences! The science of agriculture has the design of God's handiwork written all over it! Its genius! For time sake, let's just consider these two. Plant require the element nitrogen (N) for proper growth and development, along with phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) as well as a whole host of other in very specific chemical forms. I believe it fair to say that of all of the nutrients plants require, N is by far the most important. Then just consider that the primary waste product from fish respiration and waste matter is NITROGEN. This N is in forms that plants may or may not be able to utilize, but in a process called nitrification, most N in made available for the plants to consume. ( Again, this is a very, very fast and simple explanation of all this.)

 So, is it by mistake that fish poop N and plants utilize it for growth, and that man has "discovered" this partnership? NO! For one, this has been around for centuries and centuries (thank you my Chinese friends and brothers!) Also, another resounding NO, because in God's perfect design of His creation, He put in place perfectly integrating biological systems! Don't miss that, it is so majestic! His design is unmistakable! 

Moving on.

My system is small and compact, purposefully. It is approximately a 50 gallons system in all. The fish production tank is 50 gallons, and I have two 8 gallon plant grow beds. The whole system is self-contained in that it is all sitting on a plastic pallet, with casters on it ... so its mobile too! I designed it with flexibility in mind, so I have no glued PVC parts, but instead have used polypipe and hose clamps to plumb everything. I have a 210 gph (gallons per hour) pump at 1' head, and my system has about 1.5ft head, so I am pumping just under 210 gph. My grow beds, for the plants, are an ebb-and-flow system, utilizing bell siphons to manage the ebbing and the flowing. Currently, the 8 gal grow beds are filling up in about 11-12 minutes and draining in about 4 minutes. The whole thing is continuously recirculating, so the water is always moving, passing through the grow bed media (pea gravel, currently), the future plant roots and filtration is occurring in those manners. 

Since I have hardly even begun to grow anything and don't have any fish in my system, this is all I am going to share for now, because their is not much more. I cannot grow tilapia - as is the goal - because the water temp is way too low - a cold 56 degrees F!!! I had a friend suggest trout, which I am going to give my hand at, but my limited knowledge of trout make me a bit weary. And I know they are much more demanding than tilapia when it comes to water quality, and I don't know that this little system will provide them with the high quality water they require. We shall see though!

Pictures and video follow!

The beginning ... a 50 gallon tub on a plastic pallet.

This is basically finished minus the grow beds. I built the frame for the tub, so it would not give out under the force of the water, and the grow beds are supported off to the side, so that they drain immediately back into the fish tank.

Thats it from the front, in its final location (at least while its winter), next to the window.

COME ON SUN LIGHT!!!

The siphon doing what it does, siphoning!

The following is a short video of the bell siphon and a quick glimpse of it working.

I hope you have enjoyed this, and as things progress I plan on posting updates.