Hydroponics and intelligent home gardening systems have recently gained popularity.
Because of all the excitement related to hydroponics and aquaculture, it only makes sense that aquaponics would be included in the rapidly growing world of DIY home gardening systems.
You can use an aquarium for an aquaponics project in your home, and some even argue it’s the best way to get started. You get two systems for the price of one, and you get the advantage of beautiful fish along with a self-contained home garden system.
Aquaponics has not received the level of attention it deserves with all the fascination surrounding DIY hydroponics systems and more recently, smart gardening systems.
With close to 33 million people in North America who own fish, there is a massive, growing target market for aquaponics solutions.
How to Turn Your Aquarium into an Aquaponics System
If you’re ready to transform your aquarium into an aquaponics system, you’ll need a few items – an aquarium (obviously), a styrofoam “raft”, PVC tubing (alternative), and a media bed (alternative.) All three methods will require you to purchase a pump, and each method, will have contraptions associated.
We’re listing “alternatives” here, because essentially, you have really (3) ways that you could either obtain inspiration from, or just USE, as a direct method to build your aquaponics system.
You have three options to build the aquaponics system, or methods.
You have the freedom of creativity, so long as you maintain the basic principles of how an aquaponics system operates (which we will discuss in the methods.)
- The Floating Styrofoam Method: You’ll float a foam raft on the watery surface.
- The PVC Method: This method is similar to a hydroponics and features beds made with PVC pipe.
- Media Bed Method: The water is pumped in a circular system where the plants grow in a media bed with pebbles.
If your creative juices are flowing, you’re probably imagining all sorts of crazy, architectural designs to make these systems work.
Remember, the bigger the system, the more variety of bigger, better plants you can grow.
If there is a negative point to aquaponics, it is that you are never going to grow much more than herbs and spices in a 20 gallon tank.
Want cucumbers? Well, you can forget about it with equipment that small.
The Floating Styrofoam Method
The setup is referred to as “deep water culture” and entails positioning a foam platform directly above the water in your aquarium, so your future plants’ roots are loosely hanging into the aquarium water.
You will need the following items:
- Aquarium
- Air Stone
- Air Pump
- Nutrient Solution (Water)
- Styrofoam/Platform/Raft
- Net Pots
Your net pots will sit in the styrofoam raft, in little holes (you’ll have to make the holes) so that the plants can access the water:
- Fill your tank to the brim, with less than a half inch of clearance.
- Add your air stone to the water and hook it up to the pump.
- Fill your water with hydroponic nutrients and drop the pH level to 5.5 – 6.0
- Place your top back on, add the plants you want to grow to the net pots and place into the holes in the styrofoam.
Bear in mind that there is no root support, as the roots grow in water and not in soil, so you’ll only be able to grow light plants using this method.
Be aware: Any tall growing plants are out of the question. Lettuce and various herbs or spices will be perfect when used in a deep water culture system.
The PVC Method
The nutrient film system is the term used scientifically, and it is the system commonly used for basic hydroponics.
To transform your aquarium into a nutrient film aquaponic system, it will be a very similar setup to Deep Water Culture, other than a few key differences.
Gravity will be your friend with this method.
In addition to an air pump and stone, you will also need a water pump since the plant holder will not sit directly on the water, so you will need to have a means to pump the water up and out of the aquarium to your plants.
From there, gravity does the rest.
You will have your piping system set up above the aquarium at around a 5% angle so that when you pump the water up into the piping/tray, it trickles down to the other side and back into the aquarium.
- Aquarium
- Air Stone and Air Pump
- Water Pump
- PVC pipe or Plastic Tray
- Net Pots
A water pump is positioned inside the aquarium and submersed, with the outlet piping run vertically up to the tray or piping that accommodates your plants.
Keep in mind: An air pump is located outside of the aquarium, with an air stone submerged in the water to help ensure oxygenation of the water.
Media Bed Method
You’ll use the identical setup to the PVC.
You may replace the PVC or tray, for the media bed, with a gravel, pond stones, or clay pebbles media bed.
For beginners, I advise you to make your media bed the same length and width as the aquarium:
- Aquarium
- Media Bed (Same Width and Length as the Aquarium)
- Water Pump
- Air Pump with Air Stone
- PVC for the Drain
The media bed should be set where waist height to chest height is optimal, while the aquarium is placed at the ground or close to the ground level.
The water pump from the aquarium will slowly transfer the water to the media bed, where the plants will utilize the water’s nutrients before it comes out the other end.
You can pitch the media bed a little for proper water drainage, but don’t go the pitch angle such that water goes through too quickly.
Due to the media bed be a fixed size and difficult for gravity drainage, it is suggested to drill a hole, low on the side and with PVC, so the water can be recycled back down to the aquarium.
What Can You Grow with Aquaponics Using an Aquarium?
The dimensions of the aquaponics system you choose will also have its limitations. With a media bed you are only limited by the dimensions of your system. Other than that, you could grow just about anything.
With the nutrient film and deep water methods, you do have to stick with shorter vegetables that do not grow tall or that are very large.
Gravity will only go so far, and tall growing plants will not have enough anchor from their roots to keep them secure.
With a nutrient film/PVC method you have a little more flexibility, but it will depend on how large your tray or PVC pipe is.
With a media bed, you are limited only by the dimensions and scope of your system.
And of course you won’t grow in an aquarium because they get quite expensive for larger ones, but you could use something clear like Tupperware.
Last But Not Least
Your aquarium and aquaponics systems can be whatever you want!
For example, would you prefer five or six rows of PVC with split inlet and outlet pipes for your aquaponics setup? Great! Go for it!
Here’s another idea: How about a media bed filled with pond stones and the inlet pipe can be disguised as a miniature waterfall? You decide!
Unfortunately, many people stick with Tupperware boxes or other equally effective and boring systems.
That said, if you are determined to use an aquarium, and I assume you’d like it to look nice because we all know it can be, then ultimately you can designed the aquaponics system any way you like according to your creativity.