Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Could it lift up to just the top of the half barrels? The top would be about 18" above the surface of the water, maybe a little less.

If I used an air pump it could run continuously and use less power than a large pump cycling on and off.... Actually I will have to check some numbers, because if I have a long off cycle it may conserve a lot of energy. But if I have a long off cycle using a hydrolic pump I may need an air stone to run constantly so the pond water has enough oxygen.

Ok, so after a quick google search it appears to be possible to pump the water atleast 18"

So I think I will go that route

So, after taking measurements and things last night I found out I cant fit 8 half barrels in the space I have. I can fit 5 half barrels... that is it

So this is what I have come up with, I just wont be able to stock the tank to heavily.

Low slung and cool, I like it!

Would you consider going double decker with the blue barrels , that way you could have ten , pump feeds top section then drains to bottom and then tank.
You could put plants that don't mind shade in the bottom (just not shady plants you could get in trouble from the law )

I am glad to see you have planned extra support for the blue barrels, they do tend to deform and cause issues if not provided for.

Could you in the future, shrink your attached images down to medium size, I hate having to scroll sideways to read posts. Thanks.

If you manage a 1:1 ratio of gravel to fish tank volume, you will probably have plenty of bio-filter for a first system and still be able to flood and drain without too much issues for the fish. Just have to stay reasonable with your stocking density until you figure out other ways to add bio-filter capacity within your space constraints.

I Like the idea of gravel in the tank. I'm not sure how easy it will be to implement. I have done something kinda like it though a bit less elegant. I would fill 5 gallon paint strainer bags with gravel, rubberband the top and set them into the fish tanks to wedge things or prop things up. The gravel in these bags comes in quite handy to start other systems or jump start a new grow bed.

A few things to keep in mind with how your barrels are lined up over the tank. It may be rather difficult to reach some parts of the beds with that layout. Look for ideas to help you deal with that.

If you cut the barrels the same way mine are, you could fit ten 1/2 barrels in thet space.

If I did it that way then it would stick out 48" from the fence as opposed to just 36". I cannot go past 36" because there is a gate and I need to be able to pass my wheel barrow through it.



Lol I would really like to add more grow space.... but I want to stick with an airlift pump because I plan to run the system off 100% solar power eventually.



I dont remember reading that in the forum rules

JK I dont like the scrolling over thing, I will make sure to shrink it next time.




I will probably build a platform over the pond about 24" wide so I can have easier access, plus it will add more shade for the fish.



Thanks

I managed to take some pictures with our half broken digital camera to post up some pictures of the progress.

TCL I'm sorry in advance if these are to wide


Fiberglass patches on the tank, the hole in the side I will use as an overflow drain. It will be piped to the bottom of the garden to drain. I would like to use rain water collected off my roof to fill the pond in the spring. The rain water will go through a series of holding tanks that will act like a solids removal system. The overflow off the holding tanks will route into the pond. That probably will not be added until next year though. Any see a problem with do it that way? I read something about the ph level of the rain water?


The Hole


The hole up close


Side of my house.(Left:compost pile, Center: perlite bag, Right:rabbit hutch... and a big pile of river rocks that came out of the hole I just dug)


The blue half barrels leaching in the garden. This is the second leaching, I will drain them tonight and leach them one more time.


Does anyone know if I should leach the pond tank after using fiberglass and caulk to patch holes and cracks?

Shell Grit should sort you out as to pH if the rain water is too low for you. Feed stores should have shell grit (like crushed oyster shells used for laying chickens) or even lots of washed sea shells like I have will keep pH buffered plenty.

Only issues with rain water might be any dirt/chemicals it might collect off the surfaces that collect it. There are methods in rain water collection that can allow a rinse of the roof before collecting the rain water though provided you get enough rain at any one time to accomplish such a thing. That said, I have used rain water off my roof on occasion and I have an asphalt shingle roof.

Hum, I don't know much about the fiberglass patch etc but I suspect that letting it cure really well and then leaching or rinsing well would be a good idea for any tank.

Please dont tell me your using perlite?

I've been hesitant to use water off of our asphalt shingles, they can have zinc in them (as an anti-algae treatment) as well as nasty petrochemical residues that we might not know what the effects from them are. Might consider filtering the rain water somehow, maybe through a bucket of charcoal? I would love to use water from our roof otherwise, it's a shame not to...

I mainly used it while the fish were in quarantine and the bed serving their little tank was not fully cycled. I didn't want to be doing water changes with well water as the pH of the well water is much higher than the settled pH of the buffered system or the rain water. Most of the time I use the collected rain water for washing stuff out or watering parts of the dirt garden.

I would definitely prefer a metal roof for collecting rain water for use in a system.

I was going to use perlite until I found out the negative side of using it... Now I plan to mix it in to the soil in my garden.

I will be using gravel in my grow beds. Anyone have suggestion as to what type of gravel to use? I was thinking just pee gravel?

I'm using 1/4" gravel, but my next purchase of gravel will be 1/2". I'd like a bit bigger gravel than the 1/4".