Learn about Aquaponics 🐟 🍓🍅 with my "Backyard Aquaponics for Beginners" Guide for only US$19.95. There's a discount code for 5 people mentioned in the video if you'd like a few $bob$ off.😉👍 You can see the guide in action on my website, ► www.bitsouttheback.com/aquaponics-guide Or, buy directly here, ► bit.ly/AquaponicsBeginnersGuide Don't forget to click the subscribe button if you enjoyed the video, bit.ly/Subscribe2Rob & share the clip around if you think it may help others too.👍 Cheers all & have a top one. 🐟 🌱🍅 Rob
Wow, Raymond made a very nice and clean setup, really impressive. And the plants look very healthy and happy as well. It is a joy to watch! 👍 I am doing some experiments with seeding directly into my system, and so far I have learned that regular garden crest, and east Indian crest germinates very easy when you seed it directly into the system, as long as you work the seeds down a bit so that the seeds are in touch with some moisture at all times. Garden crest germinates in a day or two, so it is an easy way to fill in the blank spots and to keep it covered with some plant growth very quickly. East Indian crest can take up quite a bit of space, but it is a joy to see the flowers, which you can eat, and they taste delicious. In general my experience is that herbs like to grow inside an aquaponics system. Chive does very well too.
@@RobsAquaponics So far so good. I am growing the second batch of seedlings from the regular garden cress. And I used the seeds from the first batch. That stuff grows fast so it is ideal for fast coverage. The only downside is that intends to collapse under its own weight during a rain event. After the rain you have to help it back up. Last week we had a rare September heatwave and because of the full coverage from my growbeds the water temperature stayed lower, and I had much less water evaporation. It also takes up the nutrients that have accumulated in those growbeds. I also have Indian cress and that is doing great as well.
I lost my dad's help, health issues so I'm trying not to bug him. I couldn't find info I need in Rob's aquaponics manual so I thought I'd bug Rob & his followers I have a solid flow system w 3 beds & flip over the tank which will b huh water float that empties into fish tank (did plan on water going from sump to tank but that can change if Im not getting fast enough return). I thought I'd have issues w Bell siphon because there's so much content but they were a breeze! Thank you Rob! My pump is 100 watt 4200 L 1100 gal in my max 500L sump. I have 1/2" PEX coming from pump into beds. I used my brass T & 90s had laying around from putting new plumbing under house (trying not to spend $$$). Problem is I'm not getting equal flow or any flow to all the beds. I plan on putting valves on the bed drains, this was a test. My property on a hill so I built platforms for everything. Bed 1 (farthest from sump 2' H Bed 3 3'H sump under Platform holding 3 beds 11'. Filter 13"H next to sump on RT. Fish tank rt of filet 27"H Rain tote 52" H (height is from ground to bottom) Sump is on the ground Distance from sump to fish 5' distance to furthest bed 6.5' My question(s) - R people using a 3/4" pex from sump into manifold that drops to 1/2" post (3 way post open/ 4 post way closed) ? - or will the valves do the trick? (I realize valves will even it pressure & can change up amount of flow to the beds) - is my pump to small? I bought twice as large I hope i didn't give too much info & I made sense
I believe your pump is too small. Look into the headheight the pump can push and keep in mind that the headheight is the point in which water will not flow. The flowrate 4200L is a measure done at the point where there is no head height between the pump and exit of the pipe. Valves help push distribute water pressure and are tend to placed towards the exits of a pipe. A pump will exert a specific amount of pressure at each height however how much water flows out would affect the pressure held to push up further along or (in your case) exits up higher. Usually the lowest exit will have the most pressure whilst the exits at higher points would have less pressure because pressure is lost from pushing the water up to that height (this is where head height comes in to play). For example, you will get 4200L/hr out of the piping at 0m height but at say... 1m, it reduces drastically. Then if you retrict the exit at that 1m height, it adds pressure towards all exits above that 1m. It is important to note the total flow out at each level will not sum to the 4200L and because of the height pressure, the taps/valves would be at different constriction. For me, I use a 6000L/hr 85W pump on my 2x IBC beds and a vertical tower. The IBCs are all at about 1m (about 3 ft) height climb with 19mm (3/4 inch) tube and the vertical garden tower is at 1.8m(6 ft) with 13mm(1/2 Inch) tube. All the water flow added up, does between 2500-3000L/hr. I believe Ray's system is entirely 25mm (1inch) tubing with a 10,000L/hr pump. Exit points are 4 IBC beds at about 1m height and 1 Fish Tank at about 1.2m height. The flowrate added up is not mentioned in the video. I would believe its around 4000 to 6000L/hr though. Answering you questions - I am using 1" from pump then manifolts into 2x 3/4". I do have a pipe 1/2" for a vertical tower. - Valves restrict flow to push pressure back into the tube/pipe at that level. It also allows for the water to be pushed against gravity (more height) a bit more. I believe you are correct to think thinner pipes allow for more head height. I think my numbers above would help with your decision. - A thing to note, if you've bought a pump too large/powerful, you can always make a T and loop excess flow back into the sump.
@@AznDumbum Your Awesome John! I don't recall ever reading/ seeing requirements for "head height". I'm not seeing anything on the box unless "Highmax 3.5M" is what it referring to. My original plan for the pipes was using all the 1* copper I pulled out from under my house or 1" PVC then reducing 3/4" at the bed. I haven't soldered copper/ anything for 20 yrs. PVC would b easiest for me. Using PVC reducing floor w valve. I also thought I was using the old jacuzzi (external) pump which has enough power of I tripled my beds. My father's idea was to use it to connect to my different IBC rain totes to get water from 25' to front yd. I built the platform. So it's about level to front yd so I wouldn't fight gravity. Then back yard slope gets progressively lower so I believe (I don't have clue) jacuzzi pump is over kill. & It's really heavy for me to carry about. Going to read your info several more times & send pump back w other items this morning. I purchased Rob's aquaponics guide that comes with questions for him. You'd think of I can design computers & manage elec current water flow b a breeze ;) Appreciate the support?!
@@RobsAquaponics I did thank you! It's been crazy here & haven't had time to watch you videos. Crazy busy time for you also! I know u got the property. Had another horrific growing season. Spring & early summer brought torrential down pours killing all my spring flowers, herbs & vegetables. Had a massive storm producing 90-100 mph winds with baseball size hail nail my parents house, $80k in damage, wiping out their 20 kw solar system, contractor said the panels stopped the hail from going through the roof & luckily their house is brick. My giant oak & almond trees protected my house & most the garden. I did have great luck w potatoes in the wicking pots & the peppers & tomatoes had less stress in them so that experiment worked. Then summer hit, hotter this yr than last hitting upto 120° (my elec bill is crazy high). My tomatoes & peppers r full of blooms finally but temps are now cooler than normal. Went from 100 days to 80 with night dipping into high 50s. Long range forecast is showing another really cold winter. Right now I'm ignoring the "experts" saying next yr will b even hotter. I never put plants in the high water bed above the fish tank, they wouldn't of handled the heat. The lemon basil went crazy, only herb to survive. I just put some fish from the Ouachita Lake in the tank while I learnt the system. I was really concerned it would get to hot & I didn't want to kill expensive tilapia. Which ended up being a good decision, I was messing w the timing one day & my dad stopped by, he unplugged the tanks air. Had a power surge & water pump didn't kick back on causing tank to hit 95 w no oxygen... My fault, I should of checked. One the days temp was >105 I'd run the pump all night to cool the water. I also put insulation foam board & then fence board around the tank protecting it from the afternoon sun. Everything is working, I'm burning through more water than anticipated. 1500 gal of rainwater collection is not enough for garden beds & aquaponic system. I have plenty room to double capacity. I decided not to put the high tunnel up around the aquaponic this fall & winter. Honestly I'm pretty frustrated, when I can't grow enough food to feed myself that's a problem. At one point this summer dad & I were seeing there brainstorming how to protect the flowers so them produce, they have the oak for shade, almost too much. Dad says "where's your bees"? I never had more than 2 bumble bees at a time, think the same 2. No butterflies, no humming birds... it's scary. I told Dad I was thinking of getting a bee hive, I'm highly allergic. He gave me a look, "bees won't stick around if u can't grow flowers". UHG Vicious circle I'm just going to do a hot box w some greens & roots & my normal indoor winter crops. Brainstorm on what next yr experiment will b, if I even attempt a summer garden, no need if it's going to b even hotter. Plus I've meant burned through my seed collection, which also scares me I'll drain the tanks & beds & leave open so rain drains out won't have to worry about broken pipes Can't wait to catch-up, I've been excited (very envious) to see your families farm & hear about all the plans
Nice setup, love the idea of 3d printing the different parts, Im getting close to building another system rob, but really keen to build this one excact with 3d printed fittings etc, instead of purchasing so many fittings just to get a curve etc, its going to be a fun build I think looking foward to getting it started again :)
Hi Dale, ive been experimentimg with 3d parts and can say, its are great for parts where water sealing does not need to be 100%. Like... grates and funnels or pipe standoffs etc. Parts that are within the tank or exits but not for bends and turns where water sealent is required.
@@AznDumbum Awesome mate, its going to be interesting to design the parts when I start this project, right now Im building bathroom and that takes priority lol
Great job on your system Raymond, and kudos to Rob for inspiring then showing it to us. One day, I'd like to try growing Murray Cod here in the States!
Koi are from the carp family and carps are one of the toughest fish, so personally I think that they are great, since they can handle A LOT of beating before they kick the bucket, unlike other fish that might die with just the temperature dropping a degree or two. That said if you want to eventually eat the fish, you might want to check other fishes that are native to your area, since it will be easy to get and you know that it can live in your climate region. Of course there is also the option to just eating the Koi, but it feels like a bit of waste, even though realistically it's just a more unique-looking carp.
Hey GM. I have slowed down posting on this cannel a bit as we've bought a farm & moved 4½ hours north. We will be setting up aquaponics & gardens here so will be posting videos on them when the time comes. Also have a farm channel now for folks interested on what's going on here if you haven't seen it already & are interested, www.youtube.com/@BitsOutTheBackFarm Cheers mate & hope all's well with you & yours.
Good morning mate great video of their system really like it . And the size of his fish in the picture wow .dose he have a RU-vid channel? Have a great day Rob
@@RobsAquaponics it's great to see people like him and me who see your channel and get involved in the Aquaponics after watching your videos and I'm really impressed on how well his system is in a design
Rob, I was wondering about putting a bright light on top of the tank for a few hours at night to attract insect to feed the fish as they drop in the water, just an idea
I've seen folks do that I it works OK. I have been warned that fish that like to jump may b=need a net over the top to stop them trying to catch any low fliers.
I'm curious about the K1 media solid/bio filter used by Raymond, since it's described as 'static' it means air stones are not necessary... so it's correct to assuming it works like a bead filter?
they are with 1 problem they are difficult to train onto commercial pellet feed, If you can ween them they can adapt to tank raised systems. But normally they are just used for dam stocking.
