Owen's EPIC Aquaponics System | Sand beds Swamp Beds Barramundi + MORE

[@Jimunu]

Didnt expect a hoocho mention. Good that the different kinds of "new" growing is getting spread between eachothers.

[@coleweede1953]

What does it mean?

[@CM-tw2oj]

@@coleweede1953hoocho is on KZbin and he’s another content creator who talks about hydroponics

[@aquadz1678]

More about Sand bed please..!

[@RobsAquaponics]

Owen gives a quick rundown in this video. 👍 I hope you can make the premiere in about 7 hours time AquaDZ. 👍

[@PiperOnYoutube]

Oh, I love the sound, feel and flavor of this! Can't wait for it! Kudos, Rob!

[@RobsAquaponics]

It will be starting soon mate 👍👍👍👍

[@rubayetantu5841]

when i think of aquaponics this is exactly what i imagine. and of course this is precisely what i want. a much more detailed video on his setup would be very much appreciated

[@RobsAquaponics]

Check out this newer video mate, kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZjNXqyEhq-Ji9U Cheers.

[@lancesudberry209]

U can also use the fish aquarium heaters to warm up and put humidity in your high tunnel in end of winter to get head start of for those off days days

[@ScottyB0AllDay]

This makes me feel a lot better about the birds nest of wires and hoses going through my green house. Can also relate to holding everything together with zip ties.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

I could have made it pretty... But pretty means hard to work on/access. I'd rather it look the way it does and be able to fix it in 3 minutes instead of 3 hours haha.

[@Can_non69]

I'm so glad I caught this. I have an empty bed and a sand bed will fit my needs perfectly. Cheers 🍻

[@RobsAquaponics]

I'm glad we could both help some David. 👍

[@cheynepolansky5289]

Thanks, Rob and Owen.

[@RobsAquaponics]

No Problem Cheyne. Cheers & havea top one.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

👍

[@deegomez2109]

Good day Rob from Kansas US. I used a sand bed as a filter for a large pond when I lived in California, which included silica sand, vermiculite, and powdered activated charcoal. That bed grew anything i put in it, silica is beneficial but I think the charcoal is key for grabbing the nutrients and holding them until the roots can use them. Plant leaves became appreciatively Greener and lush, I believe plants take up charcoal in that form and basically, glucose is carbon.

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

An iAVs takes 3 months to become functional and then about a year for it to be considered a mature system. Thie silica in the sand is completely unavailable to the plants. Microbes are the key aspect of an iAVs and they transport, store and convert the nutrients for the plants.

[@briankrzywdik4770]

Man I want to be just like this. I love this setup.

[@RobsAquaponics]

It's an AWESOME setup Brian. Hope you can make the premiere in about 7 or so hours. 👍

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks, it looks a mess but does the job. Hope it gives you a few ideas 👍

[@lasonyaluther3553]

@@owensfunhouse7582 do you have a setup guide as to how you built this system? I would love to do this at my space?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@lasonyaluther3553 I think I kind of answered where in another question, Brisbane Aquaponics on Face Book. But feel free to message me if you need more details/info 😀

[@lasonyaluther3553]

@@owensfunhouse7582 how do I message you for more details?

[@hopechannelcat5462]

i don't watch live videos, but this one i did and really enjoyed this one. thanks

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks for coming along 👍

[@happiepapi]

This is dope brother Cheers Owen

[@bryanpaynechefbrybry1067]

Absolutely awesome vlog buddy.. And a big thanks Owen, fantastic system you have there, Great to see it all in one go not bits and pieces during the supporters hang out..

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Haha thanks mate. Probably a bit hard to picture when it’s only seen with me pottering around the shed.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers Bryan. 👍 (It's even better in person BTW😉)

[@anthony7859]

Very intelligent person. Thank you for sharing, very inspirational. God bless.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Our pleasure!

[@Zero_point83]

It a fantastic system well thought out

[@Blxz]

This is just fantastic.

[@p0c0q25]

Clicked for the subject matter. But then... Subscribed for the soulfelt gratitude.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers 😁👍👍

[@timothyalanogrady]

Reslly like the sand bed Concept it's pretty neat Thanks for taking a time and showing it guys

[@RobsAquaponics]

I will be playing with sand beds on the new farm all going well mate. Cheers. 😁👍

[@timothyalanogrady]

@@RobsAquaponics great to hear mate

[@dertythegrower]

So on point.. wow 💯

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks mate, been a lot of years and failures up to this point. Runs good now though haha.

[@BubbleNova1991]

I wish I were smart enough to build this kind of thing. Gonna need it when the world catches on fire

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Mate there are designs a lot more simple than mine, mines just mostly there to produce fish haha.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Check out this playlist Jbubbles 👍 kzbin.info/aero/PLBcWprMIwYYj8zCdbSzPJOR3HRXpxuBwf It might help you with a few ideas.

[@jonisolis9645]

@@RobsAquaponics Do you have an update video on how the bags did vs just the sand in the sand beds? thanks

[@rdh710]

How cool is that!

[@atmm89]

this is fantastic mate, putting great ideas in my mind. all the best

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad to hear it!

[@ozzypunk1]

Thanks for the tour. Some great ideas. Keep up the good work

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers Mark. Hope you're having a top week mate.

[@birendrachoubey6122]

Pl also mention KWH of electricity consumed with all these equipments.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Day time or night time? During the day my solar covers all the use. At night the electric heater switches to a gas heater, the beds are turned off and only the fish part of the system runs. the system draws 390w no heater, 2890w with electric heater. At night it draws 290w but does have the gas heater going.

[@birendrachoubey6122]

@@owensfunhouse7582 so 390 w load for 8 hrs approx at night correct? Thanks for replying

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@birendrachoubey6122 Yes, but there is also the gas heating on top of that.

[@birendrachoubey6122]

@@owensfunhouse7582 understood thanks

[@whatcouldgowrong8323]

Brilliant!

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks for watching.

[@1988Loza]

Thanks for the tour 👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

No problem Laurence 👍

[@davidchester5784]

Wow that's an amazing setup!

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks mate.

[@bevandittberner3147]

Thanks mate have a great christmas.Bev.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers mate. I hope you had a top one mate. 👍😁

[@insAneTunA]

It is an awesome system, I can't say anything else. Big 👍for sharing and inspiring. Today one of my larger fish jumped out of my pond, and I discovered it too late. I tried to save it, but eventually it went belly up, so I had to put it out of it's misery. I hadn't had that happen in a long time. And it had to jump pretty high to get to the place where I found it. The water seems good, all the other fish seem to be fine. So I hope that it was just a freak accident.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Sorry to hear that mate. I've had a few get spooked through the night & not find them until morning over the past 10 years. Never a good feeling. Hope all's well other wise mate.

[@davewhite9303]

It takes a strong fish to jump out and far, to me that's a good thing. You're growing strong fish 🐟🐟 Congratulations 🎉

[@davewhite9303]

I love this channel thank you so much

[@insAneTunA]

@@davewhite9303 I feed them with pellets and dried Gammarus which is a lobster species, although it is not specified which variant. This particular fish species that jumped out of the pond is called the ide (Leuciscus idus), a native species in Europe and western Asia. As an ornamental fish, the ide is usually referred to as the orfe, and the main variety kept is the golden orfe, which is golden or orange in colour with some black spots on its neck, near the head. Which was the variant that jumped out of my pond. It is actually not the right species for my pond because my pond is rather small, and those fish grow fast and they swim fast and they are real surface hunters, and they are not the easiest fish to keep because they need good and stable conditions in order to be able to flourish. At the same time they are an excellent pioneer fish so that you can learn about your system and to dial it in before you buy expensive eatable fish. If one can keep an ide healthy one can also grow eatable fish. Which I might do at some point in time. The ide itself is also eatable, but it is not a highly desired eatable fish. I mean, losing a fish sucks, especially after watching them grow for so many years you get attached to them. I even tried to reanimate the fish by pumping extra water through its gills. But it is not the end of the world. And it is not something that I can possibly prevent from happening. I buried it in my garden and now it will complete the cycle of nature.

[@davewhite9303]

@@insAneTunA thank you so much for the information and I lost an Oscar but I was able to bring him back. I raise tropical fish more specific Ciclids

[@ProjectHomeGrown]

Hey Rob entertaining as always. It might be good content for your channel to some system reviews. Wish you 1,000,000 subscribers.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thanks Stefan. Just need KZbin to stop playing silly buggers & start promoting the videos again & I'll get there.🤣😉

[@dertythegrower]

Respect thank you for sharing

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers SD. 👍

[@tips8762]

Thank you for your guide I really like it

[@RobsAquaponics]

I'm glad you like it Tips 87. 👍 Cheers & happy growing. 😁🌱🐟

[@lasonyaluther3553]

@Owen's Funhouse Do you have a guide how you setup your tanks in doors?

[@schalkwtheart]

Thanks or this high quality content!

[@ThePikeywayne]

Great stuff, more people need to get on board with this

[@owensfunhouse7582]

It saves me on water changes, and grows some nice produce as well. I think people are scared of what they don't know, and see it as a bit of a gimmick.

[@Liithiumbob]

"That's a nice looking carrot". Classic gardener comment. Love your work Rob. Great stuff.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

We had a few of those moments filming 😂😂👌

[@RobsAquaponics]

🤣 Thanks Liithiumbob. 👍

[@terrycollins6392]

Very very good video

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks for watching mate.

[@jamesridley184]

Owen has handy setup their i just need to get skilled in the sparky trade I did the R.A.S Course and the Certificate 3 years ago at Grafton NAT fish like to see more of these types Vids been a while since i Watch your stuff Rob ya going well with it all ROB Cheer's ;-)

[@owensfunhouse7582]

It's only 3 colours, its not that hard mate haha.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers James. 👍👍

[@whattheheck13]

Amazing setup! This has inspired me to take the first steps to get this project started! ✌👽

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Good luck with the build mate. You won’t regret it once it is up and going.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hope the build goes well for you mate. 👍

[@DAD-yf6fi]

This awesome, thank you for this video!

[@RobsAquaponics]

No problem & hope it gave you a few ideas.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Learn about Aquaponics 🐟 🍓🍅 with my "Backyard Aquaponics for Beginners" Guide for only US$19.95. You can see the guide in action on my website, ► www.bitsouttheback.com/aquaponics-guide Or, buy directly here, ► bit.ly/AquaponicsBeginnersGuide Don't forget to click the subscribe button if you enjoyed the video, bit.ly/Subscribe2Rob & share the clip around if you think it may help others too.👍 Cheers all & have a top one. 🐟 🌱🍅 Rob

[@kelvindalewaldner4138]

loved this video totally want to build something similiar

[@djowen23]

Thanks for the translations us Americans appreciate it👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

No problem DJ 👍

[@djowen23]

@@RobsAquaponics enjoy watching your Channel I live in Phoenix Arizona & with the desert environment your channel gives me a lot of good ideas thanks a lot bro keep them coming👍

[@brushitoff503]

That's an awesome setup! Cheers!

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks mate, It's my liitle peace of sanity/insanity haha

[@brushitoff503]

@@owensfunhouse7582 Ha ha Yep but a good bit of insanity!

[@tweadget3570]

very interesing! what paint do you use for foodsafe purpose?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

I use a food safe pond sealer made by Crommelin, it seals it all up nicely, sticks to everything and has a nice blue colour.

[@fredievillegas6957]

wow! another big input

[@RobsAquaponics]

Glad you likes it.

[@kennyhagan5781]

Those perch look tasty.

[@Aaronauful]

Love it

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks for having a look.

[@lesliegrayson1722]

I like his set up, Aquaculture first then getting rid of the waste to the plans comes second.

[@thecookeman]

can owen suggest what kind of air bubbler/stones he suggests for bio reactor? ive got one of those air pumps but not having great turn over of my air stones fantastic idea with the closed loop heater element, and the salting tank... brillant!

[@owensfunhouse7582]

I use the 2 inch/5cm circular ones. On a budget the blue sand ones do the job. If money is no object, the white silica ones.

[@mteevie1609]

That a lot of energy to keep fish alive.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Correction. A lot of free energy to keep fish alive. My stupid amount of solar panels means no power bills for it, I explained that in the video 👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

Not when the majority if free from the sun 🤣👍

[@charleslaird706]

Brilliant ideas.. I'm going to see about incorporating some of these concepts..

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Glad they can be of use for ya mate.

[@jbl2270]

Thanks for the video. May we know about approximate ROI?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

The system was built out of a lot of second hand gear. This latest build I have done to it should return the amount spent in food and fish within 9 months. To catch up with the costs accrued running it in that time, 12 months. With the price of fresh food in Australia at the moment, I'm roughly $20 a week ahead, but it would be more if I wasn't running the barramundi. They eat a lot more than most fish, and require the heating.

[@TheSylverBaLou]

That is a system! Awesome stuph ❤

[@jenniferjsaracino]

What a interesting setup! I can’t even imagine eating that much fish! But my family was a twice a year fish dinner type. So I never learned how to cook fish.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

It’s never too late to learn 😉

[@RobsAquaponics]

One of the best I've see Jennifer. 👍

[@wizzzard_ponics]

funny every family different, we will eat fish 2 3 times a week.. , i want to upgrade my system like this one..

[@wizzzard_ponics]

All I can say.. fresh fish yumm.. cooked in butter with a coating of flour mixed in with 🌿 herbs the best pan fryed... 😋

[@OzkAltBldgCo-bv8tt]

a way to solve all his heating issues would be to build a pit greenhouse and have Adobe mold surrounding each one of the tubs or it could be Cellular concrete once he gets below ground and has greenhouse roof he will really be saving energys.

[@karimhayes3134]

Great to see something different with sand beds. Can you cover downsides to them and most importantly how do we source the correct sand? Great show as always

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Downsides: You need an extra pump on a timer, unless you are willing to run a full IAV system. The furrows are a PITA to keep in shape, and rain will affect them too. When its really windy the sand will blow away too. The coarse riversand is the best I have found.

[@RobsAquaponics]

We've chatted about doing another video just looking at them Karim. Let me know if you have any other questions & we'll run through them on the video.

[@karimhayes3134]

@@RobsAquaponics i do one of the biggest problems . other than restocking fish is the build up in clay ball beds . you know the maintenance you need to do with washing it out and blowing air in the bed like the video you did showing us. do you need to do this with sand bed or does it all break down totally .if so . very valuable addition to system as you have far less work involved in the system

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@karimhayes3134 Cheers mate.

[@mr.mikesart7111]

Lol your winter t-shirt shorts and flip flops

[@RobsAquaponics]

Yep 🤣

[@rak3shpai]

Those sand filters - you need to make videos about them.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Everyone is interested in the sand beds 😂

[@RobsAquaponics]

We might do a more in depth one on just the sand beds soon Rakesh.

[@NaughtyGoatFarm]

Hi Owen. Keen to know how you built the raft beds. What material is, the raft made of and what airation do you have under each raft? Also with the sand beds, where does the water out of the sand beds go? What percentage shade cloth do you wrap twice around the outlet screen? Any standpipe in the outlet?

[@AllThingsTubecomau]

EPIC!!!

[@RobsAquaponics]

My thoughts exactly😉👍

[@PotentPonics]

Ask him if he can test his water and post sand bed PPMs finally. All the other sand people seem to afraid to release there numbers but he seems like he might be up for some science :)

[@owensfunhouse7582]

What kind of water tests 🤔

[@PotentPonics]

@@owensfunhouse7582 Just a broad panel ppm test for each mineral in the US they run between 22 and 40 bucks il send you a few bucks if you need it to do the test.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@PotentPonics There’s a water board down the road that did a test for me once. I’ll see if they still do it. Say one from the sump just before the sand bed cycle/just before it runs after being off all night and one from the sand bed drain pipe near the end of its run through?

[@sleepdepot9790]

LMFAO.... Dread.. You have talked to Murray and his system, he didn't want to share his results or did you have to pay him to take the course to find out? I have done sand bed water tests but you are still not getting it. Not all the nutrients are in the water, they collect in the furrows and are mineralized and taken up microbes and by the plants... You know plants can uptake bacteria that in turn hold the nutrients.. So how are you supposed to test for that without doing a soil sample test of the sand and organic waste and microbes in the furrows?

[@PotentPonics]

@@sleepdepot9790 LOL. Murray has not released the ppms that I am aware of I did ask him a month or 2 ago again but i know hes been busy. You have? They why have you not released them? And no it doesnt work that way minerals not present dont magically materialize in sand its not magic you can't make something that is not in the input just apear because you want it to. The sand people really have to drop the ridiculous and false claim that it provides all nutrients as if it does not have a philosophers stone or the core of a star you simply are not going to make many of the nutrients your plants need. Manganese and iron oxidize and are not found in adequate levels in fish food. Molybdenum is quickly stripped out by plants. Silica and calcium are depleted over time. These are chemistry issues that no amount of sand will change. You claim you tested it lets see your water ppm tests then and well compare apples to apples. And you can easily test for that with sap nutrient tests, tissue sampling, and slurry tests regularly done in cannabis cultivation. If the minerals are not in the inputs they will not be present. Plants deplete inputs over time and fish poop was not chemically formulated for plant food so you really need to stop making such obviously false claims. Any one with a basic understanding of chemistry can see that.

[@stuartbrown4420]

Thanks

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thank you Stuart. 👍👍

[@gafrers]

Great 👍👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

Cheers Gafrers. 👍

[@gembelalit6113]

Sangat bermanfaat tutorial nya, sukses sllu

[@RobsAquaponics]

Terima kasih teman 👍👍

[@gaspardtoulouse4172]

Lil grow tent as well All set up 🤣

[@owensfunhouse7582]

These aren't the Droids you're looking for.

[@RobsAquaponics]

They can be used for a lot of different plants. Wouldn't have showed it if it was for nefarious grow out. 😉🤣

[@kennethheadrick730]

We need some advice on "Sandponics". We have a property with a large river running through it, with large sandy beaches. On the upper side of the stream we would like to build fish ponds and then downstream on the 5 acres of beaches have rice fields, etc., plus vegetable and fruit gardens all provided with water and poop from the fish ponds (with gravity/siphoning). What recommendations do you have for us?

[@ramoneoliveira5851]

Like, meu camarada. 🤘🤘🤘🤘

[@RobsAquaponics]

Saúde Ramone 😁🍻

[@triplex7144]

I have a radial flow filter after my ibc fish holding tank to catch primary solids before going into K1 moving bio filter after that it does to mechanical filter which is a number of essentially giant scouring pads to catch fines. If I were to do it again I'd add a second radial flow filter after the MBB filter as I find the fines produced are likely old bacteria off the K1. Where can I get some of those filter socks?

[@jrrdesigns]

Really interested in the purge tank set up! How long do you leave the fish in there? I assume about a day. And how much salt do you put in the tank? Great setup and great tour. Thanks!

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Hi mate, I leave them 3-4 days in there. It has air driven sponge filters in there for filtration while in, I don’t have them in at the moment, but they usually go in the tank next to it to keep the bacteria alive and thriving, then when I put fish in the purge tank I move the filters in. Silly me left them out one morning and the dog chewed em up, I have more on order. The Barra are salted at 20ppm the other fish types, 6ppm.

[@jrrdesigns]

Thank you so very much! That's great info. I really like the idea of purging them in a salty water tank. I had never thought if it, but it makes perfect sense. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and results with us all.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@jrrdesigns No worries mate, have fun harvesting 👍

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

@@owensfunhouse7582 Do you increase the salt level? When I purge I start with a small amount and then add a bit more everyday - especially with crayfish

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@iAVs-Sandponics I do it over the space of a day. They usually go in on a Saturday, and I increase it throughout the day while pottering around the yard. I aerate it pretty hard though in that tank. If I’m feeling lazy I just dump it all in 🤣

[@gillymcgillface1501]

Awesome setup Owen. Do you put all species of the fish through the salt tank before harvest or mainly just the barra?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

I salt all the species, Barra at 20ppm the rest 6-8ppm.

[@gillymcgillface1501]

@@owensfunhouse7582 cheers mate. Saltwater barra definitely taste better than freshwater.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@gillymcgillface1501 That they do mate, IMO you need to season the life out of plain old freshwater fish haha

[@daPoter]

Awesome stuff Rob (as usual). Great inspiration for our small commercial micro farms in Uganda at Urban Greens. Really love the idea of the three tanks as it makes it easy to manage the various growth stages of the fish and keeping fish biomass fairly constant without having wildly various sizes in the same tank. Also think the thinking around mixed media and sand beds is spot on. We generally need to think about how we make the systems as productive as possible per square meter while make them as efficient as possible. This does seem to pull a fair amount of power (even if you take out the heaters). What does Owen use in the growth pouches? Just plain compost/soil or a sterlized potting mix? Does he add any nutrients to the system besides the fish feed? Such a pity you guys are an ocean removed from us here in East Africa :)

[@owensfunhouse7582]

She can be a power hungry beasty, but I have 20kw of solar on the house and shed roof, plus am putting in a rather large battery at the start of the month, so power luckily isn't an issue in my case. The pouches i use whatever i have onhand at the time. compost, potting mix, dirt, you name it, I chuck it in there for diversity of minerals. I add brickies lime and potassium to buffer. On top of that, I add iron. I was adding seasol (a general plant tonic) in the beginning, but haven't had to of late, this is either due to it being winter, or the mineral sharing from the different bed types. I will soon see come summer which is the case.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thanks Peter. 👍👍 I'm thinking a bit of all growing styles to suit the plants is the way to go.

[@daPoter]

@@owensfunhouse7582Cheers for the reply mate! I'm trying to keep power as low as possible to keep running cost as low as possible. It's obviously a bit fragile in case something brakes but that's why we have remote monitoring on the systems. I'm currently at about 120w combined for air/water and control electronics, all to keep it as cost effective as possible. I'm powering during the day with solar through my own smart controller and then at night off the grid with a power backup battery in case it all goes down. It's been fairly stable but could definitely have some better/faster growth of the lettuce. Anyway, figuring out is all part of the fun :) So thanks for sharing guys!!

[@daPoter]

@@RobsAquaponics indeed, gotta keep this veggies happy for them to make us happy :)

[@temujinkhan6326]

Was looking for a simple set-up but looks like this guy built a fish farm in his backyard to feed his entire town

[@RobsAquaponics]

🤣 Maybe not his town but at least his street. I have a few videos in this playlist that may interest you, kzbin.info/aero/PLBcWprMIwYYj8zCdbSzPJOR3HRXpxuBwf

[@temujinkhan6326]

@@RobsAquaponics Thank You! Saw one video and I was able to follow along and figured everything out. The chop and flip system I think works best for me. I was going to be extravagant and do a concrete so I can form everything the way i want but maybe I'll do that next year.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

It may have gotten a little out of hand haha

[@w3sty439]

have u grown weed plants with this water ? im curious , but asking for a friend👍

[@owensfunhouse7582]

I haven't, but theres plenty that have, I think there is a FB page dedicated to it.

[@RobsAquaponics]

It's still very illegal to do in most parts of Australia like here in Queensland. Check out Potent Ponics channel for more info kzbin.info

[@whitneyhungerford2545]

Do the sand beds use a bell syphon or just constant flow?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Timed flood and drain.

[@whitneyhungerford2545]

So you could make one with a bell syphon, any reason he went with timed flood and drain instead?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@whitneyhungerford2545 I don’t think it would work effectively with a bell syphon. The sand takes time to drain, it doesn’t just flow to the bottom like normal media. Also it will break the syphon prematurely the way water flows through sand with air pockets. The sand takes an hour to drain completely in a bed that size.

[@whitneyhungerford2545]

Ok so just a pump on a timer, I thought about doing half my small grow bed sand and then gravel near my bell syphon but it might create anaerobic areas in the sand part. I’ll make a separate sand bed to avoid issues.

[@whitneyhungerford2545]

I didn’t realize I was talking to Owen, thank you. Just cycled my system after building for a year so now I’m looking at ways to possibly make things a little easier. It’s indoor cause I’m raising tilapia in Montana and noticed there always seems to be a leak somewhere.

[@FatheadPerformance]

Is there any more info on his salt water purge tank? I think this might be a good way for my wife and kids to enjoy fish a bit more.

[@RobsAquaponics]

We cover that in the follow up video on the sand beds mate. 👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZjNXqyEhq-Ji9U It was probably posted the day you made this comment😉

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

I've just picked up some of those black polyethylene grow beds like the one you have with the sand - I was worried that the sides would 'belly' out but yours seems to be doing fine

[@RobsAquaponics]

Nice one. 👍

[@sunilscorpy4594]

How cold does winter temperature reaches there? 🙋

[@owensfunhouse7582]

5 degrees Celsius

[@sunilscorpy4594]

@@owensfunhouse7582 wow that is very cold. Them fish will love it here in Philippines, Manila is never below 20 Celsius. 😎😊

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@sunilscorpy4594 Sounds ideal for fish!

[@sunilscorpy4594]

@@owensfunhouse7582 👍😉

[@rw-xf4cb]

Exhaust of hot water should go to plants (in greenhouse or something)....

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Theres a banana grove Next to where it vents out. I'm not sure how much of it they'd get though.

[@kellymack7680]

I live in Florida. My property is very sandy.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Hi Kelly. Not all sand is suitable due to its grain size & also makeup. The best sands are quarts sands that contain no carbonates, like from small fragments of sea shells & the like. The iAVs Website has more information on what sands are suitable, iavs.info/ I hope that helps some.

[@CRAMOSinnovations]

Nice shirt. 😄

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thanks! 😁

[@callum3250]

Thanks Rob & Owen. Where in QLD did you source the sand for the sand bed, and what type is it? Did you test different specifications for the sand? I suppose you can't have it too fine or it could clump together, can't have it too coarse or it won't filter properly.

[@RobsAquaponics]

I Think Owne mentioned in a PM a while back so will go dig it out Callum. 👍

[@RobsAquaponics]

Here you go Callum, www.riversands.com.au/application/horse-arenas-tracks/ Just double checked with Owen & he confirmed.

[@callum3250]

@@RobsAquaponics Much obliged!

[@scottdaniels3033]

That's what liing looks like

[@RobsAquaponics]

🤔🤔 ? Not sure I know what you mean Scott.

[@scottdaniels3033]

@@RobsAquaponics forgive my fat fingers *that's what living looks like.

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@scottdaniels3033 🤣🤣 Is all good. Had a few suss comments of late so thought I'd ask.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Just need a still and a home brew kit I reckon haha.

[@NikopolAU]

What do you do with all the fish? Do you sell them, or feed them to your big hungry family? :)

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Eat them ourselves mostly.

[@TwoTreesStudio]

Hey man I love your videos but I'm in Southern California and I cannot find yabbie/prawn/etc stock and I would really love to grow them, can anyone else from around here help me?

[@RobsAquaponics]

Might pay to ask around a few aquaponics forums or social media pages TTS. You may even find a local one for your area on FacePalm. 👍

[@ryanlaws1721]

@Owen's Funhouse hey mate, how efficient is the gas water heater you find at night ? Im considering something similar for my small setup down here in NSW. Would love to grow barra year round but our winters stink.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Small volumes 500L-1000L it costs about a tenth of running a electric heater if kept at 25-28 degrees with a night temp of 5-10 degrees. Halve that for every 1000L extra water volume. The sweet spot for it is about 20-21 degrees for maximum efficiency. The barra do alright at that temp too FYI.

[@AizatFlip]

Can barramundi breeds in freshwater? Trying to release it to my local pond.

[@RobsAquaponics]

They spawn in fresh water & produce only male offspring. They then swim out to sea to change sex into female before coming back to spawn so it may be a bit hard in the backyard mate.

[@rickyjones8421]

Where do i buy suitable eating fish for this project from.

[@RobsAquaponics]

Best to look at what local fish hatcheries have to offer mate. If it's legal, you could also bring some in from the wild.

[@lasonyaluther3553]

@Owen's Funhouse do you have a setup guide as to how you built this system the tanks?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Not as such, the shed side was built years before the plant side you see now. I could probably knock something together for people to explain it a bit more.

[@wazowski6709]

OMG what an awesome set up. This is the missing link in my permaculture food forest. Bit beyond my capabilities to set up though. Any chance of paying you to do it for me?

[@RobsAquaponics]

Whereabouts are you based?

[@tinderella2386]

I’m surprised with the scale and complexity of your setup, you wouldn’t have one of those revolving drum style filters to deal with the physical waste of all your large tanks before it went to the bio filters. I’m guessing even for a setup of your scale they must just be prohibitively expensive. Do you use, or if you did would you even get any benefit out of using RO water for all your water makeup for your system?

[@tinderella2386]

Very very impressive otherwise. Can get a fair figure on both the time and money invested in your shed alone, and I’d dare say you wouldn’t be able to have a setup like that for under 5 figures. And just out of curiosity, do you get much more lean meat out of the barramundi then the perch? Farmed jade perch always seem to have a LOT of fat on them

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@tinderella2386 a rotary drum filter can be had for a couple of grand. The insulation I would need to not have the neighbours calling the council about the noise from one would be about 5k, so while cheap for one, what it would need in addition, not so much. I have 8 water tanks scattered around the house and shed. I’ve only had one year where I came close to running out of all the years I’ve had it running. I looked at RO, but it’s not really needed.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@tinderella2386 The Barra are very lean, with little to no fat, the catfish are also very lean as well, but both have trade offs. Barra need heat, and catfish take time. I purge the jades in salt water which helps to a point. Grilling or smoking the jades is another way out of it… They also deep fry beautifully.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@tinderella2386 as per cost, most of the expensive bits, I managed to get second hand. The big tank was about a fifth of the price new, the 2 smaller I snagged at a farm expo in a 2 for one deal plus 30% off. I’m a sparky so most of the electrical I cobbled together out of bits from old jobs. The washing machine for the filter socks I got for free and repaired myself (It was getting replaced as the lid no longer locked) The K1 is a heck of a lot cheaper when you buy in lots of 500L. EBay specials, Facebook marketplace and gumtree filled in the rest. Oh, there was the Milwaukee PH controller though, that one hurt the hip pocket haha. As for the time building and refining it… let’s not go there 🤣🤣

[@tinderella2386]

Yeah thanks for the detailed replies, you honestly probably have one of the most impressive privately owned systems in Australia. I had no idea a drum filter would be so noisy?! Maybe instead of insulating your entire shed, you could have built a box with no bottom that you insulate heavily and it sits over the drum filter and pipe work and you just lift it off for access. But I wasn’t sure about RO in aquaponics/aquaculture. Honestly any serious hydroponic setup of any size will all use RO water as it makes such a difference. And yep, I’m in Perth and I’m a fridgee by trade, an instrumentation technician by trade, and have been a BMS controls technician for the last 8 years before I changed career so know what it’s like to be able to do everything myself too

[@jacobburns2975]

Gday mate

[@RobsAquaponics]

Howdy. 👍

[@bondemanden]

The sand bed Are there just draining out no risd water inside or 🤷‍♂️

[@RobsAquaponics]

In some beds the water level rises but not that much in Owens. Still works just fine though. 👍

[@evanmcconnell3389]

What hassle catching them

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Net in, fish out. Simples.

[@JustaSpaceCowboy]

Is there good money in selling fish?

[@owensfunhouse7582]

If you were to sell them, on a smaller scale you would make more selling them as aquarium pets, selling as food needs a whole lot of licensing etc.

[@RobsAquaponics]

I know of some commercial folks in the USA that raise Koi for collectors to run their systems. They fetch a lot more than table fish.

[@madaxe79]

What on earth is a sand bed? All my years doing hydroponics, I’ve never heard of one

[@owensfunhouse7582]

It’s called iAVs, sandgardening or sandponics. Instead of using a media bed and solids removal, the sand beds captures the solids, and acts as a mineralisation bed in which you also grow plants.

[@madaxe79]

@@owensfunhouse7582 thanks... obviously just an aquaponics thing, not used in hydroponics

[@owensfunhouse7582]

@@madaxe79 It's not widely used in the aquaponic community, it seems to be popular in other countries though.

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

@@madaxe79 sand culture is well used amongst the hydroponic industry

[@madaxe79]

@@iAVs-Sandponics hmm, never heard of it. not that I'm part of the "hydroponic community" though.. I just do my own thing, but I guy I know grew up on a hydroponic farm nearby which his parent still run, and I mentioned it to him and he's never heard of it either. I like the idea of it, I think growing in sand would be highly beneficial in some regards.

[@chaspourau1098]

Kia Ora from Oturehua

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks for having a look mate.

[@dizzystj]

So basically your doing a return activated sludge plant lol

[@RobsAquaponics]

Not really as the "sludge" is left to sit on the surface of the sand after collection in the settler tank. Return activated sludge normally has an active aeration component as I understand it.

[@dizzystj]

@@RobsAquaponics I was watching your ibc video and I’m wondering how many yabbies could I put in the tank instead of fish.although I’ll being doing a fish one as well.and thank you for your vid

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@dizzystj Not as many yabbies as fish mate. You also won't get as much waste generated as fish on a one to one basis. Stocking rates can be as low as 5-10 per M² of floor space where you could get up to 40 fish in an IBC (as long as you have the biofiltration side sorted out 😉). You can increase stocking rates by creating places for the crays to hide. Some will use stacks of bread creates or stacks of PVC pipes.

[@christopheraaron8299]

That dude is definitely growing weed too (I saw that grow tent in the background.)

[@owensfunhouse7582]

And you should see my meth lab in the other bay of the shed 👌

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@owensfunhouse7582 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@RobsAquaponics]

Wouldn't be that silly to show it if he was Christopher. It's still a jailable offence here in Oz.

[@adelinawarriner6259]

not everyone uses grow tents for weed.. smh we can tell what you want, doesn't mean everyone else has any interest

[@glenhehir3833]

Ripper of a set up.

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Thanks mate 👍

[@EdwardVanNatta]

I am looking for about your product place lace me a message. When I post this ,I am looking for more information no this . Thing have help build some where I can raise catfish

[@RobsAquaponics]

I don't sell systems sorry mate. I do have some beginners videos that may help you out though, kzbin.info/aero/PLBcWprMIwYYj8zCdbSzPJOR3HRXpxuBwf

[@waterboi4846]

Microplastic farm

[@owensfunhouse7582]

Unfortunately, the world is now one big microplastic farm these days.

[@iAVs-Sandponics]

Comment typed with a material made from _____________ :) :) friendly joke :)

[@RobsAquaponics]

Have you seen what they're pulling out of the guts of some wild caught fish species?