John's new system

[jpcw]

It's been two weeks since I got the bug and I now have my first try at a system up and running.

1 x 1000L tanks
2 x 250l barrels cut in half making 4 grow beds
1 x 8000l/h pump

So far I have only 1 grow bed with expanded clay beads in it, boy that stuff isn't cheap. I'm in the process of washing all my filters from the indoor fish tanks through it to give the bacteria a head start.

I'm running the water through the grow beds continuously at the moment. I'll see how that works and if I need to convert to a flood/drain system later.

I got an aerogarden around a month ago and I'm transferring the plants from it to the first grow bed. I'll probably use the aerogarden to start any new seeds before transferring to the grow beds. I got the idea for the basic setup from the aerogarden, it runs water continuously over the roots through a drip line.

Only got a couple of guppies in the tank at the moment. I have 20 trout ordered which should be here mid next month. Trying to decide if I should get some gold fish in the tank in the mean time.

Oh and if the pool filter gives me any more grief then there is a 40,000l tank just waiting to be converted :)

[aussieap]

Nice pics mate, welcome. I fear that pool is not long for it.

If you are able to get another barrel, use it as a sump and put your pump in there. It will give you a constant height (CHOP) in your fishtank and be less stressful for the fish. There is an animation here somewhere on how the constant height thing works. It means a bit of rework on the plumbing but not much.
You only really need one water entry point for your grow bed. Those tubes will tend to block up with fish **** and biofilm. If you are pumping continuously, this means your beds are constantly flooded yes? Have a look at the animation to see how the autosiphon thing works. It will help drag air down to your plant roots.

Get goldies by all means for now. Salt them in a bucket with a bubbler for a few minutes so you are not introducing potential disease to your system.
This goes for everyone. ALWAYS salt your fish to 3ppt in a tub with a bubbler b4 adding them to your system. It reduces the chance of introducing disease and is a bit of a tonic for fish after a stressful journey to their new home.

Have fun with it John and keep us informed.

[Adareaqua]

systems looks good John!
I am experimenting with half gravel and top up with clay pebbles, because i too find them very expensive. They might work well - but i have seen other systems using only gravel and they dont seem to be having many probs with it.
The pebble looks great - so i have opted to just put it on the top till i find there is a prob.
cheers
adareaqua

[Dufflight]

Gravel top dressed with clay works well. Does not mix as the gravel is heavier and ends up on the bottom. I top dress a lot of my gb's.

[Adareaqua]

Yes i agree dosnt mix....I just add it on the top
Looks "Pretty"...rofl no, seriously, just finishes off the whole look of the set up -

[jpcw]

Due to lack of time and the fact that Bunnings had run out of the big bags of expanded clay I tried Permiculite. Ooops, it all tried floating away :) To avoid waisting too much money I have put the permiculite in the bottom half of two of my trays and put what I had of the expanded clay on top. Hopefully it won't be an absolute disaster.

I have 4 trays and was going to set them up differently to experiment anyway.

[djs-sa]

hi mate is it permiculite or vermiculite that you have used from bunnings

[jpcw]

Sorry had a bit of a blond moment. Perlite not permiculite .

[Dufflight]

Most people that try perlite take it out later. Okay to use as a seperate gb that does not drain back into the system.