Media Grow Beds

SUGGESTION: If you haven’t read our new Welcome II page and its updated information find it at the top of the AQ Overview page.
FLASH: We have a companion blog!  Galion Community Gardens
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Topics include:
Indoor Grow Beds, Outdoor Grow Beds,
DIY Barrels-Horizontal/Table/Greenhouse, DIY-IBC Totes and Dutch Bucket Set-up ---

The grow bed media provides the plants with a foundation in which to grow and anchor their roots, serves to moderate the temperature around the plant roots, provides a surface area for the nitrifying bacteria to colonize, facilitates the mechanical filtration for the solid waste, and provides a home for beneficial worms in aquaponics systems.

Grow Bed media should be pH neutral and includes:
Expanded Clay Pebbles = Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA)
Expanded Shale, Lava Rock = (Pumice Stone), River gravel, Pea gravel and Aquarium Stones.

You will see an array of choices for the grow bed containers from pre-fabricated, to recycled, to hand constructed.  There is one system or combination of systems just right for you!     Good Luck!

Suggestion:
Read the comments on each video for more information.
Also:
Additional videos by each producer/contributor may be of value to you.

Many of these systems would be appropriate Indoors or Outdoors.
Think
wheels
on your Units.

Indoor Grow Beds
Rebecca Self of Food Chain Lex., explains her Grow Bed system in the first part of this video and shares the plans for her Community Supported Agriculture; CSA, urban food production and educational facility in Lexington. KY.  See: Becca's plan come to fruition under our Rafts Systems tab. Her FoodChainLex FaceBook page. Her website.

Dustinsfishtanks provided the video on YouTube.
 
 
 
Indoor Aquaponics - 20 gal. Tank #1,* impossiblefrontflip * 1:18 mins.
 
Indoor Aquaponics - 20 gal. Tank #2 * 3:41 mins.
 
Kitchen Aquaponics Initial Setup (1/2) * BrianF * 9:09 mins.
 
Indoor Aquaponics Setup #2/3 Claude Saundeers * 9:56 mins.
 
 
IndoorAquaponic Garden * urbangardenfarmer * 4:54 mins.
Erich’s videos range from outdoor in-ground, to hydroponics, aeroponics, to aquaponics, including rainwater collection, worm farm, and his booth at a farmer’s market.
 
Build a 3x6' hydroponic grow bed for under $100 * 2:14 mins.
All the measurements and directions on the video !  Doesn’t include plumbing.

Aquaponics system: - a desktop  system * Robt. Brennen * 11:43 mins. 
 
Home Aquaponics - 2nd Week Update * Kudaimo * 8:30 mins.
 
Aquaponics - New York City apartment * AquaponicsNYC * 18:13 mins.
 
Easy & Affordable Indoor Aquaponics * 6:57 mins.
 indoorharvestgardens has many helpful videos on YouTube.
 
 
Outdoor Grow Beds

A very affordable $150-$175 aquaponics setup with 100-gallon stock tank, and two 15-gallon grow beds. The only power you need is for the pump and you can even get a cheap solar panel that will run it.


 
CPS Aquaponics #1 * Saeid Momtahan * 17:22 mins.
This is an Aquaponic system I designed and built for Children's Protection Society in Penang, Malaysia. The entire cost of the project including the Fish and the Feed was around $100. It took around 3 hours to build it, and another 3 days to disassemble, deliver and re-assemble it in CPS. During the 3 days after the Cucumber seedlings were planted, their growth was phenomenal.

CPS Aquaponics #2 * 4:10 mins.

Aquaponic Farming * University of Hawaii/deomo set-up * 4:37 mins.

Backyard Aquaponics D-I-Y * Rob Torcellini * 11:05 mins.
Rob bought a $700 greenhouse kit to grow more vegetables in his backyard. Then he added fish to get rid of a mosquito problem and before long he was a committed aquaponic gardener.

Building Aquaponic Grow Beds - Time Lapsed * web4deb * 2:10 mins.
 
D-I-Y Aquaponics Koi Pond System * Kapulfilms * 9:37 mins.
 
Aquaponics DIY CHOP 2Super Easy * simpleponics * 2:19 mins.
 CHOP = constant height one pump.


Aquaponics construction * Aceman307 * 14:55 mins.

Aquaponics construction 2, tuning the system * Aceman307


DIY Barrels -Horizontal/Table/Greenhouse
Barrel-ponics, (a.k.a. Aquaponics in a Barrel) by Travis W. Hughey, copyright 2005, has been a guide for many beginners in Aquaponics.

Note: The following series is a visual of Northern Monkey Mayhem's British set-up based on Travis's instructions. 


Budget DIY Aquaponics * Northern Monkey Mayhem

Aquaponic Grow Bed Construction * [Step-by-Step]

Aquaponics, Simplified Plumbing design 

Aquaponics "U" Syphon Operation

Aquaponics Auto water top-up

Aquaponics, The Pump and its Plumbing

Aquaponics, Simple Climate Control

Aquaponics Site preparation and Polytunnel [Kit] erection

100 Page PDF providing similar information

Note: Every little detail with pictures!

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 1 *enonewpower * 9:21 mins.

Al and his wife have set-up  a mini system with most of the bells & whistles that they would use should they decide to build a larger commercial system in the future. Follow along with their considerations and changes made as they progressed.



Aquaponics System Setup - Part 2 * 5:55 mins.

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 3 * 8:14 mins.

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 4 * 10:24 mins.

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 5 * 11:15 mins.

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 6 * 8:43 mins.

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 7 * 11:10 mins.

Aquaponics System Setup - Part 8 * 6:12 mins.

Aquaponics - Up and running Part 1 * 11:58 mins.

Aquaponics - Vegetables Week 2 * 5:38 mins.

Aquaponics System Week 4 * 10:02 mins.

Aquaponics update week 6 - WOW! * 6:40 mins.



DIY - IBC Totes
Building an ibc aquaponic system * backyard aquaponics * 30:13 mins.

The Australian Backyard Aquaponics website
How to build a really simple IBC aquaponic system using a minimal amount of tools. An overwhelming amount of information in the 187 page PDF Manual.

Rob Bob was having 'heat' challenges on Jan. 11th, 2013...



Solar Powered Aquaponics * Urbanfarmingguys * 8:18 mins.
How to Build a solar powered IBC tote Aquaponics System CHEAP and EASY.

How to build a basic Aquaponics System * Aquaponic * 3:43 mins
This is sytem is based on the barrel ponic and S&S setup and was built in the summer of 07'.


Aquaponics (The Build) [off-grid] Paul McHugh * 22:03 mins.

Aquaponics in Arizona * bkudell 8 videos * 6:29 mins
I used 1 330 gal tote for the fish tank and 3 275 gal totes for the grow beds and sump tanks.

Aquaponics - Growing Food without Dirt * Roxy Cross * 5:33 mins.
This is one of the videos of the project my sons are running in northern California although you could do this anywhere under the right conditions.
They are using no potting mix or any chemicals at all. This entire project is organic, reusable and sustainable…… Note: Vertical Towers incorporated in grow bed at 1:30 mins.


Dutch Buckets
mhpgardener demostrates his Dutch Bucket Hydroponics set-up - How It Works & How to Make Your Own Buckets. Included here because he points out many fine points and his use of perlite as media with a paint strainer liner.

 

For comments use Contact tab upper right corner. Thank you!
~GGG~