IBC aquaponics

Fish and a grow bed on one pump, built from a reused IBC tote. A lot of food per square foot, and its water feeds half the other systems here.

No. 03

What happened here

It had a rough start: an ammonia spike in the first weeks, hard on the fingerlings, which is the usual problem in a new system before the bacteria that turn fish waste into plant food have caught up. Big water changes and a dose of beneficial bacteria brought it back. By June 2026 it was stable, and it has run reliably since.

Its water does more work than the fish do. It is the base for worm tea, the soak that charges the biochar, and what wets each new load in the hot composter.

The honest part

The pump is life support. A day without power kills the fish, and then the bacteria. Plan for outages.
Fish food is usually bought, so some of the fertility the system seems to make is really imported in the bag.
It needs someone every day. If you travel a lot, choose something else from the menu.
It shuts down for the winter and starts again in spring.

From the yard log

June 2026 Worked

Stable, and running reliably since. It had a rough start: an ammonia spike in the first weeks, hard on the fingerlings, which big water changes and a dose of beneficial bacteria brought back.

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