Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ok, during my meanderings around the net, seeking info on this here Aquaponics thang, the phrase "IBC" crop up a lot (no pun intended)
Now, while the concept appeals to my cheap nature (OK, i'm a tight bastard!!!) and the simplicity of just cutting a plastic tank and cage into 2 pieces, and standing the smaller one (GB) on the larger one (FT) suits my somewhat limited knowledge on the subject, and finance/ space limitations, i have a couple of, while they aren't misgivings as such, let's say they are concerns.
For one thing, the sitting of the smaller part on top of the other, larger part of what, if memory serves me well, is an almost square shaped would seem to mean that the GB is placed somewhat precariously on the fishtank below it. Now i realise that there is a lot of weight involved, here and that movement of said GB is minimal at best, there might well be slight, inpercievable movement in it over time, for it to topple over and make an almighty mess of both itself, and the fishtank (and fish!!!!) below it. There doesn't seem to be a lot of margin for error, to my mind
The other concern is that of access to the fishtank. In short there doesnt seem to be much provision for it.
Not for easy maintainance, and periodic cleaning of the walls and floor of the tank anyway, or the checking of the fish. You don't even have that much of a view, if you just want to look gaze languidly and lovingly at your "babies" as it were
While i can think of ways to overcome this, they come with the knowledge that i wont have the space to impliment them.

Or am i being a little too overcautious and negative?

Paul

The IBC's are actually a rectangular shape. So you can just rotate them 90 degress to each other. Yes you will have some hangover for the grow bed, but this isnt a large amount. Check the photos on my IBC thread to see what i mean. The whole thing feels very stable to me. I have got up and stood on the fish tank while making the windbreak without any concerns. If you are concerned about stability you could always make some legs to put under the overhang from the GB.

What you should be more worried about is the lack of grow bed space when you have it running. It is driving me crazy having limited space. I think another 10 grow beds will have me covered for a few months

I place 2 x 8 foot star pickets across the top of the fish tank and sit the grow bed on them. This then allows me to add another 200 lts of grow bed by placing a half blue barrel on either side.

I'm looking out of my window now, and i can see 2 of those barrels staring back at me.
I used them for water collection.
I'm not totally convinced about their practicalities,TBH
Can you plant upto the edges of them, or do you need to leave a border around the barrel where there is just medium and no planting, due to lack of depth?

Paul

As mentioned already, IBCs aren't square, so when rotated 90 degrees the GB on top of the FT is surprisingly stable. My mate's 6yo son climbs the side of their IBC system FT and the grabs the edge of the GB to look in and the system hasn't fallen over, yet!

Remember, if in doubt, add more bracing...


I (and many others) don't maintain their FT per se. Unlike an aquarium where you have to scrub the sides of the FT to be able to see through the glass, in AP that brown/green stuff on the side of the FT is good bio-slime, so we leave it be.

In my experience, AP is best seen from a distance as the more time you spend close up to the system, the more likely you are to tinker; tinkering means change, change means instability, instability means the system is not working at its self-located equilibrium. It's better to watch from a distance, then you'll be close more often as you harvest and replant, and feed your healthy, happy fish, and show off to the neighbours


Scott

Yep, as Scott says, don't bother cleaning the sides of the fish tank, and download this if you haven;t already... http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/compo ... onics.html

Or buy it on CD at eBay....

Deadset???

Yeah... http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hydroponics- ... 4cffe2df9c

I think my trouble is i am trying to take in too much information all at once, and "firing from the lip" where i should actually wait until i am ready to set a system up, using basic knowledge at 1st.

Paul

1 IBC is the most basic you can get which will give you a good feed of fish and salad.