Off grid mini Aquaponics setup using an old chair

Mark

Founder
Staff member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
5,192
Location
Bellmere, QLD
Website
www.selfsufficientme.com
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Check out this cool mini aquaponic setup using an old pvc chair as the frame - genius!

He has made it off-grid and I reckon this is one of the best DIY portable aquaponic systems I've seen. Yet to see any fish or green growth but I'd say it would work fine. What do you guys think?

 

Mark

Founder
Staff member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
5,192
Location
Bellmere, QLD
Website
www.selfsufficientme.com
Climate
Sub-Tropical
You'd know more about it than me Stevo but yeah you're probably right.

I imagine those pretty large pond/tank setups with a fairly good population of fish which is pumped into a narrow or concentrated growing area like guttering would work best.
 

stevo

nativebeehives.com
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
1,804
Location
Clontarf, Qld
Website
nativebeehives.com
Climate
Sub-Tropical
yeah from what I've seen, most people have atleast a 1000L tank, and have 50 to 100 fish growing, usually a largish breed of fish to get the amount of nutrients needed. He could probably fit a few fish in there and once they grow too big he could transfer them to a larger tank, but then that would mean a second system. Watching videos like this does inspire me though, maybe one day i'll get organised enough to give it a go, but it's a lot of work to add to my list :blush:

PS/edit. although, my sister inlaw used to use an old bathtub for the fish tank.
 

Mark

Founder
Staff member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
May 27, 2012
Messages
5,192
Location
Bellmere, QLD
Website
www.selfsufficientme.com
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Well, the thing is a person wouldn't want to go through the trouble of setting up such a system for just one head of lettuce unless it is a scaled down experiment. So you might as well make it big enough from the beginning hey or it would be a total waste of time.

Still I do like how this unit is solar powered and made from recycled materials but yes it seriously needs scaling up.
 

Tynan

Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
22
Location
South Brisbane
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Has anyone found some material on aquaponics that you would consider too good not to share? It's something I wouldn't mind having a look into, seems like a fun project, albeit time consuming.
 

AndrewB

Valued Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
428
Location
Albury, NSW
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
It is fun & doesn't need to be time consuming. The bigger you go, the better for stability. A system I built about 9 years ago is still going strong with minimal maintenance, she just feeds the fish & plants things to grow.

It has a 2500L pond, 2 1000l grow beds & an air pump with battery backup for power outages & a 7500L/hr pump. That's all. There were a dozen or so barramundi last time I saw it & plenty of healthy plants.

For starting out though, just try hydroponics & see how you go without the fish to worry about. Its pretty easy to set up a small system.

Check out Rob's channel for more complex systems.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChz2QEbZECEzUih1DiqZTNA
 

Tynan

Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
22
Location
South Brisbane
Climate
Sub-Tropical
It has a 2500L pond, 2 1000l grow beds & an air pump with battery backup for power outages & a 7500L/hr pump. That's all. There were a dozen or so barramundi last time I saw it & plenty of healthy plants.

Gear seems pretty simple, just need a bit of room by the looks of things. So do you typically eat the fish or preserve them to ensure well fed plants?

Thank you for the link to Rob's channel, giving him a go now.
 

AndrewB

Valued Member
Premium Member
GOLD
Joined
Apr 2, 2018
Messages
428
Location
Albury, NSW
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Up to you, I never ate the fish personally, it was just cool to have them, especially at feeding time, those Barra really smash the food pellets.

You don't have to limit it to fish either, they are plenty of fresh water crayfish that do well in the systems, you could even grow turtles if you want, basically anything that eats food & creates waste :)
 

Tynan

Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
22
Location
South Brisbane
Climate
Sub-Tropical
Turtles would be fun, however I feel that the more waste created the better. I was watching Rob's channel and noticed a few things there I liked, his Roo Pouches seem great. Might get some eventually when I look at giving potatoes a go; his self watering whicking system is quite clever too.
 

Janine

Active Member
Premium Member
Joined
May 17, 2018
Messages
31
Location
Barossa Region
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Well, the thing is a person wouldn't want to go through the trouble of setting up such a system for just one head of lettuce unless it is a scaled down experiment. So you might as well make it big enough from the beginning hey or it would be a total waste of time.

Still I do like how this unit is solar powered and made from recycled materials but yes it seriously needs scaling up.
Is it a school based experimental or a scaled model to show naysayers how easy it really is to set up? Or perhaps a jibe at aquaponics... Hehe
 

Janine

Active Member
Premium Member
Joined
May 17, 2018
Messages
31
Location
Barossa Region
Climate
Temperate (all seasons)
Check out this cool mini aquaponic setup using an old pvc chair as the frame - genius!

He has made it off-grid and I reckon this is one of the best DIY portable aquaponic osystems I've seen. Yet to see any fish or green growth but I'd say it would work fine. What do you guys think?

Need to go to loo now....

But for a first attempt to figure out what he's doing right or wrong is great. .
 
Top Bottom