Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've had my small IBC based system up and running for just over 2 years now and t's done well. I didn't do a build thread when I started it and I've only got a few images of it when it was up and running.

It was a CHIFT PIST system with 900L of fish tank (IBC), 160L of grow bed (dog bath) and a 600L sump tank (cut down IBC).





The system performed well with only 8 Carp and about 20 goldfish but used a lot of space for such a small grow bed although it was built to fit the space available at the time.

We've freed up a little garden space now (not a lot more though) and I want to get another 160L bed in. I think I've come up with a way to do it plus add a small poly tunnel to help extend the growing season here in the old dart.

More to come as the system moves...

Looks good, what kind of boat are you building? Any problems with the scarf joints?

Cheers

Ah, yes, it's a 16' open canoe.

No scarf joints, just butt joints with tape and epoxy. The first boat I have ever built (still building after 3 years!). Nearly finished, just needs a lick of paint and she will be good to go this summer.

Relocated the main tank to it's new home. Spray painted with some old chalk board paint in an effort to slow the algae growth before I get around to insulating it.



The new sump tank. An old bath tub!



First grow bed in place.



The overall site to give you an idea. The ground slopes both downwards and towards the left!



The poly tunnel is mostly to keep the wind off of the plants. I'm located on the South East coast (the English Channel is literally right outside my front door!) and we get some nasty northerly winds loaded with salt in the air from the sea.

Next challenge it to get the SLO piped around to the grow beds. There is currently a 110mm SLO in the tank with a 110mm bulkhead outlet. Current thinking is to put in an adaptor to bring it down to 68mm and bring the 68mm pipe around the back of the shed and into the poly tunnel from the right.

Sounds like that could cause some rough growing conditions depending on the plant and how tolerant it is.

I'm planning on building an outrigger sailing canoe but I keep having second thoughts on whether cedar strips or marine ply is the way to go and struggling a bit with a few other things (like I must be out of my mind ) - . Mine will probably be at least a 2 year build

It will be one of these - http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/garyd/

Probably the Va A Motu, Tamanu or Ulua

Go for marine ply and the "stitch and glue" method if it is the first one you've built. My plans came from http://www.bateau.com

Back on topic...

Managed to put some fibreglass and epoxy over the bath drain today.



Had a think about the best way to route the feed to the grow beds and came up with this...



The 110mm pipe will connect to 2 x 40mm pipes before it goes into the polly tunnel then I will route one to each grow bed. The bend nearest the bottom of the image is the lowest point in the path so I've included an access point to be able to drain out any settled solids every few months. I can unscrew the access point, place a container under it then push a brush up the pipe and run the pump to push out any sediment. What ever comes out can be used on the dirt garden.

Any major drawbacks of running the grow bed feed like this?

Not with what I can see so far Matt. The 4" SLO in my AP system comes out of the fish tank and down like this with a cleanout at the low spot and splits off into several riser pipes. I haven't had to clean it out, although, it may need it by now (http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=9511&start=15).

You do need to try not to create areas where air can get trapped and prevent the water flowing through. You can put in a T like you would for the top of the SLO to prevent this.

I'm not familiar with your climate but you'll probably need to insulate the pipe - I just bury mine in loose pine needles for the Winter (mild winters here). The water is always moving so that helps with freezing issues as well.

Thanks scotty. I'll put a T on one of the 40mm spurs and run a pipe up to above the tank water level to prevent airlocks.

It can get down to around -5 dec C here in the winter so I'll look into insulating the pipes. I plan on insulating the tank so it only seems sensible to do the pipes too.

One other nice thing about your layout is that you have room to add additional filtration along the wall if at some point you decide you want this. Could be seasonal grow beds or just some other filtration so you can grow more fish. You'd have to cut the big pipe and put in some T's and to make it easier don't completely glue up the SLO. Use stainless steel screws to hold the connection near the inside edge of the tank together. You can remove the portion of the SLO inside the tank, pop on an upward turned elbow and this will minimize flow out of the tank while you get your cutting done.

Good thinking but I need to maintain access around the side of the tank as I have an antenna support behind it (I'm one of them HAM radio guys). I do have some space in the poly tunnel though so I could put a RFF in there if I need one.

I though about insulating the pipes so I've raised the feed to the grow beds up 50mm so I can just slot some kingspan under them and box them in at a later date. Thanks scotty .

Managed to get the feed to the grow beds connected with a small bead of aquarium silicone around each joint (they are push fit with rubber seals but I didn't want to risk a leak as they will be almost always full of water).



First grow bed plumbed in. Just need to add a valve so I can control the flow of water.

Coming along nicely

Try to minimize the exposed area where the media gets damp as the water comes into the grow bed - this is where algae will grow so if you reduce the light there will be less algae. You've probably seen distribution manifolds or elbows in other systems partly for this reason. The manifolds have holes on the bottom and the elbows release the water closer to the surface. I'd just go with the elbows (manifolds sometimes require cleaning, they do distribute the water pretty well though). Both of these also help prevent splashing which can result in the spread of plant disease.

Cheers

Love the box that stores your remotes. Even though I have a centralized univeral remote system, there are occassions that I need access to the actual remote. After looking at the box you have, I now have a new project.

Great system and welcome.

I know people use these but what box?

After a bit of deflation and nearly giving up on trying to get a reasonable sized system into this tiny space, I'm back.

The bad news is that the low level SLO leaked like a sieve with vary large holes.

Looks like I've got 2 options now...

Disassemble the 110mm SLO, clean it all up and reassemble with more silicone or glue.

Build a new SLO using some 68mm guttering pipe that I have laying around and run it around the back of the shed so it doesn't go down then back up.

scotty435, how did you put your pipes together so they don't leak? I'm guessing glue from what I can see in the pictures.

Yes, I used PVC cement and gave them a quarter twist as I put them together. I still had some leaks in the 4" pipe and had to redo a couple of sections. It's tough sometimes to get the larger pipes to go together right, especially if there isn't someone or something bracing the pipe from the other end. I went down to 3" pipe in one section after the water flows from the tank partly because of this and partly because I figured the water wouldn't be flowing fast enough to be restricted by the smaller pipe and partly because the 4" fittings were quite a bit more expensive. If the leaks are small sometimes they'll stop up on their own after the system has run for awhile.

Your SLO will only overflow as fast as the pump can put water into the Fish Tank so depending on the pump size and pipe capacity you could step down a size or two with the plumbing outside of the tank to make it easier and less costly (in some ways at least) if you don't want to re-use the large pipe but still would like to do the piping scheme you have setup.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-205645.html