Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Nice.
I agree that native and locally available fish are best, especially if you are gardening outdoors or in non-climate controlled greenhouses. Here in FL I get much better growth on my channel catfish that we ever did with tilapia.

Finally got the frame in for the base of the grow bed. I didnt pour today because a) the frame wore me out and B) it['s supposed to freeze the next couple of nights but it shouldnt freeze this weekend.


all that vine growth you see in the back i one huge-normous luffa plant.


brian

Well the Freeze should take care of the Huge Lufa Plant. They love the hot and wet but the cold basically shuts them down.

Yup, one night touching 28 degrees and the luffa turned black and died

i got the base poured. It probably wont h ave time to wire the walls or mud the sides until next weekend.

strung up the wire mesh and slapped some mud on today. I didnt get an after mud picture but I have to do the second coat when i get off work today so i'll try to remember to take some before and after pictures

while my workmanship is still not what i would call professional quality, i did make a breakthrough this time around with smoothing the surface. The secret ingredient is the wet mason brush. before i was trying to smooth things out using a trowel only.


Also, would like to report that the 800 gallon ferro tank doesnt leak anymore and hasnt for months... It seems like the cement got less permeable as it aged.


brian

Hea Brian,

after not being on the forums in a while, I just found your thread, and it looks like you are doing some great work on your new system......

My mind is turning right now with glorious ideas of ferrocement tanks and beds. i love it


did your temp gb commit suicide?

RS_,

Thanks, i was to some extent inspired by your work


tycranston,
I pushed the half barrels off because i needed the 4x4's for something else. Also wanted the water to get as much sun as possible for warmth.

I got the second coat of ferro put on today. I still need to go back and touch up some of the outside wall and the top but the inside should be solid. I will fill it before i go to work tonight lets hope it doesnt leak.

I know i told domani that i would try the tile glue with portland cement for water proofing but i have run out of time. A cold front is coming through tomorrow morning and we will get freezing temps for about a week or so.

Assuming it holds water i plan to keep the cement from freezing with a 1500 Watt stock tank heater..

After the cement cures a bit I will cover the inside with pond liner and fill it up with gravel

Great to see some ferrocement going up.

I went out and bought a couple of books on ferrocement but they are aimed at boat builders and date back to the 80s. Full of good info though.

I noticed that in the grow bed you did not have so much structural support for the walls, upright rebars and the chicken wire extending above the rebar but none of the larger gauge wire and nothing going around the top of the bed tying it all together. Are you concerned about the pressure of the water pushing out at the sides or causing the walls to flex at all?

No, i am not worried about the water pushing out. Ferrocement is amazingly strong for it's size. These walls are a lot stronger than the pictures make it look.


I dont think rebar is necessary on the grow bed walls.


brian

The grow bed held water all night i had it filled to about 1" below the top. Theres some obvious seeping and very slow leaks but nothing serious. The mains structure is going to be sound.. i'll go through this weekend and cover the top exposed mesh and touch up the leaks and thins spots before i lay down the pond liner.

Not bad for the rush job i had to put on it imho.

brian

If going to all the expense to make a ferrocement grow bed, why not use an epoxy sealant or pool paint instead of a liner inside it?

right now the reason is cost. I already own a 14' x 48' billboard tarp that i bought back when i thought all my grow beds would be wood + liner.

I thought the Idea of ferrocement was not to need a liner.

I currently have two wooden grow beds one with a plastic liner the other with a pond liner. The third I am thinking of ferrocement. Could be fun.

I tried using a billboard tarp once, had too many pin holes, the PVC gets brittle with age and is really easy to cause abrasions that leak. I'm ok with using them for wicking beds but I won't use them for an aquaponic bed anymore and definitely wouldn't put one between cement and gravel since it would be sure to leak in no time flat just from filling the bed.