Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've had my barrelponics AP system up and running for around 10 months now. I have a picnic table with 3 half barrels sitting on the table top and 2 DWC half barrels sitting on the benchseats all gravity draining into my FT sitting under the picnic table. I chose to use the picnic table because it was available and could fit 3 barrels on top sideways with just an inch on each end hanging over the edge of the tabletop. All has been going a well, just growing along, harvesting, replanting, feeding fish, alls well and happy till......
Of coarse I go away to work for two day, come back home and my FT is drained down to a foot of water. My large koi are swimming around with half their backs out of water. Reminded me of how the salmon swim up the shallow rivers to spawn. I get checking around and I find that one of my GB is leaking from a crack in the barrel where it is hanging over the edge of the table. I check all the other barrels and sure enough they are all bending at the ends what hang over, just the end 1 inch.
I quickly disconnect the leaking GB, take it offline and remove it. Put all my planned chores on hold and cut a sheet of plywood to fit completely under the GB plus an extra inch on each end. Grunt and swear and shove that plywood under the GB and now have them full supported. Drill a new barrel and transfer the cracked barrel cinder over and all is back to flowing and I have a new bed to plant.
Not sure when the barrels started leaking, could've been a couple hours, could've been 2 days. I do know my fish would've been high and dry in another couple hours.
Lesson learned. If you are going to use split barrels, not only support the sides, make sure the whole barrel has support on both ends. Support only 98% and leave an inch unsupported on the ends and you are asking for trrouble.

Close call I don't want to repeat again.

Cory

we all get leaks, overflows, pump failures etc. especially in the first year of our systems. Engineering faults are the most common cause of new system HSM.
Put a piccy or two up, of what went wrong, and how you fixed it. PPL (esp me) respond much better to photos than words

Sorry, I usually don't take pictures of my failures. I already have a vivid picture of all my screw ups in my mind, don't need reminders
I went and looked at the GB and they have already flattened out against the ply wood. Even the cracked one you can't see it. Now all the weight of cinder and water is off it straightened out. Interesting that that 1" end would have enough weight to crease it like that......................Cory

Not related - but did snap a photo of my last HSM (HCM really as I try not to swear)...There was no rush to fisx anything though as he was already dead.

Yep, barrels cut round the middle need less special support. Cut the long way you definitely need to support them well.

And I've had my share of poor fish exploring pipes and winding up where they should not be.

Course when I first started reading this, I thought you were going to tell us about the table collapsing.

heheh as did I TC... I was picturing a folding card table.

Got to admit I was wondering how a card table was supporting the weight of the three beds... Must be a damn good table...

Nope it isn't a card table, its a very solid picnic table made with 2x4 and 2x6s. When I started this project that vision was also in my mind so I added lots of braces and supports to an already solid picnic table.....Cory