Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi all. I'm looking at starting an aquaponic system in my garden. Will have between 300 and 600 fish. Want about 16 to 20 meters of grow beds. Has anyone else been down this road and can offer some advice.

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my new job delivery flowers Kazakhstan

Hi Hinera,

The amount of bio-filtration (ie: wet gravel) in the system, determines how many fish the system can safely stock.

For fast growing fish that will get from fingerling to plate size of 500gm within 6-12 months, you need a minimum of 25L of wet gravel per fish. For slower growing fish that will take 12-24 months, or more, you can get away with 20L of wet gravel per fish.

Once you have determined how many fish your grow beds can safely sustain, you can then work out the required FT water volume/size. As a rule-of-thumb, a volume of 30L of water per fish is desirable, but you can go lower with good aeration, good filtration of the water entering the FT, and higher water volume turnover through the FT.

Another good rule-of-thumb is achieving a 30cm gravel depth in your GB's, if possible, with a max flood level of 25cm.

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Mr Damage - a.k.a: Yabbies
Owner at Perth Aquaponics - Aquaponic Consultant & Trainer
Trade certified Horticulturist & Cert IV TAE