How to build an aquaponic pond system at home

sustainability is an often used word that I reckons quite misunderstood as a concept just like the word organic has been hijacked by marketers and the whole meaning and purpose of it's been quite muddied now you can take simple sustainable steps at home like mulching or composting or you can aim towards a complete closed-loop sustainable system to me a sustainable system is all about one that doesn't burden the environment either through the consumption of resources or the generation of waste in a smaller scale think about a veggie patch that's being fed by the compost that you're creating at home and then you're being fed by the veggie patch it becomes a perpetuating system now what if you could take that one step further you could create a really balanced closed-loop where you could get your veggies you could recycle resources and you could even go fishing in your yard well that's what aquaponics is all about aquaponics adds a pond to your sustainable system now that pond can be filled with ornamental or edible fish nutrient-rich water from the pond is pumped into a grow bed it's like a big hydroponic bed filled with gravel then thanks to a special valve that's installed in it that water overflows back into the pond through a cascade so you're creating a closed circuit of water that flows all the way through providing nutrients for your veggies and clean water for your fish and then if you're using edible fish like barramundi or silver perch you can actually harvest them out the other end so you can be collecting your salad and your fish how cool is that now I'm going to go with Charlie from Eagle Isha's and have a look at how one of these simple systems is built and you could do this at home so Charlie tell me what have you got planned for here well what we've got here is an existing ornamental koi ponds we just need to be there tidying up and dressing up and what we're going to do is incorporate an aquaponic grow bed we've been testing vegetables and small pass code up this then just to help aerate the water a bit more over here we'll put in a little bench seat so they can enjoy their pond and I believe you're on a tight budget with this one yeah we are unfortunately but what we're doing is we're using rocks some existing plants from the site and - supposed to build a bow bed fantastic of course that makes it even all the more sustainable because that's where the aquaponic systems are all about well I'll let you get to it Charlotte there all right the bulk of the grow bed is made from recycled hardwood to give it a neat yet rustic finish the exposed surfaces are first hit with a couple of grades of grinding or sanding wheel and then finished with a belt sander the box of the grow bed is made from three frames stacked and fixed together to create the frames a standard post to cut to size and back joint using heavy-duty bugle headed batten screws ensures that joints are secure next Charlie clears the area for the grow beds plants like this bird's nest fern will be saved for reuse the area here is measured out and post holders dug in each corner before concreting the posts in place it's a good idea to use one of your frames as a guide to check the location of each post hole once the concrete is set the frames can be fixed to the post to create the main box just make sure it's nice and level inside the box frame a sub frame is constructed to support the liner and gravel next a base plate is cut to size for inside the frame Charlie likes us lawn flies he's found it's more resistant to moisture penetration the base is dropped in place to check the size and then remove for any trimming before all the edges are painted to seal them the base plate is dropped back into place and it's time to start preparing for the plumbing so now we're going to put the tank flange in for the bell siphon kit so as you can see we've got these holes what we do is we just get paling if we've sanded up doesn't have to be a cure what we're making now is just the bell siphon shroud just going to make a little bit higher than the top of the grow bed to protect the rubber membrane the frame is lined in this case with thick geotextile fabric the rubber membrane liner is then positioned it's critical that it's pushed down into all of the corners and is not under any tension before it's trimmed and fixed down a spot where the hole was drilled through the base is located methylated spirits used to clean the area of liner before a hole is carefully cut through sealer does then apply to the area the flange will sit before the fitting is pushed through the base and notice the Charlie has taken the corners off the knot edge of the fitting that's to allow the bell siphon unit to slip over you'll recall the bell siphon shroud Charlie measured up before here it is completed it's been cut the length and then had a range of holes drilled in it and cross cuts made at various points this is all to allow water to drain in but not let any gravel through it's positioned over the fitted tank flange and then large river pebbles are carefully stacked against it to hold it in place a line of these larger pebbles is run up the base of the bed to create a clear drainage void before the bed is filled to the top lip with washed 10 millimeter River pebbles a capping frame is made for the top of the bed the same recycled timber is used but it's laid down flat the corners are mated at 45 degrees a tip from Charlie is to assemble this on a flat surface with the face side pointing down that way the joints will all be nice and flush we've now connected the so nutrient-rich pond water is being pumped and filling up this grow bed what we'll do now is we'll drop this bell siphon into the probit the grow bed is only one output and the bell siphon regulates the flow of the water through it clean water leaves the BET and is returned to the pond the bell siphon also offers unique plant root zone Wow Charlie what a transformation this is just absolutely gorgeous yeah well it's turned out a lot better than even I expected and the customers really happy with the result now I see you've put in reasonably advanced herbs into the grow bed yes Adam I've used advanced plants all I do is gently wash the soil from the roots and plant it into the gravel much like you would in a soil guard I had a little bit of seaweed extract to help the plants settle in and to speed up the establishment of the beneficial bacteria and the grow bed now this pizza needs size charlie it could fit just about anywhere you can tailor the size of your grow bed to see folks however there are some ratios that you do need to respect you can even use an old bathtub as a Grove in oh really yes and if you don't have a pond there's plenty of kid a platonic systems available online well now that it's all finished it's a bit easier to understand how it all works yeah it's really quite simple the pond just pump the water up into the grow bed as the system matures its colonized by a beneficial bacteria they convert waste from the fish into useable nutrients for the plants as this pond was already established and had a good population of fish if you're creating a pond type system from scratch just start with a few small goldfish and it's worth noting that this type of natural or open pond aquaponic system operates slightly differently to the more controlled traditional multi tank systems now Charlie you mentioned to me something about the fact that these Gardens don't use the low water that sounds like a contradiction yeah well actually aquaponics only uses 10% of the water of a traditional garden and what's more you often get four times the growth rate that's pretty cool yeah now I'm starting to get the feeling that the bell siphon is the magic part of this system where do I get one from Charlie well you can make them but it's a little complicated so it's easier just to buy one for Murray in Queensland okay he's easy to find on the web oh yeah he's very well Charlie from eager Lucius thank you for letting me trek along with this project it just shows how smart and sensible a sustainable system can be and how beautiful they can be thank you Adam a lot of works cording to this and appreciate some of the design ideas you've thrown into the mix and PO worries now Charlie tells me that Australia's leading the world in fact our aquaponics if expert phonics is something you want to try there's a wealth of info on the web look out for local names like Murray Hallam's practical a key phonics in Queensland or John Malcolm's backyard aquaponics in waa

Channel: Handyman Magazine

Views: 122,625

Rating: 4.877512 out of 5

Keywords: Do It Yourself (Hobby), Gardening (Interest), Home Improvement (Interest), Aquaponics

Id: 9aUurh5lQuU

Length: 7min 44sec (464 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 10 2015