Backyard Aquaponics in SA

[Biggles1212]

Hi to all. I thought I'd show and tell what I've been busy with for the last year. I've been fiddling with sustainable living for quite some time until I saw some Aquaponic systems on Youtube. I've been going to the University of Youtube forever and it's a great place to learn and share ideas. My start in aquaponics was delayed for financial reasons mostly as I didn't have permanent work and every penny was costly. However I did hurriedly construct this.



Please don't laugh. Up until this point I've killed anything I've tried to grow. The grow bed was a 45L wash bucket and is still in use. It in fact grows anything in it better. The stone came from old crushed stone lying around and the bucket came from the local China Shop. The plumbing is all 25mm garden HDPE pipe and fittings, but the pump was bought at the local hardware store in the pet department. We refrained from adding fish just yet and so the kids urinated in it for the first week.

I was really surprised when nothing died. Oh yes the plants were quickly scraped out the garden in the middle of the night. After a week we added some seedlings and I lifted the grow bed onto a new frame and added some more wash buckets. By the end of the month I could see that the plants were doing OK. The fish were alive. I bought a 5 in 1 water tester and checked it on a weekly basis for the next month or so.

[Biggles1212]

I moved the grow beds again and this time changed the auto siphon to a cistern valve which is still running. It was really heavy going trying to move the grow beds with all those plants, but they found their new permanent home there. After a month the one plant just took off. You can see it next to my kids. Theres a months difference between the next two photos.





The black rough tote bins at the back have never been a success. More due to lack of interest and neglect than anything else. I have taken some butternuts from it though.

Soon after placing the pilot plant here as I called it, I build myself some real grow beds. Unfortunately I don't have early photos of them but here are some recent ones. I took them today.



While they have worked well I've had some fun with them. They're 600mmx2000mm and 335mm tall operating with bell siphons. They weigh in at around 1000kgs just before a flush. Where I stay we get 500mm rain a year. It comes in two or three days usually.

Being a clever chap I rested the grow beds on bricks as I thought them temporary installations. One night the inevitable happened and it rained very hard. The ground soaked in all the water and the new grow beds sunk nearly 500mm into the ground. I jacked the beds out with a car jack and placed lintels below them. We've had two thunderstorms again with no problems.

[Biggles1212]

The nasturtium in the orginal bed was removed as it got too large. I had some cherry tomatoes growing in the bed and as soon as the nasturtium stopped hogging all the food, it took off and grew out of control. It was fun at first but you can only eat so much cherry tomato. By now friends and family visited regularly and left with a plastic packet full of tomatoes. Most people just walk in now and start eating straight away. I'm very grateful.

Letuce also grew in those beds. They were well sheltered by the tomato plant which is really good since our winter is like most people's summer.

Here are the three original beds before they were relocated.



I didn't know this was supposed to work. Everyday after work I would just go sit outside with a good cup of coffee and listen to the water.



I harvested the lettuce seeds and have used them to grow new lettuce seedlings. Then it struck me. It was cheaper to buy some veggies and grow new plant from the seeds in them than buy seed packets. Since then I scavenge stores for any strange looking veggies. Just not butternut. My wife loves the stuff, but seriously, I can walk past it and not be tempted.



Just before the Nasturtium was removed. It's a great plant to eat if you have a sore throat. I don't know if it actually works. I think the sting in your mouth is so bad you forget the sore throat. I have it growing all over my garden now as it is also a great pest deterrent.

[Biggles1212]

The new grow beds I use were made in my workshop. There's just no where to get ready made items here in South Africa so I made mine from 50x50 square tube and HDPE sheeting. The plastic is cut on my home made CNC machine. I then weld the bottom and sides together. This was a huge learning curve and a new skill I'm grateful to have learned.



The finished grow bed is fitted in a steel frame which supports it. After that I laid a slotted pipe down the center towards the bell siphon to help with draining. Later I found out it never helped. The slotted pipe was cut on my CNC machine which made it look neat.



A plastic tub also gets holes drilled in it with the CNC for a solids filter.



I use a scouring type pad from the paint store for a filter. It's really easy to clean and quite tough.



The filter is fitted in the tub and placed by the hose where the water pours into the bed.

[Biggles1212]

I wait till these start to overflow before I clean them. The cleaning water is captured and then poured into my tank with Penny Wort growing in it. The tank also is full of Guppies so I have no Mozzy problems. The Penny Wort grows quite fast and can more than double the surface area it covers depending on light conditions and nutrients in the water.



I don't feed it with fish water as that is reserved for my veggies. Since I have too much grow beds and plants for the amount of fish, I started looking at ways to boos the system.

At the time I had worms on the go and here's a photo of my original worm tea farm.



Since its very hot, I water it with 5 liters at least once every day. The tea gets collected and distributed. There are two of these and the water gets used to feed the Penny Wort and my wife's veggies patch. I'm a huge fan of worm tea. It's rescued my failed attempts at growing fruit trees and as soon as a new tree pops it head up, it gets worm tea supplements. The closest thing I'll buy to a fertilizer or chemicals is sea weed extract. My aim is to be 100% organic so it either survives or dies. If it survives make it thrive. If it dies....find a way to make it survive.

The other reason for worms and composting is to grow seedlings. No one in my town supplies them so I grow my own. Here's my hi tech seedling plant growing machine.



It's so complicated NASA can't understand it. Just kidding. The box is plastic and filled with around 20mm of worm tea. In it I place my seed starting boxes. They're made from old 1 liter milk bottles and filled with soil. Below is a close up of some tomato plants I dropped the seeds in on the 28th December and they're out after 4 days. The bottles act like mini wicking beds.



So far I've had Mopani Trees seedlings as well as a host of other unknowns popping up. I don't use lights and other greenhouse tricks, its just not necessary here. In winter it does help though.

Composting happens in nine newly constructed boxes. Free pallets from the hardware store and bound together with wire. In it goes everything I can find. Fortunately my wife has lots of horsey friends so we go collect horse manure as often as possible.

[Biggles1212]

Originally seedling boxes were planted in the grow beds. Some are still there.



They grow very fast and I don't have to worry about them. My wife and I have been working together on this project from the begging and I owe most of my success to her support. Having a beautiful wife is one thing but she is very intelligent and highly supportive as well and every day outside with her and the kids is an adventure.

Boys helping dad cutting grow bed parts.



Filter ready for cleaning.



Yahoo...beans.



and cucumbers.



Why is it we're amazed every time we grow a new crop?

[Biggles1212]

My first tomato tree grew wildly and we took 10 or more tomatoes off every second day. The weather seems to play a part in them getting red. Then one day the core started to go brown and within 24 hrs I had old brown leaves in the middle of the bush. New growth appeared everywhere and it's going strong again but the center looks bare now. Does anyone know why? Its as Cherry tomato bush.



I've left some parts out of the story but hope to fill them in as soon as possible and will. I'll also post some details and how to pics of some easy solutions. I'll answer questions as best possible but I'm no expert.

I'd love to tell you it was all easy but there's been quite a few tears on route.

I've been developing wicking beds as well for a while.I never knew they were wicking beds at first, I was just over sizing my seedling boxes. The seedling boxes were an idea that came from a big seedling box my wife made and abandoned. It was full of seedlings in potting mix. I was too lazy to take them out and opened up the stones in a grow bed and placed it in so the potting mix could absorb water. One thing led to another. Then I saw a video on Youtube with a wicking bed and thought "Oh shoot.." it's already been done. Then I remembered a book I'd seen where an old lady had a whole bunch of them. The idea has been around forever. Later I say Sepp Holzers farm. He's been mixing it all together for 40 years.

All these ways to grow food are awesome. I know some may like to keep them all separate but I've seen there's strength in blurring the lines and working them together. When I'm alone with a fly rod in hand and stalking Tilapia or Trout, I look at nature and marvel how awesome our creator must be. We take it all for granted because He made it look so simple, but when you look closer, nothing is left to chance.

[Biggles1212]

Here's a side view of the cistern valve.



Here is a look inside.



This valve is super easy to make and operate, but algae becomes a problem in the long run and everything has to be blacked out or algae grows and causes trouble with the activation valve when it cloggs the drain hole.

Here the bottle pulls the lever which opens the valve the bottle drops down with the weight and continues to drain till it is light enough to be pulled up again. You need a counter weight to bring it up.

[Biggles1212]

I've made tanks and grow beds for friends. It's helping to pay back my school fees.



Here's a tank from the top.



It holds about 2500L and is very economical to build. I originally used 5000L prefabricated water tanks. I could have build two for the price of one.

[Biggles1212]

If you can use Tilapia, you can have a lot of fun with them. I spend a lot of time with my fish and they regularly nibble on my fingers and feet.



I had to dive into the tank to retrieve some parts my sons had dropped in for me. The fish were OK and after they'd warmed up to the idea of me being in the tank they got very curious.

Many are longer than a foot long so I don't take dips anymore and watch who's going to nibble on my feet. Mozambique Tilapia are ferocious eaters and the bigger ones try to take fingers and toes off. Thank heavens they don't have teeth.