How to build an aquaponic pond system at home

We show you how to build a raised garden bed and link it to a backyard pond to grow vegies using recycled water. As plots get smaller and homes get greener we seem to be demanding more and more from our shrinking outdoor spaces. At the same time there is growing awareness about sustainability and the advantages of growing your own food. But how do you get a small garden to perform the multiple functions of producing edibles and providing a place to relax, maximising space and giving you bang for your buck? One solution is aquaponics, a system that combines aquaculture, raising aquatic animals in tanks, with hydroponics, cultivating plants in water. The idea behind it is very clever and surprisingly simple, and can be used in the average garden to create a self-watering vegie and herb bed. It’s easy to retrofit an aquaponic system to an existing pond, adding a new dimension to your landscape. To turn a basic backyard pond into an aquaponic system fo