My Tomato Aquaponics system

Hi I had a couple of requests to post my system.

This is where I started

 

And it continue

The initial lay out






Then the second line

 

I took some established media and put it in all the tubs to speed up the system.

The system on 05-01-2014



Planted 07-01-2014


Cherry tomato seedlings


29-01-2014

 

As you can see I upgraded the right side by adding two tubs

All taken on 15-02-2014

 

And this is now

22-02-2014 and all of them have fruit on

 

Brilliant system. How is your growth rate?

 

Thanks @ROEKSTE growth rate is good but the system's not fully cycled yet, it takes about 6 - 8 months to properly get going then you can't stop it.
I have seen tomatoe plants grow up to 6 meters when they take off.

 

Wow, great work, really stunning work

 

Thanks Marius

 

That's very impressive Willem. You should also try lettuce, it does very well in hydroponics systems. What fish are you going to add to the container?

 

Hi @Firefly already got lettuce in another system and grows faster than I can use. already got Tilapia in the system

 

Great job @Willem. Lettuce really does grow fast, given the right conditions. Tilapia are also a good choice, when they get big enough you could eat them...

 

@Willem: WOW!!! Thanks for sharing. This is really a very nice setup you built and from what I can see works very easily with great results. Keep us posted please!

 

@Firefly yes they do and on the fish yes that is just what I am planning and in the Jacuzzi I all ready got a bunch of fry for the next load when these ones come out

Thanks @GavinD look you need to take care of it the same way you take care of your fish tank also need to check the water parameters and do your water changes as with your aquarium.

 

@Willem: For interest sake what parameters do you normally check with your aquaponics systems, or are they the same as with an aquarium? And what parameters do you find are the most crusual to keep track of? Do you only do taliphia, or do you also do stuff like koi or gold fish or something else?

Reason for all these questions is that I also want to construct a small scale (much smaller than yours) and was wondering what are some of the "trip" points or "expensive mistakes" one can make... and hopefully avoid them.

 

Awesome system @Willem !!

 

@GavinD The most common are the Ph, Nitrite and Nitrate. Ph normally I keep between 6.8 and 7.6 and the Nitrite should be as close to zero as possible and Nitrate you can go up to 120 ppm.
Personally I think my biggest mistake was not to make it bigger but check your pipe connections and make sure you have backup in case of power failure.

Thanks @francoisve

 

@Willem: Thanks for the feedback and always good to know. You say the biggest mistake was not making it bigger? Bigger as in more grow beds, or bigger as in more fish tank and more fish?

PS: It already looks very impressive.

 

@Willem, you sir are a genius! I really look forward to your threads you are always pushing boundaries and taking innovation to the next level. Outstanding!

 

Looks awesome.

Do you think this will work for a small pond? around 20 000L ?