While this was not my first aquaponics set up, this was the set up the Nerd Pond was named for. The credit for the name goes to my wonderful roommate who allowed me to make a mess in the back yard. At the time of the picture was taken the pond contained three small Koi and had an integrated duckweed tank. The system used two five-gallon buckets connected with siphons for a solids settler and sump. The grow bed is a 20-gallon Rubbermaid bin filled with a Hydroton/Hydrocorn mix and is growing mint and micro-greens.

Both the Koi and the mint made the trip to northern California and our still growing strong.