Introduction
I've been looking into Aquaponics on and off for the past 12 months trying to gain an understanding of how it works in different climates, parts of the world, different systems, animal-plant pairing; the list goes on.
Finally, I was at a point where I felt confident enough to commence planning, acquisition and building a system. I want to share my journey at key intervals along the way so that other beginners might be inspired to start and the more adept out there can provide some wisdom.
I'll be sharing as much data as possible relating to costs, time spent and efficiencies where I can. This system will be built in the backyard of a standard country town in Australia.
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Climate: Warm and Temperate
Rainfall: The average annual rainfall is The rainfall is 1061mm
Temperature Range: 11°C - 28°C with an average of 19.8°C
Foundations and Humble Beginnings
As I am building in a suburban backyard, space can be quite limited at times. I have managed to secure an area that is 6m x 2.7m which I've concreted to serve as the foundation for my system. I've even put up a little fence to stop the pesky dogs from getting into places that ought not to! This was all done with items that I had left over from other projects or that I managed to scavenge from the local area.
I don't think there is a requirement to concrete and fence the area but it will help with keeping the area tidy and gives a sturdy foundation to place the tanks and grow beds on.
System Selection
There are quite a lot of options when it comes to backyard aquaponics and you are really only limited by your imagination, your cash on hand and your ability to acquire parts. Any time you are growing some kind of sealife and plants together you can pretty much call it Aquaponics.
I have decided on a Chop and Flip Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) System as it is a small but scalable system. It is good for beginners as it doesn't take too long to build and it is quite simple in design.
The Chop and Flip is exactly as it sounds. Take an IBC and chop the top part off and flip it over. The bottom component is for housing fish/crayfish and top part is for plants. A few pipes, a filter, aeration and a pump and you have yourself a Chop and Flip aquaponics system; in principle.
Components and Pricing
All the below prices will be in Australian Dollars ($AUD) and the measurements are in the metric system.
| Part | Quantity | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) | 2 | N/A | Traded for 2 bottles of homemade Rum but they can sell secondhand anywhere from about $70-$200 depending on where you get it from. |
| 200L Plastic Drum | 1 | N/A | Included in the above transfer. These sell for about $100-$150 but you don't need one this size. A 20L bucket will do the trick just work with what you have got. |
| Submersible Pump | 2 | $100 | One for each IBC. |
| Aerator | 2 | $70 | One for each IBC. |
| PVC Pipe [100mm] | 1m | N/A | I asked a local plumber and irrigation company if they have any spare PVC offcuts and gave me about a metre of it. |
| PVC Pipe [65mm] | 1m | N/A | Same as above. Definitely worth asking around if you have that relationship or trying to scavenge some parts. |
| Expanded Clay Balls 16mm Lightweight Media | 500L in 50L bags | $629 | For the plants to grow in. Quite an expensive component and there are definitely other options out there. |
| Non Kink Hose [25mm] | Various | N/A | For use in the pumping system. I had some various lengths of this lying around the shed. You will need about 3m of this but it depends how you set up your system. |
| Barbed Tee Joiner [25mm] | 2 | $3.16 | For the pump system. |
| Barbed Tap In-Line Water Valve [25mm] | 4 | $35.60 | For the pump system. |
| Barbed Elbow [25mm] | 4 | $6.68 | For the pump system. |
| PVC Elbow for Pressure Pipe [25mm] | 6 | $16.50 | For the pump and filtration system. |
| Threaded Tank Inlet Bulkhead [25mm] | 2 | $19.80 | For the filtration system. |
| Uniseal Rubber Pipe to Tank Seal [25mm] | 2 | $13 | For the filtration system. |
| Nut and Tail fitting Set [25mm] | 2 | $15.40 | For the filtration system. |
| PVC End Cap [100mm] | 4 | $79.80 | For the filtration system. |
| PVC End Cap [65mm] | 2 | $15.40 | For the filtration system. |
| PVC Reducing Coupling [25mm x 20mm] | 2 | $3.90 | For the filtration system. |
| PVC Reducing Bush [25mm x 20mm] | 2 | $2.90 | For the filtration system. |
| PVC Valve Socket [25mm] | 2 | $3.30 | For the filtration system. |
Total Spent: $1,014.44
Keep in mind that the more you can scavenge parts and salvage from other things your cost will go down. I will provide an update to how much of the pipe length I actually need and use when we get to it.
Also note that this does not include seeds or fish yet!
The two IBCs prior to being cut to a ratio of about 75/25.
The pumps and some pipe fittings.
The clay fired balls for the media beds.
Some more PVC fittings.
Conclusion
That wraps up part one of my Backyard Aquaponics series. This post covers the longest period of time which involved all of the preparation work for Aquaponics: the research, the foundation (literal concrete as well as conceptual), and the acquisitions of parts.
The next part in this series will be the building phase and the construction of the system.
As always, happy to answer any questions and more importantly get some feedback from some of the more experienced members out there.