Aquaponics pilot project

Ever since I was about 12, I have kept an aquarium.  And from about the same age, I have helped my father work in the garden, until I was about 16 and started a garden of my own.  When they first came out several years ago, I got an Aerogrow hydroponic system and began to understand how effective it can be to grow plants indoors, as well as how modular and encapsulated it was.  That brought me back to my thought of designing a system that incorporated indoor gardening and aquarium keeping into one system that benefited both.  My research revealed that others had already done most of the work and perfected the concept and called it Aquaponics.

However, there were so many different ideas about the best way to accomplish this, and differing ideas about what the end result should be, and many of the voices were stridently opinionated so that the discussion created a lot of confusion where there ought to be clarity.  This is my initial attempt to bring clarity in my own mind.

The aquaponic system I am designing is based on my 75 gallon aquarium.  It consists of:

1. The aquarium and its own filter and light, with fish and plants.  The aquarium filter will process most of the waste solids before they can be pumped up to the grow bed.

• Clean existing gravel
• Continue cycling the  tank
• Start filtration
Replant two more plants

2. Above it rests a narrow grow bed full of growing media.  In my case I'm using hydroton.

• Plug un-needed drain holes
• Wash hydroton and begin soaking

Secure the grow bed on the top of the aquarium 

Position the grow bed in front and the aquarium light behind it.

May need to order another aquarium light. 

3. Nestled within the growing media are net cups with the individual plants rooted in coconut coir/hydroton mix.

• Acquire some herb/lettuce plants
• Secure their roots inside a coconut media, loose-weave grow bag
• Plant within a net cup filled with hydroton

4. A submersible pump moves the water from the fish tank up through a bulkhead fitting and floods the growing media as well as the plants' roots.

• Connect the pump and tubing to the grow bed
• Connect the return tubing to the overflow stand pipe
• Position a filter around the inflow to contain any solid waste
• Test the pump and mark the high water level

5. The pump is on a timer that runs for 15 minutes every hour.  The flow rate is adjustable but it is intended to fill the grow bed to an upper level set by the outfall stand pipe.  Additional water will return to the tank below through the outfall stand pipe.  When the timer cuts the power to the pump, water will flow back to the tank through the pump, draining the water out of the grow bed and allowing oxygen to the roots.

• Test the pump on the timer and adjust the flow rate as necessary
• Set up the timer program

6. A second led plant light is placed above the grow bed to give light to the growing plants.  The intention is to harvest the plants to keep them below the lights, although the height of the lights are adjustable.

• Determine a way to support the plant light
• Set up timer for plant light.
• Determine if plant light and aquarium light should be on the same timer.

 7.  Cautiously stock the aeroponic system

• Begin adding more plants and more fish and see if the system remains stable.