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Home(http://aquaponics.com/)BuildaMiniAquaponicSystem

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BelowisanarticleRebeccaNelsonwrotetohelpstudentsbuildaminiaquaponicsystem.
Students,havefunandenjoyaquaponics!
Aminiaquaponicsystemisanexcellentmeansofdemonstratingaquaponicprinciplesandthenitrificationcycleinarecirculatingaquatic
environment.Followingareinstructionsforbuildingasmallsystemthatisidealforateacher,studentsorhobbyistswhowanttogeta
startinaquaponics.Ifyouarelookingforacompletekit,besuretocheckoutourClearFlowAquaponicSystems
(http://aquaponics.com//aquaponicsystems)

WhatYoullNeed
Followingisalistofthepartsyoullneedtobuildaminiaquaponicsystem.Thenextsection,ComponentExplaination,describesand
explainseachofthesecomponentsandincludesrecommendationsforalternativeitemsandspecificproducts.
Atankforthefish:320gallon,glassorplasticcontainer($5$20)
Gravel:2.5lbs.ofgravelforevery5gallonsofwaterinthefishtank($2$5)
Waterpump:34wattpumpcapableoflifting1854at30100/gal/hour(smallcirculationorfountainpumpisideal)($19$40)
3ft.ofplastictubingthatfitstheoutletonyourwaterpump($1$2)
Aquariumairpumpsizedforthenumberofgallonsinyourfishtank($8$16)
Airstone(13)($1$2)
3ft.ofairtubingtoconnecttheairpumptotheairstone(mustfittheairpumpoutlet)($1)
GrowBed:mustsitontopoffishtankandbe38deep($5$20)
GrowingMedium:enoughpeagravel,perlite,coconutcoir,expandedclaypebblesorpeatmosstofillthegrowbed($2$5)
pHtestkitand,dependingonthepHofyourwater,pHdownorpHup($5$15)
Fishandplants

ToolsRequired
Drillwith1/4or3/16bitand1/2bit
Scissors

Electricaltape

ComponentExplanation
Atankforthefish
Thefishtankcanbeaglassorplexiglassaquariumoryoucanuseanyothercleancontainerthatholdswater:forexample,aplastic
tub,bucketorbarrel.Werecommendanythingbetween320gallons,although,youcangowithalargertankifyouhavethespace.
Small,cleanplasticamphibiancages,availableinmostpetshops,makeanexcellentminisystem.Theyholdabout3gallonsandare
quiteinexpensive.
Thestandardsizedfishaquariumsof10and20gallonsarealsoreasonablypriced.Thelargerthetank,thelargergrowbedareayou
cansupport.Asageneralrule,youcansupport12squarefeetofgrowingareaforevery10gallonsoffishtankwater.
Gravelfortankbottom
Thegravelservesasahometothenitrifyingbacteriathatconvertammoniatonitriteandthentonitrate,whichcanbeusedbythe
plants.Mostpetstorescarrynaturalorcoloredaquariumgravel.Theindividualpebblesareabout1/8insize.Besuretowashthe
gravelthoroughlybeforeusingitbecauseitisoftendusty.Unwashedgravelwillcloudyourtankwater.
Waterpumpandtubing
Asmallwaterpumpisusedtopumpthewaterfromthefishtanktothegrowbed.Afterthewaterispumpedintothegrowbed,itgravity
feedsbacktothefishtank.Youllneedenoughtubingtogofromtheoutletonthepumptothetopofyourgrowbedandformacircle
withinit.
Airpump,airstoneandtubing
Youneedanairpumptoblowairintothetankwaterforboththefishandtheplants.Tubingconnectstheairpumptoanairstoneatthe
bottomofthetank.Theairstonebreaksthestreamofbubblescomingfromtheairpumpintomicrobubbles,whichgreatlyincreasethe
oxygenationinthewater.
Growbed
Thegrowbed,whichsitsontopofthetank,mustbeslightlylargerthanthelengthandwidthofthefishtank.Thegrowbedisfilledwitha
growingmediumthattheplantsgrowin.AplasticRubbermaidcontainer,agardenplanterorothercontainerthatwillsitontopofthe
tankwillworkfine.Thecontainershouldbebetween38deep.
Youcanuseaplastictubor,foraverynicelookingunit,buildoneoutofplexiglassandsealitwithanontoxic,siliconeglue.Ifyoubuild
thegrowbed,youcanaccommodateanaquariumlightbymakingacavityinthegrowbedthatthelightcanslideinto.Ifyouareusing
someotherkindofcontainer,alightcansitjustbehinditifthereisroom.
Growingmedium
Agrowingmediumisaporous,chemicallyinertmaterialthatholdstheplantrootsandmaintainsmoisture.Examplesinclude:perlite,
expandedclaypebbles,peatmoss,peagravelandcoconutcoir.Youneedenoughtofillyourgrowbed.
Fishandplants
Inanaquaponicsystem,thefishprovidethenutrientstheplantsneedandtheplantspurifythewaterbyconsumingthosenutrients.

OptionalComponents
Aquariumheater(fortropicalfish)
Mostgardenersoraquaristssettingupanaquaponicsystemchooseornamentalfishforthetankandmostornamentalfishoriginatein
tropicalwaters.Atanktemperatureof78degreesFwillneedtobemaintainedfortropicalfish.Twokindsofaquariumheatersare
available:submergedandtanksidemounted.Eitherwillwork,butbesuretheheateryouchooseissizedforthenumberofgallonsof
waterinyourfishtank.Iftheaquaponicsystemisplacedinanareawheretheairtemperatureismaintainedbetween7076degreesF
or,ifyouchoosecoolwaterfishgoldfish,youdonotneedaheater.
Lightforfishtank
Mostaquariumshaveaflorescentlightsoyoucanseethefishandmonitortheirhealth.Youcanaddoneifyoudlike,butitisnota
necessity.
Growlightfortheplants

Ifyouestablishyoursysteminanareawithlowlightlevels,youmayneedtoaddartificiallightforhealthyplantgrowth.Keepinmind
thatbrightlightwillquicklyencouragealgaegrowthinthefishtank.Youshouldtrytopointanartificiallightinawaysothatitdoesnot
directlypenetratethefishtank.Ifyoudohaverapidalgaegrowth,youcanscrapetheinteriorwallsofthefishtankorbuyaplecostomus,
afishthateatsalgae.Ifthegrowbedisinawindowsillwithbrightsunlight,inagreenhouseorplantedwithplantsrequiringlowlight
levels,agrowlightisntnecessary.

AssemblyInstructions
Step1
Thoroughlywashthegravelandplaceinthebottomofthefishtank.

Step2
Drill1/8or3/16holesinthebottomofthegrowbedevery2squareinchessothewatercandrainintothetank.Inoneoftheback
cornersofthegrowbed,drilla1/2holeforthetubingfromthewaterpumptopassthrough.

Step3
Placethewaterpumpinthefishtankthensetthegrowbedontopofthetank.Feedthetubingfromthewaterpumpthroughthe1/2
hole.Leaveenoughtubingtoextendabout3/4theheightofthegrowbedandtolooparoundtheinsideofthegrowbed.Cutoffany
excesstubeandfoldtheendover.Sealthefoldedpiecewithelectricaltape.

Step4
Fillthegrowbedwiththegrowingmediumtojustunderthetopofthetube.

Step5
Puncturesmallholesevery2inchesinthesectionoftubingthatloopsinthegrowbed.

Step6
Covertheloopoftubingwithaninchortwoofgrowingmedium.

Step7
Fillthefishtankwithwater.Pluginthepumptoensurethatthewaterispumpedintothegrowbed,tricklesdownthroughthegrowing
mediumandcontinuouslybackintothetank.Dependingonthesizeofyourtank,growbedandpump,youmayhavetoadjusttheflow.

Step8
Connectyouairpumptotheairstonewiththeairtubing.Placetheairstoneinthetankandplugintheairpump.Asteadystreamof
bubblesshouldrisethroughthewater,providingfreshair.

Step9
CheckthepHofyourwaterusinglitmuspaper,apHtestkitorpHmeter.LimtmuspaperandinexpensivepHtestkitsareavailablein
mosthardwarepoolsupplystores.TheidealpHis7.0foranaquaponicsystem.Ifitishigherthan7.2youshouldloweritwithapH
downproductandifitislowerthan6.8youshouldraiseitwithapHupproduct,bothofwhichareavailablefromaquariumstores.

Step10
Allowtheunittositfor24hourstobesureallchlorinehasdissipatedfromthewater.Ifyouwanttostockyourfishrightaway,youllneed
toaddachlorineremover,whichisavailablefromaquariumshopsandpetstores.

Step11
Addyourfishtothefishtank.Initially,youshouldlightlystockyourtankwithnomorethan1/2offishpergallonofwater.Onceyour
systemhasbeenestablishedforoveramonthyoucanincreasetofishdensityto1pergallonofwater.

Step12
Ideallyyoushouldwaitapproximately4weekstoaddplantstoyoursystem,butifyouareeagertoplantit,addjustafewplantsor
seedsandincreaseplantdensityinamonthorsowhenyoursystemiswellestablished.

FishandPlantSelection
Inselectingyourfish,choosehardyspecieslikegoldfish,guppies,angelfishandothercommonvarietiesavailablefromyourlocal
aquariumorpetstore.Mostdesktopaquaponicgardensdonotincludefoodfishbecausethereisntenoughspacetogrowthemto
maturity.Ifyoudowanttoraisefoodfishoralocalspecies,besuretoprovideadequatewatertemperatureandfeed.

Adesktopaquaponicgardenwillsupportmostvarietiesofhouseplants,lettuce,spinachandherbs.Ideally,youshouldstartyourplants
fromseedinagrowcube(alsocalledjiffycubes)orlooseinthegrowingmediuminyourgrowbed.Verysmallseedscanbesproutedby
placingthembetweentwopapertowelsthatarekeptwarmandmoist.Youcanalsotransplantplantsfromanexistinghydroponic
systemwithgoodresults.
Ifyoumusttransplantfromsoil,thoroughlywashawayallofthedirtsurroundingtherootsandwashtheleavesbeingsuretoremove
anypestinsects.
Youwillhavethemostsuccesswithleafyvegetableslikelettuce,spinachandherbsorhouseplantssuchasanthodium,dracaena,
dieffenbachiaandphilodendron.
Youcanalsoplantaquaticplantsinthefishtank.Theywillprovideamorenaturalhabitatforthefishandaidinpurifyingthewater.

NitrificationCycle
Fishexcreteammoniaintheirwastesandthroughtheirgills.Insufficientquantitiesammoniaistoxictoplantsandfish.Nitrifying
bacteria,whichnaturallyliveinthesoil,waterandair,convertammoniafirsttonitriteandthentonitrate.Inyouraquaponicsystemthe
nitrifyingbacteriawillthriveinthegravelinthefishtanksandinthegrowingmediuminthegrowbed.Nitrateisusedbyplantstogrow
andflourish.Theplantsreadilyuptakethenitrateinthewaterandinconsumingit,keepthelevelssafeforthefish.

SystemMaintenance
Theonlydailyinputinthissystemisfishfood.Withanyaquarium,frequentsmallfeedingsarebetterthanfewerlargefeedings.Unless
youhaveareallylargetank,apinchoffoodisallittakes.Youshouldneverfeedmorethanthefishcancompletelyconsumein5
minutes.Mosttropicalfishwillbefinewithadryflakefishfoodbutoccasionallyvaryingtheirdietwithbrineshrimporbloodwormswill
definitelykeepthemhealthierandhappier.
Thewaterlevelinthetankwillslowlydecreaseassomewaterisabsorbedbytheplantsandsomeevaporates.Everyfewdaysyou
shouldrefillthetanktothetop.Aboutonceamontha1015%ofthetankwatershouldbesiphonedoutandreplacedwithfreshwater.

ExperimentIdeas
Anaquaponicsystemisanexcellenttoolforexperimentationandprovingordisprovingahypothesis.Followingarefourtheoriesand
experimentsthatcanbedonetoproveeach.

Theory1
Althoughanaquaponicssystemwillproducegoodplantgrowth,thehydroponicsystemwithpreciselymeasurednutrientswillproduce
fastergrowing,higherqualityplants.

Experiment1
Setupahydroponicsystemandanaquaponicsystem.Monitoranddocumentwhichonebestsupportsplantgrowth.

Theory2
Ahealthyaquaponicsystemhasamplenutrientsforleafycropgrowth,butfruitingplantswillbelackingsufficientquantitiesofcertain
elements.

Experiment2
Plantaleafycropsuchaslettuceandafruitingcropsuchastomatoesandmonitortoseewhichonedoesbestinaquaponics.

Theory3
ApHof7.0isthebestforanaquaponicsystem.AtalowerpH,nitrificationslowsdownandthewaterqualitywillbereduced,stressing
thefish,andatahigherpHtheplantswillbestressed.

Experiment3
Setupthreeaquaponicsystems.RuneachatadifferentpH,oneat6.0,oneat7.0andoneat8.0.Observeanddocumenttheplant
growthandfishhealthatvaryingpHlevels.

Theory4
Denserfishpopulationswillsupportmoreplantgrowthduetoincreasedfishwasteandnutrientsinthewater.

Experiment4

Setuptwoaquaponicsystems,stockonewith1offish/gallonofwaterandtheotherwith1/2offishpergallonofwater.Observethe
differenceinplantgrowth.

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