Hello from FL

[bdotmill]

Hi all,
So I've just recently found out about the great idea of aquaponics. I hope to find out a ton of information from this site. I've already begun configuring a basic setup, but I'd like to learn more about the actual science behind the growth before I jump into. Thanks in advance for all the help.
-Brandon

[urbanfarmer]

Greetings Earthling, and welcome to the addiction! :mrgreen:

[Basil1]

Hello back from Florida

[bsfman]

Welcome to the forum Brandon! Lot's of us Floridians here. Where in Florida are you?

[bdotmill]

I'm in New Port Richey now. Not too terribly far from basil.

[alex281]

Welcome to the forum!

[bdotmill]

So I wasn't sure where to post this, but I figured I'd get some advice on a design I came up with.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8489/8195502598_d2440d7b37_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8194410373_db072909f3_z.jpg

So basically the bottom tub is a 100gal tub that I plan to throw some tilapia in. It's then going to be pumped up into that T and then flow into some 4" sewer piping that's going to house some strawberries or something like that. As it flows through that it's going to drain into the grow bed (20gal each). The grow bed is going to house some lettuce, maybe some broccoli and/or tomatoes. Then as it fills up there's a bell siphon to suck it all back into the fish tub. I'm not sure on exact details of how much flow and what the fill drain times on the grow beds will be, but I do know the pump will constantly be pumping. Any feedback would be good because I'm not even sure if this will be successful, I just figured it looked pretty sweet and seemed like a decent idea. Thanks guys.

[davidstcldfl]

Hi bdotmill, welcome to the forum... :)

I like how you put a ball valve before each nft...that way you can make sure each one gets the same flow.

Pumping to the nft tubes 1st, could be a problem with the roots getting covered with fish pooh. You might be able to put the pump in some kind of a filter box.

Normally the media beds act as the fliters for the solids. That's why the 'rule of thumb' is (at least) a 1:1 ratio. In your design, you only have 40% of the 'normally' recomended amount of media bed area.
You can over come the ratio issue by 2 things...
If you do use some kind of a filter box on the pump, that will help some, especially if you end up with 'scuds' in the filter material. Here in FL, it's very likely they'll show up on their own .. 8-)
Also, keeping your fish density low, would help too.

[bsfman]

So I wasn't sure where to post this, but I figured I'd get some advice on a design I came up with.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8489/8195502598_d2440d7b37_z.jpg
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/8194410373_db072909f3_z.jpg

So basically the bottom tub is a 100gal tub that I plan to throw some tilapia in. It's then going to be pumped up into that T and then flow into some 4" sewer piping that's going to house some strawberries or something like that. As it flows through that it's going to drain into the grow bed (20gal each). The grow bed is going to house some lettuce, maybe some broccoli and/or tomatoes. Then as it fills up there's a bell siphon to suck it all back into the fish tub. I'm not sure on exact details of how much flow and what the fill drain times on the grow beds will be, but I do know the pump will constantly be pumping. Any feedback would be good because I'm not even sure if this will be successful, I just figured it looked pretty sweet and seemed like a decent idea. Thanks guys.

Nice design. The only suggestion I would offer is to build the GB supports to the ground surrounding the FT rather than the top edge of the FT. When full of media and water, the GB's will be too heavy to be supported by the FT edge like you have it shown.

[davidstcldfl]

Bsfman made a great point.

I was surprised how fast the weight can add up. I've used these tubs for shallow media beds, they are aprox 20 gals....
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/sto ... =202086174 (http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=202086174&R=202086174)

I weighed the river rock as I filled one of the tubs. It was over 230 lbs, just for the rock in one tub... :shock:

[bdotmill]

I thought about doing the frame on the ground because of the weight. The FT I'm going to use is one of those huge tack feed tubs for horses from tractor supply company and those things stand up to horses jumping in them and kicking them over so I figured it might be ok. I guess I'll have to experiment. I was also thinking i was going to extend the boards The GB's are on to help support the nft tubes amd build legs going to the ground to help with that. Those Home Depot tubs were exactly what I was looking at for this design. As far as the 1:1 ratio, maybe I didn't understand it completely, but I figured my nft tubes were going to sort of add to that bringing it close to that. I could be wrong. I was definitely planning on getting a sponge filter of some sort for the pump. I'm almost wondering if I should do a smaller design just to get the hang of this or if I should just continue with this and experiment with it. Thank you guys for the input.

[davidstcldfl]

Your off to a great start. You've been thinking about it, your even comming up with a design. And, your being wise, by asking some questions... :)
I know I've changed alot of my earlier designs. I won't even mention some of my 'later' design changes... :oops:

Basically, the media beds act as 'filters' to remove the solids from the system.
The plants (in any of the different growing systems) help to remove/use up the nitrates.
The ratio is just a guide to help to have 'enough' filtration. (The media is also more area for bacteria to grow)

Like any rules, they can be bent a little. A few ways to have less media is....
The easiest, is to have your fish stocking on the lite side. Another is to have a solids seperator, such as a swirl filter or setlement tank.

NFT tubes and raft set ups should have' pretty clean' water going through . They work best when the roots are clean. So the water needs filtered 1st.

Towers also need clean water. I think the water in these need to be the 'cleanest' of all growing systems. The main reason I belive that is, it helps the valves operate better.
One of the guys here at DIY was using quilt batting to filter his water for the towers. Don't remeber how he did it (wraped the pump maybe), but he said his water was 'very' clean.

Towers work pretty well, but I'm not that fond of them. I get tired of cleaning the valves all the time.... :roll:
Hope this helps some.


bdotmill, If you would please, start a new thread in 'backyard systems' and we can talk more there about your new system and it's design... :)
I'm setting a bad example in making your 'hello' soooo long... :?

[NeverResting]

That's a great visual of your design. I wish I had some skills like that.

I like how you incorporated two systems at once.