HOW TO DIY AQUAPONICS SYSTEM

Home » Home and Family » Gardening Join Sign in EzineArticles - Expert Authors Sharing Their Best Original Articles Search James Youngblood Platinum Quality Author Platinum Author | 11 Articles Joined: January 10, 2007 United States Aquaponics Systems: DIY By James Youngblood | Submitted On January 29, 2016 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Expert Author James Youngblood Buying a pre-made aquaponics system can cost you thousands of dollars, but there is a more cost effective method. This is actually an ecosystem that is quite simple to replicate. The following will guide you through how to build one of your very own rather cheaply and it will work just as effectively as one that was pre-made. Materials In order to build an aquaponics system, you will need to build a duo of grow beds, a fish tank, two fish-food growing tanks and a stand for the elevation of the fish food tanks. Grow Beds · 5 - 8' 2X4's · 1 - 4'X8' sheet of half-inch plywood · 4 - 8'4"X4" posts · 8 - 3/8" carriage bolts with washers and nuts · 555' square of pond liner · 2" deck screws · Small grade pea gravel · 2' permeable bags (vermiculite and coconut fiber bags) Fish Tank & Fish-Food Tanks · 2 - 55 gallon drums (plastic) · 1 - little giant 200gph submersible pump · 2' square of metal mesh filter · 8' of flex hose · Small grade pea gravel · 1 - 1'' 8' PVC pipe · 6 - PVC fittings · 2 - 90 deg. PVC fittings · 1 T PVC fitting The Stand · Scrap steel · Welder · Grinder · Spray paint Building the Grow Bed You will need to begin building two 8'X2'X8" grow boxes with 2"X4" as well as plywood for its base. The entire inside will need to be lined with pond liner and filled with pea gravel. The beds will need to be mounted on 4"X4" posts with carriage bolts and positioned so that they are on top of one another. You will also need to ensure that there is easy access to the bottom along with an adequate amount of space between them for the plants to mature and trellis. DO NOT MOUNT BED FLAT. The beds MUST be mounted on angles in order to allow for water to flow downward and back into the fish tank. The bed at the top should be angled higher towards the fish-food tanks. While the bottom bed should be angled towards the fish tank itself. In the bottom of the top bed, be sure to cut a hole on the end that is angled downward for the 1" PVC pipe. This allows for water to flow from the top bed towards the lower bed. Cut an additional hole in the side of the lower bed for the 1" PVC pipe in order to permit water flow into the fish tank. Building the Barrel Stand One drum will need to be on the floor as well as on its side between the supports of the stand. You will need to cut open the top in order for oxidation of the tank to occur. For the barrel itself, a simple wooden stand with legs is adequate enough to keep the barrel from rolling about. The second barrel will need to be cut in half in order to make a duo of smaller ponds on the top of the stand itself. This will create a greater amount of surface area for the growing of duckweed as well as additional plants that will feed the fish within your tank while also cleaning the water. You will also need to cut a hole in the higher of the staggered barrel, approximately half of the way upward. This cut will be for the 1" PVC pipe in order to afford water the ability to flow properly into the second fish-food barrel. The barrels need to be stagger to allow gravity to assist the flow. Place approximately 6" of gravel into the lower of the barrels. Then cut a hole in the lower barrel at approximately half the way up for a 1" PVC pipe. This opening will allow water to flow properly into the top bed. At the end of this pipe, you will need to attach a T fitting as well as another pipe across it. You will need to drill a few holes into the cross pipe as well as block the ends allowing the water to "sprinkle" downward via the holes. For more information visit [http://www.aquaponicstips.org/] which covers aquaponics in detail. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/James_Youngblood/70160 0 Comments | Leave a Comment Did you find this article helpful? Happy Face0 Sad Face0 Viewed 30 times Word count: 681 Article Tools EzinePublisher Report this article Cite this article Stay Informed Subscribe to New Article Alerts: Home and Family: Gardening James Youngblood Email Address Subscribe We will never sell or rent your email address. Gardening Article Feed Gardening Article Feed Find More Articles Search Similar Articles What Is Aquaponics? 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