Indoor Aquaponics

The procedure of growing plants and rearing aquatic animals in an integrated system is known as aquaponics. The coexistence is beneficial to both these organisms, as the plants filter the water for the fishes to live in while the fishes contribute to the food sources of the plants. As big and complex the system can be, small indoor aquaponics systems are also getting popular among people as modern gardening procedures. And if you want one of these systems at your backyard or even in your bedroom, read on further to know more about how to build one.

The Frame

The frame is a significant part of the model, as it serves as the bass for the whole indoor aquaponics system to stand on. You can choose from different frames available, Antonius from IKEA is reliable choice.

The Antonius frame comes with a fifty liter and twenty five liter containers. While the former can be used as the fish tank the twenty five liter container for the plants. You can place any one of those containers on the top depending on the location of the system. A PVC sheet can used to decorate the containers, the system can be designed to fit the home decor.

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Plumbing

It is important to move the water to the grow bed, and electric pumps are used for this purpose. Generally a ball-valve system is preferred which provides the user with the option of the controlling the flow of water into the grow bed. The grow bed needs to have the hole at the right spot, about three inches from each corner. After you fix the O ring, add a reducer to the male adapter which has to be screwed together to the female adapter.

The ideal height of the standpipe is around three centimeters, and it is placed right at the top of the grow bed. Though a little bit of silicon can be added to the mix, it is not necessary.

A metal pipe of sixty millimeters with a cap on the top is the structure of a bell siphon. The bell siphon has to be placed in the middle to allow proper water drainage.There are holes on the side of a bell siphon to assist the drainage. Though bell siphons are a complicated method for water drainage, it is quite an efficient one.

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This setup allows the user to alter the waterflow as per the requirements. It is quite an important part of the whole system. This setup drains an amount of the water into the fish tank, the aeration thus caused improves the health of the fishes.

The Final System And Some Final Tips

After you receive all the materials required for the setup, you should make sure that all of the materials work and that it does not leak water.

The material used to fill up the grow bed should not be dense and should allow water to pass through easily.

Your indoor aquaponics system is almost ready, throw in a couple of fishes get the required amount of ammonia in the system to place the plants.

While setting up an indoor aquaponics system is simple, the tough job lies in developing it. A constant research is required to know more about the changes that can help the system.

Additiona Resources

#Aquaponics-how to do everything-This is an awesome book for indoor aquaponics gardening.

# Aquaponics Fish Species–Learn more about aquaponics gardening on Wikipedia.

#Aquaponics forum–This is an excellent aquaponics forum where you will find many experts on aquaponics.