Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Aaaaarrrrghghghgh!!!

Okay, I don't love the place I'm getting my tanks from. They're delayed again, and now we're getting into stupid mistakes on their side.

I'm getting corrugated steel tanks (with a polymer lining). When we were originally sorting out exactly where I wanted the outlets put in, I found out that their standard outlet is a 25mm brass one - too small, and not a material I want to use! So they told me that was no problem, as they could order in bigger poly outlets.

On Wednesday, I got told my tanks were sealed and only needed the outlets put in, and would definitely be ready for delivery by lunchtime today. Yesterday, they asked me to come in and re-confirm where I want the outlets put in, because the guy who actually does that wanted to speak to me directly. Fair enough.

...Today I go in, and get told that they can't actually put the poly outlets where I want them, because only the brass outlets have the wavy base that will seal against the corrugated tank sides. So I'm stuck using a brass outlet for my SLO (and cancelling the ones I was going to have put in as drains in case I ever have to empty the system completely). Which is causing a further delay, because although they knew I wanted to put an outlet in somewhere only a brass outlet would fit, they didn't order one in the size they knew I needed. Oh, and my tanks are not sealed yet. Either they're massively disorganised and the person I was talking to has no idea what anyone else is doing (and can't just ask instead of making stuff up!) or they flat out lied.

ARGH. So I'm going to need to paint the surface on the brass outlet in order to keep the water away from it as much as possible. Any suggestions? I've got pond sealer paint, will that work?

Not sure what size you need but you can get tank outlets like this in poly.

http://www.irrigationwarehouse.com.au/prod2646.htm

http://www.duralirrigation.com.au/produ ... tlets.html

Ha! Yes, I was just coming back to say I'd Googled and found some, so yay!

And I've ordered one and told my tank supplier to just cancel all the outlets, and he's promised to have the tanks sealed and delivered on Monday.

...We'll see.

Great job.

wow what a pain you didn't need. Glad you found the bulkhead connectors made for corrugated tanks.

This dude does not know the meaning of the word 'promise'. I think he uses it to mean "Thing I am saying to make the customer happy, which I will forget five minutes from now".

My tanks are still not sealed.

Me: "Hi, I'm calling to see if my tanks are ready?"
Him: "Oh, yeah, they're not sealed yet... I'm just out on another delivery now, I can seal them when I get back and deliver them to you wet, or I could get them out to you tomorrow..."
Me: "...well I'm not going to be able to do anything with them while they're wet."

We were planning to have these guys do a quote for a rainwater tank when they delivered my FTs, but not any more! (And yes, I'm going to tell him that... after he delivers.)

I get my tanks with no outlets, so that I can drill the holes where I want them, and tank flanges to fit corrugated tanks in poly are easily found at any irrigation shop.

Yeah, that's where I'm at now. I'm still really twitchy about drilling big holes in Things I Have Paid Money For, so I wanted to avoid doing it myself if possible. ("Easily found" is a very flexible term if you've never had to look for irrigation fittings before, but I've got a bunch of useful bookmarks now...)

Measure twice, cut/drill once!

Ohhhhh definitely! Also I will be putting the gasket where I want it, confirming that it sits properly, and drawing around the hole so I know exactly where to drill.

I have a tank!!!!!

...one tank. Note the singular there. But I have a tank! My sump tank has arrived!



My fish tank is arriving tomorrow... maybe... or possibly Thursday. The excuse given by the delivery driver was that the silicone sealant on it is still wet; given that the silicone on the tank they did deliver today is still pretty darn wet, I think it's possible that the silicone for the fish tank is still in the tube. Whatever, I have one of my tanks and can start setting more things up!

Sump has been moved into place and the besser blocks for my growbed supports are being lined up!



Now I need more besser blocks.

How many liters is the sump? Looks nice!

Somewhere around 1400 L - it's 3m long, 1.06m wide, and just over 48cm high (was supposed to be 1.1m wide and 51cm high, but I guess that's the manufacturer padding their numbers a smidge). I do like the look of it - a big part of the design decisions for this build have been to do with making the system look good so my husband likes it!

I got the paint for the wooden portions of the hoop house and the growbeds to match the colour I ordered the tanks in, so it's nice to see that it's working. The fish tank is the same as the sump but twice as high.