How to Set Up a Balcony Aquaponics System
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2023
- G'Day Folks. Today we're setting up a small balcony aquaponics system I picked up cheaply second hand. I run through some changes I've made & included a load of tips that may help you with your own DIY aquaponics system build. A system this size could easily be made using similar sized totes cheaply purchased from hardware, farm supply or pond stores.
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Cheers all. 🐟 🌱🍅
Rob
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Rob
Here's a shout out to how great the guide is! Currently building a dual split system with a radial flow settler and bio reactor built from the guide
Human is always on the menu in our house.
That’s the Labrador in my boy… always hungry.
Great vid. Cheers Rob
Hahaha Hoocho.
We got a staff cross... try having a dog who thinks you are it's servant... and talk back to you ..😅😅😅
🤣 It's a bit of a shock when you're just waking up & you realise ½ your hands in his mouth.
Hoppe all's well with you Mitch.
Beautiful place! Thanks for sharing, Rob!
Great work Rob!!!
Cheers mate. 😁👍
Always like the new content and new ideas.
Thx Rob!
Thanks Jim. Hope all's with you mate.
Thanks for showing everyone an easy way to get started 😊🤩
No problem & happy growing. 👍
This is a great little system! Thanks for all your videos and Aquaponics Guide. 🤠👍
Glad you like it & hope the guide is helping you with your system.
Good morning mr. Rob and mrs. Bianca I really love this little system. As always Rob great video on the description and the set above the system. We just posted a video yesterday me and Liam we have our two 35 gallon geow beds set up . We are using 7 gallon buckets we have a little radio flow system kicking.
Thanks for the heads up mate. I'll suss it out after I finish with these comments.
Hope you're having a fantastic week.
Very nice and compact system 👍.
Cheers Samuel.
Great video guys! Jack sure is a happy dog.
You got that right Matthew. Never stops this one.
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it 😁👍
Good Day Rob.
Hey Michael. 👍
I love this little system, I am a DIY type of guy, would love to come up with my own system. Love how detailed your videos are. Have a good day.
Thanks mate. 👍 More will be coming soon hopefully. 🤞
Love these start up vids!
Cheers Greg. I hope to film a video on turning an old system with no fish into an "organic" hydro system this week.
Cheers & have a top one.
Oh this system is nice and compact. I would love one like this to try on my deck
Unfortunately that particular system in manufactured and sold in Australia only. It's not in the US, that I've been able to find. However, several years ago, Rob put together a nifty small aquaponics system using a 55 gal. drum. I built one of these and it worked great! However, I live in AZ and the water just got too warm for even goldfish, so I didn't have fish. But, I used fish food and fish emulsion to feed the plants(more hydroponics than aquaponics), and it worked great! I've attached a link to the episode. If you're wanting to give this a try, I suggest this method!
th-cam.com/video/Z2tgrUvSnbM/w-d-xo.html
Tractor/Ag stores sell smaller totes that may suit if you have a one local to your farm Jennifer. Might need to sort out a stable stand for the grow bed though.
Hope you all are doing well.
Great video thanks mate
Glad you enjoyed it Malcolm.
Cheers mate.
Its good work you do here on this channel
Thanks & I'm glad you enjoy the videos.
Cheers & happy growing.
Awesome little system there Mr Rob...
Absolutely love it.. great assistance you have too... very complaint 😅😅.. hi Bianca 👋..
Hopefully alot of people will get some inspiration from this clip..
Also very happy seeing you look alot better my friend..
Hope we can chat soon..
Til then stay safe and cheers Champions.. ❤
Thanks Bryan & B just shouted "HELLLO BRYAN" from her office.👍😆
Hope you folks are all doing well mate.
Cheers.
I think this would be a great solution to my koi fish filtration
I know a few pond folks that use bog filters or aquaponic grow beds to help with filtering out nutrients Gaji Son. 👍
Great video man. My system is up and running hard. Fish are growing well, just have to get them through the Bris winter. Learning a lot about the bio reactor, I don’t have one in the system yet.
Nice one David. They're not really needed as long as you have enough surface area on the media in the beds mate.
You running Jades?
Great job mate. I am saving my last question for a much more important question lol
😆 You can always ask under the supporters Videos as well mate. 😉👍
Awesome vid... Where would I find a setup like that?? I can't even think of another search term to try and find it.. Cheers!
g day Rob
Hi Adolfo. 👋
i have a goal to have one of these under my deck stairs by summer i like the system
They can easily be made using small trough from farm supply stores if you have any locally MT.
@@RobsAquaponics yeah I had a look around Gumtree lots of people selling used food grade stuff here in the Redlands just need to make time lol
That’s a neat little system 🍺🍺
Oh hey mate!
Hey mate hope you’ve been well🍺
Cheers mate. I think it's a bit to small for that pump as it's vibrating a fair bit. Might have to look at a newer, less abused one or plumb it up different I think.
,a cool video keep up the great content.. Thank you……
Thanks, will do 👍
@@RobsAquaponics Thank you very mutch... have a nice day.... see you….
The man said a huge shoutout to those who say G'day down in the comments section...... so.... I guess there's just one thing to say..... G'day down in the comments section :P
🤣
Hi there Paull👋
Hey Rob!! Beautiful new system! Unfortunately, it's not available in the US. At least not that I can find. No worries, though. Your 55gal barrel chop and flip will work for us here. I do have a question though...did you ever get that bit of PVC out of the fish tank that you nipped off the stand pipe?
😄 Yep. Have dropped in a bit more than PVC since putting in the soil bed.
Cheers mate & have a top one.
This was so cool. I've never seen anything like this.
Am glad you enjoyed it mate.
Cheers.
رائع
👍👍 from Tennessee. give Jack a noggie rub for me.
😆
th-cam.com/channels/hz2QEbZECEzUih1DiqZTNA.htmlcommunity?lb=Ugkx3PytsrRcQcg05mr9OIzOyUkUF-CUT7Ha
It is done Terel.
Great video! And thanks for sharing the chlorine tip. Can I do the same to an existing tank with fish when I top up?
Lovely to share a bit of time with your family (including Jack) every week. 😊
I would not recommend to apply this type of water treatment in order to top of an existing system, because it will also change the PH from the fish water tank, which will most likely cause the bacteria to shut down or die, and it could even cause the plants and the fish to die. I would recommend to treat the water before you top of the tank. And after the water has been treated and the acid is neutralized you can measure the PH, and if all is well you can ad the water to the fish tank from an existing system. Just make sure that the PH is right from any water that you ad to the system.
In your case it would be much safer to have a barrel nearby your system which you can use to neutralize the chlorine with an air bubbler before you ad the water to your existing system. This way you can treat the water well before you ad it to your system, and it will always be ready to be used when needed. The air bubbler will also prevent mosquitos. 35 liter of air per minute will do the trick. If the barrel is about a meter deep, or 30 inch or so, a small aquarium bubbler won't work.
For that purpose I have a Hailea Aco pump. (sold under many different names) They are a bit noisy, but they are practically indestructible, and they have the capacity to pump enough air at such depths of water. And they do not use that much energy compared to other types of pumps. I changed to a piston driven air pump because the membrane driven pumps always needed a replacement of the membrane after a couple of years. Which is annoying because you have to order it, if you can find it to begin with, and then you have to take apart the pump, and so on.
For aeration of the pond I recommend a venturi style aeration. But that is a whole different story.
Just deleted my comment after re reading yours Morne. I only add it to the top up water. As mentioned, it will shift the pH a bit (I lose 0.5pH in 50gal) which could cause issues. It's better off to treat the water before adding it to the system like I do in a 50gal drum. 👍
I wish those systems came up second hand in Melbourne
I've seen a few come up on Marketplace on FacePalm mate. Not sure how many were down your way through.
Hi Rob, am the 1St person to view this vdo. Happy for that. I want to tell you a suggestion. Why don't you set the bell syphon to out Side of the grow bed? Is there any problem for that?
The bed already has holes in the base so it's easier just to use them. External siphons work just as well but can cost a bit more to build due to the extra bits. They still require a shroud of some sort inside the bed so you can maintain the exit pipe & remove any roots that may clog it up.
You pronounced oregano perfectly the first time.
😁👍
Would distilled water be better for the system?
No because it's good to have some minerals in the system for both the plants & fish. A bit of alkalinity helps to keep the pH in the desired range as well.
It is a very small system how do the ph temp etc levels go I imagine it would fluctuate a lot 🥰 Blessings Gerowyn
I'm not too sure just yet Gerowyn. I would sat it would be very similar to the fluctuations in most larger aquariums.
I was going to start on the other beds today but me mum needed a hand then got side-tracked with comments & whatnot.
Hope you folks are doing well.
@@RobsAquaponics so easy to get distracted it will be interesting to see how this system goes 🥰 Blessings Gerowyn
are you making Anchovies out of the rainbow fish Rob 🤣
🤣 Nope but I have seen folks say they cook up alright........... 🤔
👍
👍😁
Good day🎉
Howdy Robert. 👍👍
👌👍👍
Good day 😊
Hi Janice. 👍
This would be perfect for me to use until I’ve got my own land.
They're a very tidy unit Zachery. I think I might be modifying it a bit further yet.
Hello Bianca! 🥺❤
B said "HIIII" from her office. 😆
Cheers Alastore
@@RobsAquaponics Awww, you both are adorable
Does anyone know if this type of aquaponic system is available? I checked online and I can't find it anywhere 😕
It was made here in Australia but I haven't seen any come up for sale for a while now. The beds can stretch the sides a bit & fall through if they get heavy so that may have something to do with them not coming up on searches.
I have my own concept i was hoping you could see my concept design
I offer consultations & will also look over supporters designs at out hangouts if that appeals to you.
Quick question: Is it ok to run an aquaponic system without farming the fish? does it just take replacing them when they die naturally?
Of course, ornamental like koi are great
@@natem3152 thank you :)
Most aquaponics are meant to be financially sustainable on the plants not the fish. The fish are just extra dividends :)
I grow for the fish mainly as they don't tend to do well in soil. 😉
They get replaced once harvested. Some species will happily breed in the system so once you have a few, all you need it to source their feed.
@@RobsAquaponics haha, thanks for the response!
I do not think that this system would be recommendable to put outside for people who live in the northern hemisphere, but if people have enough indoor space you could make it look all pretty and such to match the interior of the house, ad some LED grow lights, and it would make a very nice feature inside the house with fresh herbs or flowers all year around.
Why?
Wisconsin you get 6 months out of the year, if that.
But, that is 6 months in power cost savings and etc. Heating tilapia ponds isn't cheap.
@@Darryl.M I live in the Netherlands, and if I would leave a small system like that outside all year long it will eventually turn into a solid block of ice at some point in time during the winter. Or it would warm up far too hot during the summer at random hot days for the type of fish that we can keep in our climate. With the risk of killing the fish or even cracking the tank during the winter. And when people do not have a larger pond for the fish so that the fish can overwinter in a larger pond it is not very practical in use.
And the eatable fish that are suitable for our climate need a lot more space and a lot of oxygen, and relative cold water temperatures. And those fish are very sensitive for change of water quality. Such a small body of water in such a small system will either warm up too much during the warmer days, or freeze during the winter.
Next week the forecasts predict an official heatwave with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. Such a small system would heat up far too much and far too quickly for the type of fish that we can usually keep in the pond with the type of climate that we have in the Netherlands. We can't keep tilapia outside in a pond or fish tank, because it can also cool down too much for tilapia.
But when the system would be located indoors it is much easier to keep big sudden temperature changes under control. Either warm or cold temperatures. Which is very important for the functionality from the entire system. Besides the fish the bacteria inside the system do not like those big sudden fluctuating temperatures changes either. It could shut down the entire system. And all kind of important water values, such as PH and so on, can also change rapidly under certain conditions in combination with rapid big temperature changes. Big temperature change can also cause certain important nutrients to suddenly react negatively with other elements in a chemical way, and drop out of solution, resulting in nutrient deficiencies for the plants.
In general a larger system with a large body of water is easier to keep and maintain compared to a system with a very small total body of water. Because with a larger body of water the external changing conditions have less sudden impact on the water values and overall water quality for multiple reasons.
It would be OK in some spots in Southern Europe & States in the US I think.
Hope all's well with you mate.
@@RobsAquaponics Thank you, all is well here. This morning we have a storm and 100km/h wind speed is to be expected. And for the weekend the forecast is a heatwave. So in terms of weather there is enough excitement at the moment. I did have a nutrient deficiency in my system. Added some iron chelate, some epsom salt, and some clay minerals, and that seems to help.
🎎🎎🎎🎎
😁😁😁😁🕺
50K views? Making a comeback are we? Hopefully :D
🤣 Nope. Just can't figure the YT algorithm out. Views have dropped off more since posting this video.
@@RobsAquaponics YT is a karnt when it comes to content creators, the very people that make Yt what it is.
Once you have it figured it out BAM! Content restricted.
Hopefully the new boss will be better than the old bitch in charge.
It looks good, but I never understand why all my clay pebbles float and cause all my plants to flip without a styrofoam raft
You clay weighs less than water. Maybe do a test and see if they do and how long it takes for the clay to absorb water
Or maybe your over filling the bed with water?
Reduce the flood height of your bed.
Clay has to soaked in water for a little while that's what I do with all my clay let it soak for a week or two to absorb the water Rinse it and then I stick it in the beds
As mentioned above, it can take a while for the clay to absorb water & stop floating. Reducing the flood height, as Mitch suggested, will help them stop floating as the dry ones on top will weigh them down. Then you increase the height again after a week or two once the clay is loaded with H2O. 👍
I gave up my aquarium because of 'no-see-um' mosquitoes, terribly fast, terribly annoying, and bite in group. and it love to breed in open-air filter. its larva is worm form, unlike mosquito, so most likely u won't see them. my filter is much smaller than yours and has little holes, interestingly this type of mosquito could breed in them.
I haven't heard of them before. thanks for that
@@RobsAquaponics google
..
What a mess and waste of energy....
HUH? Please explain.