New indoor aquaponic system

[alter05]

Hello folks !

I've stumbled into this site in the process of building my prototype for an indoor system.

Here's the original challenge: build a system that would fit into my small studio. Henceforth, it has to be 100% leak and accident proof and have enough security to still run with the seldom power failure without killing the fishes.

I started this project early in June and I'm currently in the process of hot-testing it (with everything installed but no fish nor plant yet). So far, I have some problems which I should have spent more time thinking about:

The flow from my upper tank to the grow bed is superior to the flow from the grow bed to the fish tank. This creates those interresting problems:

The hydrotron pellets FLOAT ! That makes them clog my growbed overflows and I had to swipe down a small flood in my appartment while testing.

Apart of that, some minor leaks and I have some doubts that my light ( a single 20 inch long wide-spectrum light tube ) is not enough for the plants but it's nothing that can't be fixed while everything is working.

I've thought about some ideas to fix my pellet problem:
1- Affix some sort of rod that would block my toilet valve, effectively reducing the water flow

2- Remove the 2'' outtake tubing and replace it with 3/4'' tubing

3- Place heavy gravel on top of the pellets to keep it from floating away (But IMHO it removes the whole point of having clay pellets as a medium)

4- Place a plastic screen or a permeable membrane on top of the pellets to keep it from floating, only making small holes for the plants.

My goal is to ultimately have a large-scale working farm.

Tell me what you think ! In the meantime, here are some pictures of the system while I was still doing the after-assembly testing. And in case you were wondering, I was inspired by the aquaponics-in-a-barrel manual which can be found here : http://www.fastonline.org/content/view/15/29/

Enjoy !



Al

[Ravnis]

If you want an indoor unit where you can't have a major mess there are several people that have made them on this site. I currenly have one that is just starting to yield plants ( it was activated 9/08/08). If you are looking for a compact system that might give you some ideas. There are several other indoor systems on this site too. I looked at the barrel ponics manual and bought the nelson-pade guide before I found this site.
The big problem is the control system. You just need to simplify it with an auto siphon. Hamish's system has pictures that are good for getting an idea on the siphon and you wont have to worry about your 2 ltr bottle overfilling and flowing on the floor.

By adjusting the inside diameter (I.D.) of the drain you can change your flow. Alternately you can add a ball valve and adjust flow by closing off a little. The problem with doing that with the "Flush system" is you constantly have water flowing into your weight(2 ltr bottle) so it needs to empty fast enough to not form an imbalance in the system.

Also, as an aside you might look at my journal where I outlined some mistakes I made when cycling my system so you don't do that either.

[GaryD]

Hi Al,

Welcome to APHQ.

The hydrotron pellets FLOAT !

They eventually settle down.

Gary

[alter05]

Thanks Ravnis I'll check that auto-siphon, altough I am not so concerned with the bottle overfilling, my main problem is really on the growbed level.

As far as the pellets go, do you mean that they eventually stop floating after a few cycles ?

And I forgot what kind of fish I intend to grow: smallmouth bass. I initially intended to grow yellow perch, but those fish need some month of cold water to begin spawning, which I couldn't spare inside, plus they come with quite a lot of parasites in the wild.

My second choice was the sun crappie, but it is extremely hard to catch in numbers before the winter (but as things look out right now I might as well wait to start my system). They have some parasites but do not seem to need cold water to initiate spawning, feed on almost anything and have an excellent meat.

Bass si carnivorous by nature, thus removing some feeding options, but are more than plentiful in my area.

[Hamish]

As far as the pellets go, do you mean that they eventually stop floating after a few cycles ?

Welcome! Yes - the clay balls eventually absorb enough water so they stop floating.

[alter05]

I've decided on changing the diameter of my pipes from 2 inches to 3/4'' and to add a ball valve. This should take care of my flow problem.

I'll start tests right away ! Wish me luck.


Al

[alter05]

The system is balanced !

I wonder, though, if all my clay pellets will get wet with such a lower filling rate.

I am now hosting one 6 ounce yellow perch and one 1 pound smallmouth bass. I'll see which one adapts the best (if they do adapt at all). They are quite stressed as of now, so I'll leave them alone for a while.

Al