Does anyone have favorite lowish tech ways of hooking plants up to aquariums? Things that don’t require a million external pumps and crazy stuff (I have a system like that and I want to attach some smaller stuff to my smaller tanks but am being indecisive)

The simplest things I can think of are to hook up the little breeder boxes and toss plants into those, or to put a plant pot/windowbox ontop of the tank and run water through that (which would also be great as a filter). I was also considering making some auto refilling kratkey buckets and having them siphon off from the aquariums. I also have some spare downspout and was thinking of doing a single nft tube. Idk. I just need to narrow down my ideas lol

Tbh I’m just looking to go as cheap and efficient as possible.

I’d probably toss lettuce or random ornamental plants or herbs in since those are a bit more irritating to get established on my plant wall

Pic of one of my aquaponics goldfish for fun

I'm completely brand new to aquaponics and I'm in the process of planning out a system- I have a lot of experience growing aquarium plants but I want to try a little setup for growing basil in a ~10 gallon tank. I had a couple questions about getting started:

1. Do I need a grow bed with substrate + a water pump or can I just have the roots hanging into the tank? I've seen setups that do both but all the guides I've been reading say to use a grow bed. I'd prefer to just grow plants submerged if possible.
2. Is it a good idea to have aquatic plants in the tank as well or will they compete with my basil?
3. Do fish still need to be fed?

Thank you so much! This is an area that's always been super interesting to me and I can't wait to get started :)

I tried looking for a how to post before posting this. I am very new to this. I don’t even have a fish tank. Would love to get some information about how to start small. Would love information on how to build a rig that would just grow some cherry tomatoes and broccoli. Hopefully that is not too difficult. Nothing too big as I live in a small apartment. Thank you in advanced.

I have a 40 gallon breeder with 2 corydoras catfish (I’ll add more soon dw), a pearl gourami, and a couple neon tetras. Also a ton of ramshorn snails. Thousands of hydras too (😩). It is moderately planted underwater and I’ll be planting a ton of plants coming out the top. Because the tank is so under stocked compared to the amount of plants, I was wondering if there’s a fertilizer I can use that will benefit the aquatic and aquaponic plants? I know there’s a ton of fertilizers for aquatic plants but idk if they’re good for the aquaponic plants too. What do you guys use? Thanks! (Sorry for the essay lmao)

I have a 0% nitrate and nitrite reading on my test strip.

I have five zebra danio in a 10 gallon tank.

I only have one seedling growing right now, but I don't want to add more with not enough nutrients.

Maybe two more danio?

Does anyone know the economic feasibility of heating fish farms in colder climates, especially in the U.S. Midwest? Can it still make sense in terms of cost and profit in such conditions? Any insights or experiences would be great!

I've had a setup in my classroom using three runs of aluminum gutter and a pathos plant to clean the water in my turtle tank. I set it up in fall of 2020. But I've noticed that there's like a white crumbly powder accumulating on the gutters. I thought it might be something from the pathos and ignored it. But I went to clean it off and there are holes clear through the gutter. It for sure needs to be replaced.

Images: Corrosion and Holes

Enter the questions...

1. What should I replace it with. Vinyl? I don't want to just use aluminum again and have it just happen over again.

2. How can I save the plant? It's well over 50' now and encircles all but 15 feet of my classroom.

3. Any thoughts on what's causing the corrosion? Its just city water (river sourced). Flow is set to go 6 hours on 6 hours off. Tank has one red eared slider.

Right now I have the hang on the back filter on the right and a small air stone below the left of the grow bed. I feel like the right grow bed isn’t getting enough oxygen, but not 100% sure. Planning to add clay pebbles to the grow bed too.

I have trumpet snails, ramshorn, bladder and Mystery I was wondering if the mystery snail in particular would help add more bioload and nutrients into the water. Concerned of diseases or pests carried from the snails.

Wishing to grow hot peppers and leafy greens in this system for reference.

Generally speaking, you should have no more than one inch of fish for every gallon in your tank.

Also, you should have no more than five shrimp for every gallon in your tank.

Let's say I have a 20 gallon tank. Would it be 19 fish and five shrimp? Or is it 20 inches of fish plus some shrimp since the shrimp are waste eaters?

Also, last question, how do you transition your fish tank into an aquaponics system? Do you establish the fish tank with a regular filter And then run the aquaponics into it and gradually reduce the amount of time the filter runs?

I don't know the terminology but I'm going to have a water pump going out of the tank into my plant bed and trickle back into the tank.

Hi everyone,

We’re working on setting up a Solid Lift Overflow to connect an IBC tote to a bucket that we’ll use as a sedimentation tank. I have a couple of questions and could really use some advice:

1. Can I find everything I need for this setup at Home Depot, or would I need to look elsewhere for certain parts?
2. How do I modify the bottom of the standing pipe inside the IBC tote to make sure it creates proper suction?

I’d really appreciate any tips or guidance from the experts here. Thanks so much in advance!

https://preview.redd.it/1d8r50vwgw4e1.jpg?width=1634&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=79651decd327007b30a3a7b7b055ec4452bf4cf9

https://preview.redd.it/vroc0muahw4e1.jpg?width=1214&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=df62ea3102170faf0c7214183cd280142fd15361

My bell siphon hardly ever drains and my plants dont notice. Meaning theyre growing fine

I heard a guy say you dont need bell siphons and theyre totally useless

Do i need a bell? Do people grow with just a drain pipe? Are there any viable alternatives? Ive redesigned my bell a dozen times and its always moody af

I have a hang on the back filter that has sponges on top can I just put the roots of my leafy greens in there where the water flows down.

Could I use our local scud as the metabolizer/nutrient source? They seem pretty robust and prolific and capable of breaking down anything organic. I'm just not sure what their output is and the amount/density of them required to sustain a given amount of crops. Does anyone know where I could find that info?

Thanks in advance

Hi! Currently in a class that I'm in we are doing aquaponics and my group and I decided to grow tomatoes. However, I have one concern since I'm aware that tomato leaves are dangerous to fish but I was not sure if that also applied to the roots. We have a net that protects the roots from being eaten by the fish but sometimes there is a straggler. Will the fish be harmed if they eat the roots?

I'm trying to get creative to solve an aquaponics challenge and would love feedback. I'll cross-post to try to get recommendations from various experts.

I want to grow sea asparagus/glasswort (salicornia europaea). Natural conditions would be marsh or brackish ponds. My idea is to set up a 50 gal brackish guppy pond in the liner shown with the plants on the ledge. I live in Hawaii so outdoor year round should work..

I currently have some fancy guppies in a freshwater tank where the intended fry predator is failing her duties. I want to move them to the pond where they can spawn away. My plan would be to cycle the pond, add guppies, and then gradually add marine salt to adjust them to brackish conditions. From past posts, I understand one big challenge will be maintaining the salinity levels.

Is this crazy? What am I not thinking about that i should? Thanks in advance for the help!

Hey gang. I have a garden and chickens and am interested in adding fish to my yard for food. My garden is slightly raised beds in soil. I'm not interested in switching to a hydroponic growing system, but I am interested in raising fish for food and using the fish water to water my veggie garden for added nutrients. I live in Florida, so it's fairly warm most of the year. I am thinking I'll grow spring-fall when the weather is warm and just make sure to process the fish before the couple of cold months we have here, so I won't worry about heaters. I'm looking for a super low-maintenance system and am less concerned about maximizing yields. My thought is to get a couple of IBC totes with spigots at the bottom, add some upside down buckets or similar and plant some things on top of those, toss in maybe 10-15 tilapia, and filter the water by draining about 1/4-1/2 of the tank twice a week or so and using the water to water my garden. Then I would refill with the hose. I'd drain from the bottom to get the waste out. No equipment other than the tote, spigot, and hose.

Is this a crazy idea, or doable? I know 20-30 tilapia per tank per year isn't a lot of fish, but I'm ok with that as long as it's a really low-maintenance system.

Hello! I’m hoping someone can help me figure out what is going on with my Koi’s skin/scales? It seems to have redness and flaking on both sides. It is in an outdoor aquaponics tank. PH, Ammonia, Nitrites all good. Nitrates were a bit high but nothing crazy. Thoughts?

https://preview.redd.it/uowt4etzje4e1.jpg?width=1914&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2cfa0e2fda623cde224409e411cd98f2da76ac26

I am looking at setting up an aquaculture system with a 200 gallon tank 55 gallon barrel for sedimentation tank, a flood and drain system consisting of 255 gallon barrels cut in half into a sump, then the water will be pumped from the sump into another 55 gallon barrel for filtration before spilling into the tank again.

I know I will need two of the same pumps to keep water flowing in both directions. I was wondering if anyone had recommendations on size and a good brand. I was thinking somewhere in the 300 to 500 GPH range but would like to hear from people with experience.

Picture is just too help gain your attention I wish it was possible to grow these

I know a bunch of larger breeders and large scale hobbyist who all seem to swear by adding Pothos directly to their tanks. (Ohio Fish Rescue prominently has it stringing across 100s of feet of tanks.) Through my conversations with them they swear it reduces needs for water changes, helps keep the water chemistry stable and also ends up providing cover for fry and smaller fish.

I decided to see what benefits it really provides and frankly, after a month on an established grow tank, I am not sure if I am seeing any real benefits. Yes the roots and fish basket provide structure for smaller fry and younger fish to get away. The two species of Pothos I used are growing at 3x the rate of the same plant in my daughter’s terrarium which has grow lights, without additional supplemental lighting. So the Pothos is loving it, but I don’t really see any benefits for the tank. My water change routine is unchanged. The black water is still full of tannins and seemingly uneffected by the Pothos. Parameters seem unchanged.

My question is are the benefits people are claiming to see real (but I haven’t had it running long enough) or just in their heads? Are their other plants that may work better? To be clear, Pothos and Avocado are in plant bin directly in tank.