Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Specs

External 3.8 x 3.8 metre greenhouse.
Height 2.05 metres front, 2.85 metres back.


Timber used.

160 metres 3x2 A3 treated (75x50)
22 metres 4x2 A3 treated (100x50)
4 metres 2x2 A4 treated (50x50)
16 metres 6x2 A4 treated (150x50)

Total timber costs $800 with 30% trade discount. I highly recommend getting friendly with a tradesman you'll save a lot.

4 x bags Redicrete concrete $40. 1 per corner post.

6 kilos nails - $60.

Plastic cost me $210 including frieght. It is adequate to cover the roof and two walls with a double layer. The other walls are solid, reflective, and insulated. Plastic fixings... These cost more than the plastic, more than twice more! So I'm looking to see what I can come up with.

Bed frames and beds. Will be going with blue barrel design I made. Plus some DWC buckets with tomatoes, capsicum, chillies, and eggplant. And a big tower to see how the big ones run.

44 Gallon pre top up tank. - Free from a friend (traded some veg)

Pond - Finally settled for something smaller I already had. I either suck at shopping, or shopping in NZ sucks, a bit of both I think. The pond I installed is only 600 litres when I had hoped for 1200. The system itself will hold another 300 litres at any given time so I'm recirculating a total of 900 litres. I can live with this, and can convert to larger easily if I ever choose to expand on this property.

Pump, fish, medium. Electricals - leads in, light and switch, bug zapper.

As I get things I'll add them and their prices in.

Most of the plumbing lines etc are free as I have an irrigation friend who's as excited by my Aqua as I am.

Tools to build with.

Handsaw, Dropsaw, Hammer, Chisel, Level, Set Square, Tape measure, pencil, sledge hammer, spade and shovel, rake, wheelbarrow, length (10 metres) rope, clear hose coil (6 metres for getting level on posts etc)

And plumbing tools - Holesaw, hacksaw, cement, tape measure...

I positioned my greenhouse diagonally to how my section runs to best take advantage of the winter suns direction. The site itself recieves only half days sun in Winter and so reflective surfaces will be used on the back walls and supplementary lighting may be needed, we'll find that out in a year.

In summer heat will be the biggest problem and so I plan windows to open on the highest portion of the back wall, a door open, possible water cooling but worried as to adding humidity, plus fans in and out.

Note: - Ventilation in hospitals provides a negative vacuum. What this means is they force more air out than is being drawn in mechanically. for some reason this provides a more sterile environment. So this is what I'm doing with fans.

OK.... think I'll need to do this in installments and we'll get photos in here soon to make it easier to understand.

1. Select your site considering the following
Winter suns path
Location of pond to proximity of pump (internal pond or not)
Where your power and water is coming from.
Boundaries and bylaws pertaining to them.
Permits (no need for hobby greenhouse permit here)
Access
Future enlargement (pertains more to small business)

2. Plan, plan more, plan more.
Vertical, nft?, DWC, medium beds.... It's your garden and your choice. Read everything and make your choice informed.
Like with ponds. You think you'll have enough but want more. Be realistic, will 2 sq metres feed you? Will you be able to run 20 sq metres...

I have figures on inputs in labour. This includes fish and pump feeding/maintenance, monthly water parameter checks, seedling husbandry, replanting, and harvest. This does not include any marketing or administration. At $15 per hour to have a worker minding my Aqua I think it will cost $0.40 per sq metre per day. I will mind things myself but it's nice to plan ahead as well.

Once your system is established you can apply this rate to work out your actual time requirements. You can grow up to 37.5 sq metres with 1 hours maintenance per day. This is a 7 hour/day week, not 5.

If you go a little bigger - who is going to eat or buy all this produce? I have a greengrocer ready for whatever I can do (for now hehe). And neighbours who'm I've always traded veg for - fixing my stuff, feeding me up on beer, free internet, you name it, good boys all of em.

3. Level your site. I did a lot of double handling of dirt. Level the site first. thank me later.

4. Mark your site out with spray paint where your posts, walls, beds etc are going. Internal pond? Mark it out and dig it out now. Now cover it with ply or a tarp to stop too much crap getting in as you build.

5. Select a corner to start from and place your first corner post (4x4). Use your level and check it is level on both sides. Put stakes into the ground on two sides of it and lightly nail stakes to post to hold it steady. recheck levels, get them right and add concrete, recheck levels again and allow to set. Using mathematics, a friend, (or spend all day alone and go half insane as i did, but i got it!) and tape measure place your next three posts. Look out for skew they not only need to be in the correct place but skewed correctly and level both ways...

Now how do I explain the other post placement. Pythagorus plus two pieces of string (non stretch) and a tape measure.

Say I am going, to make the example easy, 4 x 4 metres.

The first post is in.

A second post is easily placed by utilising a pattern cut of a piece of wood to fit your internal walls measurement post to post.

ie: 4 metres minus width of two posts = internal wall length.

Cut the pattern place it hard against your first post and butt the second post into it.

Now you need to get your skew, and perfect placement. Put a string line on your first post and run it from the outside edge to your second post. Now, using a friend to stand by the first post and watch, very slowly draw your string toward the second posts hole till it is flush against your first post. That's a straight line to your outside edge, your mark for the outside edge of the second post. The wood pattern has already given your other mark. Level it both ways and concrete in.

Now the tricky one, coffee break...

The third post....

You have two posts in. This also gives you two points of reference.

Rectangle or square this will work for you, any hexagons you'll need to find another builder...

Pythagorus... Was a genius at mathematics, and finally, i find a real life situation where he is needed hehe.

you can get the length of any right angles diagonal by doing the following

Add the squared sum of the two sides together. Get the square root of this figure. This is your diagonal measure.

ie. 4 x 4 greenhouse. 4 x 4 = 16. (one side) 4 x 4 = 16. (second side). 16 plus sixteen = 32. (Sum of the two sides squared) Square root of 32 = 5.657. The diagonal of this greenhose is 5.657 metres.

ie 2: 4 x 6 greenhouse. 4 x 4 = 16 (short side) 4 x 6 = 24 (long side) 16 plus 24 = 40. (sum of two sides squared) Square root of 40 = 6.324. The diagonal of this greenhouse is 6.324 metres.

Work out your diagonal, then subtract the diagonal measure of your post.

ie: 5.657 - 0.130 = 5.527.

Get two pieces of non stretch string, a tape, and a friend.

Nail a piece of string to the internal corner of the post diagonally opposite where you want your 3rd post. Measure it and mark it at 5.527 (diagonal minus post diagonal measure). Get another piece of string and place it on the other posts outside as if you were getting the skew again. Mark it so its exactly your outside walls length. Where the two meet is you outside corner for your third post. And.... it's perfect! A perfect right angle in the right spot.

Is this understandable I've had the hands on experience with tools etc a bit before I did this....

The fourth post only requires you have two pieces of string set on the outsides of your two posts closest to where the 4th post goes (not the diagonal).
1 piece your external width, 1 piece your external length.

Where they meet is the external corner for your fourth post.

Now you have your cornerstones. Dry for a day then build on them.

Next we'll go back to levelling the site, how to get perfect levels with a piece of clear hose.

But now I'm off to build a 4th wall. And we haven't even started the 1st.

Nice one AA, I'm going to follow this with great interest....

wow, them are detailed instructions... waiting for the next installment now

Well I got a bunch of photos, renamed and resized them all and they are still too big. Too much on today but I've plenty of work to go in here yet, patience, patience, all will be revealed.

Ahhh bugger..... how big did you make the pics AA? there is thread here that may help http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=107

Other things to look for when selecting a site.

Rocks. Probe and see if you wont need dynamite right where you want that fourth posthole.

Dirt. How much will you need to remove and where to. I'll do a bit of landscaping but some of that clay etc from the bottom, you don't want to landscape and have it come out last to go on top.

Getting a level with a clear hose is easy.
Drive a long stake into the ground a couple of feet behind where you want your corner post.
Tie one end of the hose to this.
Measure and drive stakes a couple of feet outside where the other corners are.
Take the hose to your second stake and tie the other end on where you think it's level (see how wrong you can be!).
Fill hose with water leaving a few cm each end and lose the bubbles.
Mark the water line on both stakes - they are exactly level.
The next corner it helps to have a friend who moves the hose till line on your first post is perfect and water is still - there's the level on other post.

Now you have points of reference. Measure 300 down on all 4 stakes and you guessed it, they're exactly level, or 500 down, or 800 up...

Run string lines around and using a tape measure you will soon see where you need to remove or add dirt, perhaps retain some, etc.

Save yourself a lot of extra work. you'll see with the photos. I moved a lot of dirt double handled or had to be removed awkwardly. I stepped up and walked 2-3 steps with every spadeful of that pond's hole to get the dirt out of there. Wasn't neccessary if I'd planned better.

However it's the second thing I've ever built by myself. I'm rather chuffed.

It rained so much took 8 days to get the first sixteen hours in

But it's nearly done now, though this thread has a ways to go.

Very nice AA, keep the pictures coming as you progress!

far out, looks like you're building a granny flat! Sensational.

AA are you nailing or bolting?

Was thinking I might get a few dozen reffos in there