Hydroponics Architectures

there are 3 firebelly toads in the tank. the tree frog doesn't like them. they are gregarious and the tree frog is mellow.

There are many ways to construct an Aquaponics system. I've tried none of them :). I've also never seen a working Aquaponics system. This is a kind of experiment to see how easy or hard it is. Just to give the reader a gauge here, I do have some science education (Math and CS primarily). I know basic chemistry and physics, but little university level biology. I'm picking it up as I go along. I would say that you do need to be somewhat astute, but you don't need college level education to do this.

The architecture I will try first is a continuous drip system. It's the easiest to construct. As the name suggests you simply run the effluent (outgoing fish water) into the plant medium (which will be some kind of gravel). Most experienced people suggest instead setting up a periodic wash system, but for now I'll just do it simply. The hydroponics bin (in which the plant lives) will drain directly into the tank. Pretty darn simple. All you have to do is take some precaution that the effluent gets distributed throughout the medium, and doesn't soak it, nor leave any areas dry. The plant medium must stay wet or the precious ammonia and nitrite fixing bacteria will die (more on that later). All of this stuff will be contained inside of the tank. The tree frog will temporarily lose his plastic vine home but he will soon have a new and improved living vine home. The tree frog is pretty anti-social. He doesn't interact with the other 3 bullfrogs at all. He's above them. He's a very aloof frog.


here is an article on drip hydroponics vs. ebb-and-flow as they call it (Ive heard it called many things).

I also expect the tank to stay much cleaner and fresher once this is up and running. I am interested to know if it will reduce the maintenance to zero.