Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

For a system that won't need to move, I might favor the ferocement, however, for anything that might need be dismantled and moved, I think I'll stick with liner.

We are planning to build an airformed, insulated, thinshell concrete house soon. Around that house will be a shotcrete wall for some planting beds. I'm thinking those will be turned into aquaponic grow beds for the future house.

let's ask the mods to move these posts to another thread
like TCL suggested
I just noticed too late, sorry

it's worth it's own
and so is this one

frank

TCL, didn't you mention somewhere that you can get the liners made to fit the container you build, like your cattlepanel circle kind of like a pool liner but for square shapes also?

if you have enough money you can get what you want

They do make tank liners but they are quite costly. Perhaps if you had the right size galvanized ring sitting there in your yard, it might be worth buying the tank liner to fit but it definitely costs more than folding a flat piece of pond liner to do the job. Benefit of the tank liner is no big folds for fish and crap to hide in. I suppose if one was really confident in their seeming abilities, one could cut and seem a liner to fit better but I would be too worried about leaks and have no need for a bunch of little pieces of scrap liner.

My system cost:
2 300 gallon rubbermades $320
1 100 gallon rubbermade $64
4 420 gallon metal tanks $680
pipe and fittings and valves $270
7 Yards of .375 gravel $280
Pump $70
Excavator rental $200

Total. $1884 for a system with over 1000 gallons(700 for fish) and its portable. $2.69 per gallon of fish water, completed. The prices you have above come to $3.66/gallon of water with fish.

However, I am still looking at using pond liner for the next stage of my system because it will look much nicer in the ground/landscape and I can have any shape I want. My only concern here is the gravel thats in the soil.

I am also considering using clay to seal my next fish pond instead of a liner.

Try using Bentonite DanD ....

Rupe

I started using pond liner for my grow bed about 6 months ago and I'm convinced it's the way to go. I recently finished two beds 3' X 7' using wood frame and EPDM pond liner. Total cost including gravel was less than $150 each and these guys are permanent beds. They're in my greenhouse and should last pretty much forever.

I'm getting ready to do a greenhouse expansion and I think I'm going to build in ground fish tanks in the greenhouse with..... yep you guessed it... POND LINER!!!!!

I lined a float tank before and you can get the liners very thick so they don't get any holes. I would like to see a better way to finish the corners. I had glue on the sides but the corners bugged me. Does using a hot glue gun pose any risk. It could be used to seal the fold edges.

TC,
A few years ago I lined a fish pond I dug with an in-ground swimming pool liner I acquired from a pool company. They some times have old liners they've removed, and if your lucky they sometimes put in a new one that doesn't work for some reason and they have to remove it.

Either way, if you can find the hole (of the old ones) they're fairly easily patched and might make either several grow bin liners, or a fairly large pond liner. I think I might check on it myself.

Anyway, food for thought!

VR/
Tony

I saw pics of your green house in TCL's Christmas link. Its some really nice stuff you have going on there!

If the greenhouse you are talking about was from the pictures of Christmas day, that was actually jazzyplayermarks greenhouse and system.

Mine is the cattle pannel structure with plastic thrown over it.

Thats the one.