Get proper training | Frugal Energy

I learned the hard way that reading forums is no substitute for being taught the fundamentals: the nitrogen cycle, system cycling, fish health and water chemistry. Get those wrong and you kill your fish, your plants, or both.

I did Murray Hallam's aquaponics course and I recommend it. He is based here in Queensland, so the climate and the practical side of what he teaches map directly onto what you will be dealing with in a backyard like mine. Aquaponics.net.au is where you book the course, and he sells a lot of aquaponics gear there too if you want purpose-built kit rather than piecing everything together yourself.

Me, Rohan and Skip out at Murray Hallam's place. Worth the trip before you start cutting pipe.

A few more shots from Murray's farm: media beds, raft beds, and the plumbing that ties the greenhouse together.

Inside Murray's greenhouse: media beds, tomatoes on strings, and plenty to learn from walking the setup.

Raft beds of lettuce alongside gravel media beds. Both methods running under the one roof.

The plumbing side: reservoir, filter media and the pipework feeding the beds. This is the stuff the course covers properly.

Do the training, then come back and use the sourcing tips to build it on a budget.