Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am planning on installing an outdoor aquaponic system this spring and would like some input on my plans. First off I am planning on raising fish to eat so I will probably use catfish and bluegill due to the climate here in Northern California. After reading through the forum and doing research I have decide to use a 275 gallon IBC for my fish tank. 275 gallon IBC sump tank and 3 to 4 4'x4'x1' grow beds. This will be a CHOP system.

My questions are:

1. Is it worth the cost to insulate my fish tank to control water temperature fluctuations? [i]Summers here can reach over 100*F and winter can get down to 32*F so I was thinking of using a foam board type insulation to wrap my fish tank.[\i]

2. Do I need a bio filter?

3. Do vine plants like grapes grow well in flood and drain systems?



Thanks in advance!

YES

YES

I UNDERSTAND --- YES. --- BUT

As I understand things... solids will build up in media ... thus clogging beds and creating various problems...
I have seen beds of owners considered expert in the field, with clogged beds..
So it is logical that keeping solids out, just has to be beneficial..

The Contra argument is that those solids form a considerable part of the nutrient supply.. my thought is that I can allow solids to gather in a controllable location and decay AND provide feed for scavengers like shrimp...
Naturally, if you have larger fish stocks, you might get into swirl filters and mineralization tanks

Filtered water should only be fed to raft beds, to prevent solids gathering in roots

Insulation has a given benefit... keeping temperatures more stable, whilst you understand the thought that most heat is transmitted via the exposed media surface, and there, scattered polyester pads can reduce much of the incident heat on exposed areas...

Anything .... can be grown, under the right conditions.. the problem seems to be that a plant might kill itself off...
I had a rhubarb plant die from rot, when it formed too tight a root ball, and apparently stagnated at it's core..

I am thinking that constant flow / deep raft beds are the better choice for many plants.. eg.. those doing well with tomatoes (a vine) seem to do best with DW beds...
Lots of air seems a must...

Hopefully others will throw their two bobs worth in..

Merry Christmas...
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This may be a dumb question but seeing as I am new to aquaponics I have to ask. Technically I'm not even new because I don't have a system yet! Is it common practice to have fish waste(solids) dump into the grow beds? I wasn't planning on collecting and saving fish poo. I was kind of hoping to filter solids out or just clean the fish tank as periodic maintenance just like an aquarium.

the media in your GB's are the bio-filter, be it gravel, hydroton or whatever.

Sorry I have not tried grape vines, but if you search this forum I'm sure you will find somebody who has.

I think most of the heat is transferred into or out of the system through the GB's insulating the tanks may only help marginally.

Does anyone have any advice on using a 275 gallon IBC sump buried in the ground? What are the pros & cons to this type of setup? Is there any steps I should tank to prevent potential damages? I am going to add 2 inches or rock to the bottom for water drainage.

One more newb question. In winter or just after harvest, when a system has only a few plants or no plants at all, does the media in the grow bed continue to filter the fish tank water? How much does it affect the water quality?

Max47,

I have 2 275gal interconnected ST in the ground. Check out my system thread in my signature.
Pros - ST is the lowest point of the system with it buried you can place your GBs, DWCs, and FT closer to the ground. Especially useful in a greenhouse, and at harvest time if you are growing any tall plants. Some insulation properties. And you could save space by Putting a GB or even filters above it.

Cons - PITA if there is ever a leak (not very likely anyway). And possibly increased head height for your pump.

As for your other question Will the system still filter the water with less plants. Yes the solids will still be filtered out. But the nutrients that would usually be removed by the plants will remain. In an earlier post you were talking about removing the solids from the system anyway. " I wasn't planning on collecting and saving fish poo. I was kind of hoping to filter solids out or just clean the fish tank as periodic maintenance just like an aquarium." If your used a RFF between the FT and GBs and still removed the solids during the winter you would be just fine. But remember the fish solid waste has a lot of the nutrients plants need locked inside. I would suggest looking into a MT. So the nutrients were not lost.

By the way why did you decide on a CHOP system instead of a CHIFT PIST?

I have changed my original plan and will be going with a CHIFT PIST system. Currently I have one IBC and will need to obtain a few more to complete my build. I was thinking of operating with only the sump and one grow bed until I can get two more IBC's. I have several fingerlings in my aquarium that are quickly outgrowing their tank. This weekend I plan on setting up the sump and first grow bed and start cycling the system then in about a month add another IBC and grow bed to the system. I have a friend that can get me IBC's but I have to wait until they are available its either that or buy used ones and they run about $125.00 for a food grade tote. Thanks for the reply! I have learned a huge amount of information from all of the members on this site and hope to have my system up and running very soon.(I will post pictures)

Nice to see that you are going CHIFT PIST. CHOP is a pet peeve of a few members here.

I spent the better part of today digging a hole for my sump tank. This sure was alot of work, about halfway through I was starting to question my plan. The hole is dug and my 200 gallon sump tank fit in perfectly. My only concern is that the IBC could collapse if the ground gets too saturated. Tomorrow I will dig out a little more and shore up the sides with some old plywood I have laying around. It was raining so I didn't get any pictures yet but hopefully when I am done my sump will look like a little koi pond.

I am trying to size my pump, so it's time for some math, I hope it sounds right. I am going to have 3 growbeds and possibly adding a raft tank in the future. So 3 grow beds at 100 gallon capacity filled with media hold roughly 30% water. So 3 GB' x 33.33 gallons = 100 gallons. The GB's fill and drain 4 times an hour. 100gal x 4 = 400 gph.

So I am going to purchase a pump that moves a minimum of 400gph at the head height I am operating. Is this right?

Max,

Please tell me that you put the cage in the hole with the IBC. The cage along with some Hardy board jammed in between the cage and the soil will repel any cave in attempts.

I used hardy backer on the bottom and plywood on the sides. I know the plywood will eventually rot but its what I had laying around. As my budget allows I will replace the plywood.

I guess I will have to change this to a build thread or start build thread. Here is my first picture, a beautiful sump hole.

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Looking good.. at least with the ST buried, you can keep your other beds down...
That is a real issue with my design, which works pretty well, but access to GBs is via platforms...

Back to filtering... I am finding filtering good and problem free... "so far"

The intermediate sump is building up solids, and I assume the yabbies are having a party..
The main sump has some solids via carry over from the settlement process, and most of these will end up in the cartridge filter, where I am happy for them to sit and decay...

Remember that the square sump will work differently to a round one, when it comes to solids removal..
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