10-gallon Aquaponics System Manual

10-gallon Aquaponics System Manual

Introduction The beauty of aquaponics is in its simplicity. Construction of a home aquaponic system requires some research to become familiar with basic system components. We will show you how to construct a 10-gallon aquaponics system using a step-by-step guide with photos.

Materials List Tools 10-gallon fish tank Water pump (at least 100 gph) Opaque plastic tubing 90 Polypropylene elbow (barbed fitting) 25" PVC pipe- 25ft in length Opaque 14-Liter tote bin (food grade) Air pump & air stones for 10-gallon tank(optional) Aquarium gravel (optional) Plumbers Silicone- sealant 3" Net pots Hydroton clay pellets Grow light Safety glasses Power drill Wood spade or hole saw drill bits (2 7/8" and other sizes as needed) Scissors

Introduction to Materials Remember that aquaponics is very flexible in size, scale, and design. Feel free to substitute materials and use different sizes and scales, as long as you follow the main concepts of aquaponics. We will provide detailed information to guide you through the process, enabling you to use a variety of resources.

1. Condition Your Water Chlorine is added to the tap water in many municipalities to kill bacteria, so you must dechlorinate the water in your aquaponics system to avoid harming your fish or bacteria. To dechlorinate your water, simply clean and fill two five gallon buckets and let the water sit for 24 hours. The chlorine will evaporate over this time.

2. Choose Your Location. You can place the system wherever you like--just make sure there is an electrical outlet nearby (both your pump and your grow light may need to be plugged in). A window will provide plants additional light, although it is not necessary if you have a sufficient artificial grow light. A note for the tabletop aquaponics users: Make sure to use a sturdy table. When the system is put together and running it will weigh a lot because water weighs a little over 8 pounds a gallon. With a 10-gallon fish tank and a 14-liter grow bed (about 3.5 gallons) your system will weigh over 100 lbs. Make sure to have your table and tank positioned exactly where you want them before adding water.

3. Place Your Fish Tank. After choosing a location for your aquaponics system, place your table and 10-gallon fish tank. If you have some aquarium gravel, put in a ½ inch layer on the bottom of the tank. This will aid in filtration by providing more space for beneficial bacteria to grow and will improve the overall well-being of the system and its inhabitants. Do not put in the water or fish yet. Those will be added later.

4. Assemble Your Grow Bed The grow bed is the tote bin where your plants will live and grow. This requires some assembly before it is put into the system. First, you must assemble the growbed's piping. The drainpipe (PVC pipe) will keep your water level at a certain height in your bin to keep it from overflowing. The drainpipe also brings the water back down into the fish tank.

Drill a hole in the bottom-center of the grow bed that is the same diameter as your PVC drainpipe. We recommend a 25" drainpipe that is 2ft in length. You should be able to push the drainpipe through the hole, but there should not be any extra space for the drainpipe to fall through. Even though the drainpipe is placed tightly, you will need to use plumber's silicone as a sealant to prevent water from the grow bed from leaking out from around the drainpipe. After the bin is assembled, place it on the aquaponics stand. The bottom of the drain pipe should be between 1-2 inches above the gravel in your fish tank.

4.1. Assemble Your Grow Bed Now that you have the drainpipe installed, you will need to drill holes on the top of the grow bed for the net pots. You will need a power drill and a hole saw drill bit to create the hole. The hole should be just wide enough for the net poles to "sit" in, but not too wide so that they fall through. Make an outline using a pencil where you will place the net pots to space them out accurately before drilling.

5. Assemble Your Plumbing Now that you have your fish tank and grow bed assembled and in place it is now time for you to connect them. You will need to assemble the plumbing components so that water can be pumped from the fish tank into the grow bed. Your first step will be to drill a small hole into the top of the grow bed opposite to the end where the drainpipe is installed. Use plastic plumbing elbows to reach around the side of the grow bed.

5.1. Assemble Your Plumbing Assemble and connect the tubing to the water pump. The water pump will be placed to the side of the fish tank. There should be rubber suction cups attached to the water pump that you will use to attach the water pump to the side of the fish tank. This is fairly standard for an average fish tank. Now attach the water pump about halfway up the side of the fish tank. Use the images provided if you need to gauge the placement. The water pump should be placed in a manner that allows the tubing to reach the water pump spout with ease.

6. Add Your Dechlorinated Water. It is now time to fill your system with water. Please take note that once you add water to your system it will become very heavy. This will make it difficult to move the system, so make sure that your system is in its final desired location before filling it with water.

7. Your Light Source. Direct sunlight is ideal for growing healthy plants. Place your aquaponic system close to a south-facing window so it will be able to utilize ambient, natural light. If you cannot place the system near a window or natural light inadequate, you will need to provide artificial lighting. We recommend using compact fluorescent (CFL) lamps with daylight bulbs. Daylight bulbs provide light in the blue spectrum, the kind of light that the sun emits during a summer day when most healthy green foliage grows. Additionally, CFLs do not disperse as much heat as other types of lights. You can lower your CFL lamp to rest just above your plants without harming them. CFLs are also more efficient than other types of lamps; they are less expensive because they do not require as much electrical energy. Put your light on a timer. Set your time so that your light is on for at least 16 hours per day. Any less than that, and your plants may grow slowly.

8. Introduce and Feed Your Fish. Once you have dechlorinated room temperature water in your system, it is time to introduce your fish. We recommend using goldfish for your small aquaponic system because they are inexpensive, simple to maintain, and easily accessible at your local pet store. About 7-10 medium-sized (2-3 inches) goldfish can live healthy in a 10-gallon tank. Feed the fish a small pinch of fish food. You do not want to overfeed as uneaten fish food will decay and create imbalances in your water chemistry. This will harm fish, bacteria, and plants. Monitor your fish for a few minutes after you have fed them. Note how long is usually takes them to stop eating. Note how much left over feed is suspended in the tank, if any. This will help you gauge how much to feed them on a regular basis.

9. Plant Your Seeds Fill your net pots with hydroton clay pellets, gravel, or another growing medium. Dig into the growing medium to find the water level. You may need to let the water flow through them for a couple of minutes before planting seeds. Once you have found the water level, place two or three seeds on top of a few hydroton clay pellets that are moist, but do not put the seeds too close to the water so that they become submerged. The seed will not germinate if submerged, but they do need to be moist.

Congratulations! You have built your first aquaponics system. Don't forget to take pictures and document your progress. Check out the rest of the AQUAPONS site to trouble-shoot and discover more tips as you move forward.