Indoor Aquaponics - System # 1

[tnowacoski]

Greetings Posters!

Intro: I have been tinkering with Aquaponics for a few years now. I have been keeping various species of fish since I can remember and having a love for fresh fish and produce, it is a natural fit! For the past few years, I have been using a modified gravel bed system with IBC tanks. This has worked well but between the already short growing season in NE USA and my crazy life/work schedule, my system is just getting up to full steam when the sun and temperatures are dropping for the season!

Idea: I am now thinking about setting up a smaller system indoors to grow fish and plants year round. The only free area is a living space on the second story. Since it is a "living area", I have to have the design approved by the chief which means it cannot be an eyesore!

The Design:
system1-1.JPG
I am thinking about a modified Rack System with a 50Gal fish tank on both ends. The grow area will be two 2'x4'x1' stacked beds with independent adjustable lights. The bottom grow bed will be a DWC raft that will also act as the sump. This will be for low growing produce like lettuce, etc. The second grow bed will be stacked on top of that. The light for this will have more travel so taller plants can be grown. I was originally thinking of using gravel for this bed but at nearly 900lbs, I am concerned about weight. I am not sure how yet but I plan to incorporate at least a mechanical filter into the design and if I do not go with the gravel, will need biological filteration as well. With the outside supports, a reflective cover can be added to reduce noise, increase light deflection, and neaten up the entire unit. Having good results with growing seedlings on standard fluorescent lights, my initial plan is to use T-12 Daylight shop lights (2'x4' - four bulb).

Thoughts, suggestions, better ideas, stories?

Oh and as with everything else, this is on a tight budget!

[Pseudoreality]

I don't see any problems. I did something similar a last year and it worked well. The plants grew under the fluorescents, but quickly moved towards the window.

[Ravnis]

Since your diagram shows a mechanical filter, you could probably go with 2 dwc rafts. The advantage of this is that ants tend to like the growbeds and indoor antbeds at not that much fun to deal with.

I put worms in my hang on the back filter. This extends the life of the filter cartriges and help keep the biological filter from getting bogged down. The worms lay their castings on top of the filter and thus aid in solids removal. I use eisenia Hortensis availble in most bait shops. They favor a wet environment so do well in ap.

Gravel beds can be prone to gravel getting in pipes and causing them to overflow, so I would caution to make sure you take steps to prevent that. The missus can get real annoyed with water in the living room floor.

[tnowacoski]

...ants tend to like the growbeds...

Never thought of that...should have since I have them in my outside system!

I put worms in my hang on the back filter.

What filter do you use? A standard aquarium filter will be almost entirely floaded with water.

Gravel beds can be prone to gravel getting in pipes and causing them to overflow, so I would caution to make sure you take steps to prevent that. The missus can get real annoyed with water in the living room floor.

Agreed! I did not show it in the diagram but I am planning on putting a 4" high plastic lined surround under the entire system to contain any leakage.

[Ravnis]

I use 2 regular hang on back aquarium filters I bought at wallyworld. Worms like it and grow well in it, they don't mind being submerged. There is a thin area that is typically not submerged at the top.

[tnowacoski]

I like the idea of having two rafts instead of one raft and one gravel, what media do you guys use in the net pots?

[Ravnis]

Hydroton is commonly used. Can be a pain in a flood and drain as some of it will float, but should be ok in net pots. I have been debating about using a recycled alternative thats a lot cheaper. Some info can be found here