Hi. New Member Here.
I've been browsing the forums here for a while and am going to leap right in. I plan on making a smallish system in my small backyard. Being in Texas I get the best of droughted summers and just enough days freezing to make things a little difficult. But I'm going to try to grow all year. (We'll see how that sounds 10 months from now.) I'm an electrical engineer and every project I start just seems like an excuse to start more projects.
So I almost have jumped past the panning stage into the "hold my beer" stage. Hopefully with a little help from you guys here my system will have a semblance of planning and organization
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I've bought 6 IBCs [275 gal.] which I plan on making into GBs and sumps and 2 IBCs [330 gal.] which will be the fish tornadoes. I also have 3 - 55 gal. plastic drums coming to be made into some sort of filtration.
I plan on cutting the 6 IBCs to make 4 (1/3 height) + 4 (1/2 height) GBs and 4 (2/3 height) sumps. The GBs will be supported by cinder-blocks and 2x6s. Media will be mostly river rock or pea gravel with a little Hydroton for experimentation in one of the smaller GBs. This will probably be in a CHOP arrangement which i want to eventually make ebb and flow with varying timing schemes based on weather. The whole system should eventually be insulated and covered with hoops. I was planning tilipia tornado and a catfish/bluegill tornado. If things go well this year I will probably add another FT and some more GBs.
So questions...
Do the ratios [FT : GB : Sump] look good?
RFF, Biofilter, other filters... How best to use my blue barrels and where to put them?
Pump : 2000GPH+ @ 5ft head or larger? or multiple pumps? How much air pump is needed?
Backup water pump size suggestion? air pump?
Whats the best way to fishless cycle?
Anything else look misguided at this stage?
Backyard Aquaponics
