How to build a basic aquaponics system Videos

Growing algae does NOT prove that the container is safe for food. Algae will grow in toxic environments (see any polluted stream). Saving $100 is unwise when you consider the toxicity of dioxins, etc how long the system will be in operation and how much time you will put into building it. If you can't afford a food-grade tote then make a "barrelponic" system from some food-grade barrels, they can be found for around $15 each. A split barrel makes ~ 12 sq ft of growbed, a tote is ~16 sq ft.

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You didn't happen to mention anything about the bacteria. Did you have to inoculate the water with something or are you just depending on the bacteria you need to grow by itself without getting it jumpstarted? How do you know you have the right balance? Do you test the pH on a regular basis? Where did you happen to find the container? That's a pretty cool setup. I'd like to try that out for myself one of these days! Thanks for sharing! :)

I picked up the container from a buisness that uses thme in their day -to-day operations. I stopped by and asked what they did with the empty one's and the said nothing because it was to expensive to ship them back to the company to get them refilled. So, I asked if I could have one and the said yes. Thats how I came about mine. I live in the city so traveling around the industrial district lead me to this company. Good luck! John

great questions. It depends on your system. In general some people will add chelated Iron to their system because the system lacks this. You might also add some trace elements that are not produced by the fish or the system itself. I use a product sold in fish stores that is used for providing plants with trace elements. This seem to be enough and I add it once every month. Hope this helps. John

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AWESOME, I just picked up two IBC containers just like yours, I don't think I want to cut it up like you did but, I now have 3 bluegill in the tanks swimming around, with a bubbler going, I have my bilge pump on order and should see it soon I am so excited this is coming together!. Thanks for showing me it can be done.

@iam1inamil This is something I was just thinking. On a slight different idea, how would it work to either craft it out of thick glass, OR if you had access to the resources, using Hemp instead to create that container, instead of plastic. One should be able to mimic the system, but without the hormones.

Hello please correct me if I'm wrong, on your very first opening diagram you had fish going to plants then to bacteria, wouldn't it be Fish then bacteria that converts the ammonia to nitrates, then to plants that use up the nitrates and clean the water then back to fish again?

What do you think about using the store bought fish food? They are filled with artificial colors and preservatives . . . I have a worm compost and was wondering about feeding the fish worms . . . its free if you are breeding the worms AND you get great compost/fertilizer.

You don't need a reservoir. You're right you could drip directly into the grow bed and drain it back into the fish tank. The beauty of aquaponics is that there are many way to achieve the same out come. Thanks for the heads up. Take care and have a good day.

Beware of bill S 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010! If accepted [S 510] would preclude the publics right to grow, own, trade, transport, share, feed and eat each and every food that nature makes! Your aquaponics system will become illegal!

you should use the white RV hoses ...they don't contain toxic plastic or LEAD!.....PLUS THAT GREEN TUB MIGHT NOT BE APPROPRIATE PLASTIC....AND I AM CURIOUS ABout the white container's plastic content,tho i will bet it is potable water quality

i saw a seriously big system in another video..anyone know any good links for "how to" for bigger systems? if i ever get enough land im deff going to set one up and a huge grow bed(s) also. would love to be self sufficient

Excuse the noob-ish question... But if you have this outside, doesn't rainwater cause this to over fill and flood out the fish? I would be concerned that rain could cause a bunch of issues? Unless I'm missing something?

hmm ... keep videos coming.. join me on facebook group name is : "Micro Farming / Permaculture / Aquaponics / Urban Homesteading" or just gid=272867373620 visit any other group and change the gid to the one above ^_^

@tonyinfinity .....i wouldn't be so sure about plastic content....plastic has been proven to have similiarities to hormones,it is a hormone "mimic".....and all garden hoses have lead content in the plastic/rubber

Thank you so much. I've found them by where I live on sale for a little over $150 but am keeping an eye out for a free one. That's a great tip. Thanks so much for the video and the reply, I really appreciate it.

I thought the idea was to raise fish to eat as well as vegetables. Anyway I am going to use Tilapia for the fish. I will feed them algae pellets I also grow. I need to get more detail on the system layout.

Thank you for shairing this video with us. Whats the best advice for someone wanting to get started with Aquaponics? Is there a site where I can learn more that you could refer me to or some books?

This is a neat aquaponic how to video. We need more how to do basic aquaponic set up videos to get more folks interested in building their own systems. Thank you for a wonderful video!

@marthale7 Where did you find ibc container's? how much? I found some white barrel's but, worried what were in them prior (i will take this guy's advice and use alge to clean them up)

@50kT Yeah that's the best part, you grow your plants and when the fish are big enough you can harvest them as well and start over. You could get entire meals from this system.

Urbanfarminguys have a good set of videos on how to set up a large system. You could try there. They are also a charity organisation so any publicity is good publicity, right?

+tajul islam I\'m not sure but ,if anyone else wants to learn about aquaponics course try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my m8 got great results with it.

+tajul islam Hi , if you want to know how to build an aquaponics system step by step you should go panlarko expert aquaponics planner ( do a google search ) . I got so much information from this . .

+tajul islam interesting points ,if anyone else needs to find out about aquaponics course try Qwixie Amazing Aquaponics Helper ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some interesting things about it and my friend got cool success with it.

how to build a simple aquaponics system

Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else wants to uncover aquaponic gardening system try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some incredible things about it and my mate got great success with it. +Stephen Luke

+Stephen Luke hey ,if anyone else trying to find out aquaponics at home try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor (do a search on google ) ? Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my partner got excellent success with it.

+Stephen Luke ya

+Stephen Luke hi everyone ,if anyone else trying to find out aquaponics diagram try Debuncar Amazing Aquaponics Aid (should be on google have a look ) ? Ive heard some incredible things about it and my work buddy got excellent results with it.

interesting points ,if anyone else wants to uncover aquaponics diagram try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor (do a search on google ) ? Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my co-worker got great results with it. 

+stoqn hristozov Spamming will do you no good

Not certain about the points made but ,if anyone else wants to uncover aquaponics design try Panlarko Expert Aquaponics Planner (do a search on google ) ? Ive heard some great things about it and my co-worker got great results with it.

+Cesar Caoili Cesar, forget about the pellets. use gravel

+Saeid Momtahan  where can i get it in penang?

+Danial Ramlan Daniel, don't go with clay. It's a big mess. Use gravel. Cheaper, easier to replace, all around a better choice

+Sean McMichael Thank you Sean

+Keith Thanks Keith

+iamDarrennn No brain, no pain!

i simply dug a large hole in the ground, rectangle shape... 2300 long, 1100 wide, 800 deep all in mm of course. filled it with tap water. raised bed using old timber so my rabbit does not eat the veges and a tin sheet on the top. storage containers with course and fine, red rocks used for mulching gardens with. pond pump.. first with 1200lt per hr then when that died a 3000lt per hr pump. standard garden hose to feed the containers with. with just koi i had veges growing in 4 weeks

I really appreciate your video, thanks. one question, I've built a few aquaponics systems and the bell siphon that I've used always has a larger pipe with a cap over the stand pipe, to start and end the drain cycle. you used a straight stand pipe with just a media guard around it. Does this sytem drain like a bell siphon where it fills to the top of the stand pipe and then drains the bed to the bottom before losing its siphon?

Why not use a bell siphon? I farm worms, and I think that an ebb and flow system will be much more conducive to worm health if the water gets drained every 15 minutes or so, allowing the worms and the plants more oxygen. 2 6mm holes combined with a 300 liter per minute pump will not allow the bed to drain, making conditions less favorable for worm health and might even cause root rot in sensitive plant species.

Very nice video and very informative. I would have liked to seen more about the siphon design so I can replicate what is down inside the pipe, but I think that I can figure it out. I do like that you made it so simple to show how anyone can do this themselves. I am in Chile and I plan on raising trout for my own use only. This may be a silly question but do the veggies have a fishy taste? Thanks in advance.

couple of problems. Turn the music down some so it doesn't interfere with the instructions. Next, when you put the stand up pipe in at first to hold back the gravel. nothing was said about there being holes in it, so it would appear that the ONLY way water could get into that area to DRAIN down into the fish tank would be along the bottom edge. AHA, I see someone else is asking the same question below.

We ran a trial for over 12 months comparing a siphon, a stand pipe continuously flooded, and a standpipe with a timer on the pump. If anything the siphon system had the worst results. Weekly photos and water tests were done and posted up on our forum, you can check it out there. Worms are fine in well oxygenated water.

Go to the website in the description, all details are there, download the 180 page pdf, all details are there. All free for you to download. This video was to supplement the information on the site and in the pdf. Oh and when you have produced better stuff for people to download for free, let me know.

15:30 you can also use lava rock...which is very cheap in Washington State when purchased at a soil/bark supplier. I think I pay a few dollars a bucket. It can be hard on the hands...so i use it as my bottom layer in the grow bed, and then use expanded shale or hygroton for the top 10 cm. Easy peezy

275 LB. But my Idea is to use the whole container for the fish and use cut in half 55 gallon barrells plastic food containers to put plants in. You can only put 2 fish per 10 gallons. by cutting off that much of the top you've lost many gallons.Check craigs list for cheep barrels and cheep IBC's

Can this system support additional grow beds? Assume I had a second IBC from which I made a second or even third grow bed, could that one fish tank support 3 beds in this example? I also assume one could build one larger raised bed from wood and use the entire IBC as the fish tank.

This is the best DIY aquaponics video I've found yet. I live in a very dry, arid area & will be trying this. What do you suggest for pH balancing in this system? I also noticed there wasn't a sump for this system, have you ever explored using one?

I believe a 1:1 ratio is typical for those folks that are new to aquaponics however a well established system can go as high as 1:3... where 1 square foot of fish water would supply nutrients for 3 square feet of grow beds.

3000LPM = 80GPM this seems very excessive unless you want to exchange all the water in the system in less than 2 minutes I am also thinking the pressure would be quite high over 1034.kPa / 150 psi on a one inch line.

Have you used syphon valves in any of your setups? If so, do you find constant-flooding or flood-and-drain (i.e. syphon valve) systems better? Interested more so in vegetable growing rather than leafy greens. Thanks!

What size hydroton bags did u use there so that I may buy the same amount for my project. I get confused. Some sell in lts and some per lb bags. Your bags were perfect for the project... Thanks for your help.

To save pipe (which isn't that cheap), you should have just attached the pipe to the pump without cutting it, thread it through to where it needs to go as you did, and then cut it, thereby not wasting any :)

ooops, this is going to be my next aquaponics system, with the IBC totes. i think i am going to use the tote for the fish only, and use 55Gal blue barrels cut in half for the grow beds.

This (watch?v=F4QUIYykQxU) is my backyard setup which thanks to your tutorial, among others, made it possible. A lot of reading also, I must say. Many thanks. May the Good win!

Um yes.... you really should research this a little better. We've grown many crops of trout and have thousands of other people in recirculating aquaponics systems.

Nice tutorial. So if you are not using a bell siphon to drain bed, are you using a timed on/off pump cycle or constant on? What time cycle if you are using?

Good info but you could have cut 15 min out of the video and conveyed all the same data. We don't need to see you actually wash the clay media for 5 min,

Check the link in the description, we don't use siphons at all, we use a standpipe and details are on the website. And no, only the fish taste fishy..

The pump doesn't have to be that big, check the link in the description above, there's a lot more information about it on the website and in the pdf.

Love the video but did I miss something? Did you drill holes in the stem pipe? If not I was wondering how the water got into the drain? Thanks

+Hartsock Woreavelesor interesting points ,if anyone else is searching for aquaponics course try Debuncar Amazing Aquaponics Aid (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my colleague got great results with it.

+Hartsock Woreavelesor Glad you enjoyed it! Good luck with you system and happy building :-)

+Asset Builder Hi there, the grow beds need to be filled with a PH neutral grow media. We used expanded clay pebbles which worked really well! Link to the ones we used is here: //www.amazon.co.uk/CANNA-Canna-45L-AquaClay-Bag/dp/B003Y7M6B2/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1434193916&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=expanded+clay+pebblesYou can then just gently sprinkle your seeds straight into the beds (you might loose a few which go to far down but don't worry). It is really amazing the way they just grow in the pebbles. If you like you can also start seeds off in small pots of clay pebbles with holes in the bottom, then you can just place the pot straight into the grow bed when the seedling is ready. If you do this method you need to keep the pot moist by spraying it with water from your system. Hope that helps!

+Michael Black I love how he makes it sound like some putz out there was stupid enough to pay $1900 for my system and he reverse engineered it. Really, reverse engineered an open-source design? How many ways can you tell somebody that they're a freakin retard?

+Michael Black I sent the YouTube/Google copyright police after him, gave them starting and ending times in "his" video and provided a link to my video. That should ruin his fun.

+Larry Athey awesome. Thanks for all of your videos. Not only do I learn something, but I get a kick out of how it is presented. Keep it coming!!!

+Michael Black Safe to say that I just ruined his fun. :-)

+Michael Black Oh joy, my video is part of his YouTube spam-o-merical.

+Larry Athey great thanks I found them . I have subscribed and I'll be watching the rest of your videos

If you're watching this video or reading this comment, then you're on my channel and that's where all of my videos are located.

+JakeyPie This is aquaponics, not hydroponics. If I was buying weed, I wouldn't give two rat's asses whether it was 100% organic or not. I'd be asking if the person who grew it was a hydroponics expert and dosed his system so the plants would yield the highest THC content possible.

hey ,if anyone else wants to learn about aquaponics diagram try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now ) ? Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my m8 got great success with it. +Harvey Birdman

And another spammer bites the big wienerschnitzel.

+kapila rathnayaka It sent me to ad to buy a set up. Tell your friend he is a great bullshiter.

+Harvey Birdman hey ,if anyone else wants to discover diy aquaponics system plans try Panlarko Expert Aquaponics Planner ( search on google ) ? Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my colleague got great success with it.

+Harvey Birdman Be sure to check out the video on my new small scale system, much better design and only occupies part of a 4 foot by 4 foot corner of any room.

Not a liberal Democrat. Just believe the nutritional and safety RESEARCH that has shown no harms from GMO foods. You cannot point to a single instance of a GMO causing harm. Just because you don't like a corporate practice of Monsanto it does not mean the food is dangerous. I don't like them either, but for other reasons... Like suing farmers whose fields got cross pollinated by Monsanto plants. Anyway.. I am more than glad to have a conversation about the facts... But calling names does not further the discussion.

+Bryce Martin Been a liberal Democrat long? Even Monsanto said that they did NO testing. I didn't get that just here. Even the lame stream media reported that. I think you need to go back and do some more research my friend.