Beginning to Build an Aquaponic System

After a few weeks of careful planning, I have finally managed to pool together the resources needed to build my aquaponics system. Some changes were made to the design in order to maximize the amount of space I have available. The major change will be extending the length of the tubing so the system is an entire ten feet long.

Another change being made will be the use of free standing support structures to hold up the tubing. This decision was made to be able to hold the 10 foot pipes up in a sturdy fashion. Another adjustment I made was using caps at the end of the tubing, sealed with a hose clamp. This will allow me to more easily adjust the height of the water inside the tube, which will be very important because I do not intend to flood the plants.

One note about the supports holding the tubes: These were a little tricky because we want the tubes to be slanted slightly downwards so the water moves down the system like a stepping down a stair. So on the right hand side, the highest tube will be 6 ft in the air, the middle 4.5 ft, and the lowest, 3 ft. This must be taken into account by making the support at the opposite end of the tubing hold the pipe at 5'11", the middle tube at 4'7", and the bottom tube at 2'11".

Now that I have explained some changes in the system design, here are some photos of the building process:

Cutting the Wood for the Supports

Drilling together the support for the tubes. 

All of our supplies sitting in one place.