Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello all! I've been creeping around the boards for a while and reading a lot. I am truly inspired by the work you folks have done not only on your various systems, but on sharing information within this forum as well.

So - I'm planning my first system, and based on what I've read I have been hoping to start with something utilizing approx 250 gal fish tank and barrels for growbeds. Possibly to add some towers, etc later.

My problem has been getting hold of the basic items to start with. I can't seem to find polyvinyl barrels for under $30(US) each. And the best thing I have been able to find for a tank is a 250 gal polyvinyl cube (food grade - had molasses in it)...and the guy wants $235(US) for it.

So, am I missing some of the more creative ways to get my hands on these types of items? For example, did anyone get their hands on barrels directly from a place that used the barrel contents and then gave the barrels away?

Maybe I'm just being a little too tight with my money...it wouldn't be the first time I have been acused of that one!

Any ideas are appreciated!

Some folks have used (or contemplated using) children's wading pools. A 300gal Rubbermaid stock tank would only run you about $170. Some folks are using large plastic storage bins from KMart or the like. Growbeds can be built from cheap lumber and pond liners. My personal vote is the Rubbermaid stock tanks. I went for durability rather than risk a rupture in my sunroom. That would have cost me a lot more!!

I actually found that I spent a lot on plumbing fittings and chopping up vinyl tubing into small lengths. The cost of the tanks and growbeds was a lot smaller percentage of the cost than I initially thought it would be. Mistakes/re-work cost me a lot, and of course there's the drawer-full of leftover parts that is worth a small fortune.

Welcome R3! I have also looked for Barrels, and am currently looking at using pond technology - for a couple reasons:
1- I have a graded area on my lot that I have to terrace anyway
2- I haven't found a good source of free barrels yet
3- Aesthetics - the blue barrel look wouldn't go over very well in our neighborhood.

BTW- where are you in NC? We're in High Point.

Thanks! It's amazing what knowing the correct name for an item can do for you. I've done numerouse google searches looking for the right kind of "tank" but did not know to use the term "stock tank". This looks like a very viable option, still expensive (I know - I need to get up off my wallet) but looks like it might work out well.



Very cool! I'm in Charlotte...only about 1.5 hours away I think!

I'm looking forward to getting started. I'm in the "research/planning/convince the wife your not a crackpot" stage right now. Since the wife also happens to be the finance manager, I really need to work on that particular piece.

R3- little over an hour up 85 from 77, and you're there, (or here as the case may be).

I'm also in the planning/convincing my wife I'm not completely nuts stage. She's softened, but not yet convinced. If I can make my terraces look good, and produce, she'll be convinced.

It's dangerous when the AP addict -is- the finance manager.

Welcome R3

Your situation might be completely different than mine so I am not going to tell you what to do.

But, here is what I do to reduce cost and convince my wife that I am not crazy.

I am turning myselve into an experienced person in Aquaponics. Very experienced people can be recognized by the quantity of mistakes that they have made or seen other people do and learned from. So I read everything I can about AP and I set myself up to make mistakes.

Since I don't like spending money, I make sure that they are inexpensive mistakes by starting small.

I have a 55 gallons blue barrell that was given to me. That's where my fish are. My grow bed is one inexpensive plastic container purchased at superstore. And yes, Janet is right - watch out for the expenses on pipes! The pump was the biggest expense and it is way too big - but that means that I can grow the system and use the same pump.

I have put 12 gold fish in there - and lost 4. That's a pittifull 33% loss. Now if I had lost 33% of 100 Tilapias, that would have been 33 fish. And I bet that each Tilapia would have been more expensive than the 50 cents I paid my gold fish!

I learned from this. It was valuable and inexpensive experience.

As I work on my mini system, I am building my utlimate system in my head. Each experiment with the small system brings improvement to the ultimate design. I have discovered problems specific to my situation that will be easier to fix in the big system because I have encountered them first in the small one. Cold weather is one that comes to mind immediately.

And now comes the best part. This small system allows me to work toward my primary goal which is to grow beautiful spinash. My wife loves spinash. I am hoping that she will like the AP spinach so much that she will come to see the system as hers, designed and managed by her man, to bring her nice fresh food year around. In other words, I will let the AP system do the convincing for me.

G'day R3, Barrels should be a great cheap option if you can get hold of them. Here in Australia we have classified type papers that come out weekly, where people buy and sell lots of used goods, do you have such a thing in your area, these can have all sorts of items including second hard barrels, tanks, ponds etc.. This is where I bought most of my barrels from, and the 1000L (250 Gallons) IBC tanks that I've used for my fish tank as well.. I bought my barrels for $10 each, and the fish tank was only $50..

Good luck convincing the finance department...

R3, another source of blue drums may be your local concrete works. The ones around here get hydrochloric acid delivered in them (used for cleaning the concrete I think? )The acid washes out fairly readily. A few rinses with the hose and a couple of days in the sun once they have been cut open.
Have fun with it

Thanks to everyone for the responses!

greenedo - Let me know when the ground breaking occurs. Perhaps I can offer some manual labor in exchange for [s]stealing your ideas [/s] learning about your system. I'm interested because I intend on using a tilapia/greenhouse setup as well.

julien - Point taken and now actively being considered. If I build a small proof of concept this summer and plan on a larger system next year it might work out well. If I get the kids involved (good dad points) and actually produce some veggies the Minister of Finance might be convinced to set aside some funds.

Had a conversation with her last night that went like this:
me - "Honey, this would be great and the kids would love to pitch in"
her - "Yes, but if I left it up to you we wouldn't have any funds left to feed the kids with"
me - "Ahhh, but that's the great part. With this hobby we could feed the kids!"
her - "I thought this was about fish and produce? Since our kids won't touch those, have you figured out a system for growing hot dogs and chicken nuggets?"
me - "groan"

JP - The wife is much better at managing the money. As mentioned above, the kids might starve if I were in charge!

eb - I've been trying "Craigslist" and online form of the same thing with no luck, but I'll keep trying.

Jaymie - Good idea. I'll check it out.

With Tilapia, you need to check with the state about a permit. Aquaculture permits are easy to come by, but to use Tilapia, you have to have a special waiver and inspection. You can't steal my ideas, I'll give them to you - That way, if they don't work, you can find out first!

-Doug

I started down the permit road (trying to find out what was required) a while ago with the city/county. All I could get was a "huh" and "well, I guess you would need the same department as chickens since they are both livestock". I gave up when the livestock department said "I don't know about fish...but I'm guessing you can't have them because there's no livestock allowed in city limits". But I see you are saying that it is actually at the state level? That's a very good piece of information.

Welcome Rick!

My system is using a 110 gallon tank from Tractor Supply that was $60. They have lots of tanks to choose from if you have one of those stores nearby. I am now looking into "megabins", which are also called pallet containers, they can be had for a little over $200 but I haven't found a local source yet. The IBCs or "totes" are space efficient and can be found secondhand if you look. The classified paper is the first place to look. HTH

p.s. I think it would be useful to design a small system around a 40 watt pump and a bubbler (my system in running on this, plus mucho dinero for heaters and lights) and see if you can convince your better half that the cost is worthwhile.

R3-

I emailed the state about Tilapia, and got this reply. This doesn't substitute for local permits.

> Doug
> You would need to fill out the request located here:
> http://www.ncwildlife.org/pg03_Fishing/pg3b7.htm
> for permission for tilapia.
>
>Matt

On the local level, ask about putting in a fish pond. For the local government, that should be what they need to know. For the state, they may need to know that you are doing this as a small non-profit thing; but when I asked about Tilapia, they responded as above.

Thanks for the tip. There is a Tractor Supply nearby. I will definately check it out!

There is also a Harbor Freight nearby...I'm lucky in this respect. Most of their stuff is "cost effective", you just have to be careful what you buy as some of it is pure junk. I've been checking out their pumps (wide variety at what seem like good prices) I've also been scoping out this greenhouse (for next summer maybe). Much more research to be done in this area.