Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey all,

I'm beginning the design and construction of my IBC system. I know they say research well first, but that seems to have only got me more interested and wanting to build a big system with a full IBC FT, multiple GBs and sumps.

Starting out with a single IBC which I'm hoping to cut today or tomorrow. The design will be the basic cut the top off, rotate and flip, stick it on top (as per page 19 of the awesome IBC PDF and the associated youtube which got me hooked in the first palce) but I'm currently working out the support structure as I want to keep the pallet under the FT but I noticed the top of the frame appears to be strengthened.

An image of my planned cuts is below:

The red lines are where I intend to cut the cage. I plan to top each bar with a plastic cap of some sort or a nice wood ledge.
The blue for the tank itself.
The pink line will be wire threaded through the uprights of the cage to stop the frame blowing out with the weight of the GB/water.
This means the bar between the blue and red lines will be supporting the entire GB (with the assistance of 4 lengths of timber running the length of the bed (as shown in the following image).

I plan to use 4 lengths of the hardwood running the length of the GB with the smaller stuff to support the centre of the IBC top.

Any start is a good start . You're in the right place, keep posting pics and the advice will follow.

Looking good, maybe you can source a hardwood timer pallet for the base of the FT and use the steel one for the GB support.

OK Doing some tests with weight for the hardwood beams. I figure if they can support 500L they should be right with a 350L GB. Granted I don't intend to run this test more than a day so over time it still may sag but this is my trial system anyway so won't run more than a year before I build bigger and better.

I'm also changing the cuts a little in order to keep the reinforced top at the top supporting the beams.

The beams are 200mm apart.

The bricks represent the top of the FT cage and the space between them is 1000mm the same as the cage. Ignore the loose brick in the photo. I keep sliding that under the beams with a broom to check they haven't sagged.

I do have a sheet of flat tin I could cut to size and attach to the beams, but I'm not keen on cutting that up unless it's required. I tend to overthink these things because every cut I get right is a miracle. Not the handiest guy in town

If anyone has experience with support issues for GBs advice is appreciated.

Patto,

If you havent done any cutting yet. Can i ask why you want to cut at all?? The top rung of the cage is already curved, no sharp edges, and is already there as support. Not sure why the shuttle cant just sit flat on the ground either. If theres good reason my apologies but im not sure i get what you are doing.

I considered using the 1000 L shuttles but it looks like you too are trying to figure out how to make them look aesthetically appealing. I couldnt. Another cheap option you may be interested in is implement tyres lined with grain bag PVC. A header tyre has the deep wall for volume (mine are about 2000L each), cloth radial for easy cut out of wall. I have no idea how long the plastic will last but in 1 year so far so good. I used 2 layers just in case i had a pinhole somewhere.

Very cool Tassdog, are you interested in starting a thread for your system? I reckon using those tyres might be a first around here and I am sure people would like to hear more.

TBH I'm not sure what I'm doing any more. I bought a pump (too small), returned it for another (too power hungry), then returned that for a refund.

The reason for cutting was to get both FT and GB, both supported by the cage, and only use a single IBC, however I do have 2 IBCs and will have 2 blue barrels tomorrow.

The biggest concern is not aesthetics, but structural integrity. The ground is only (fairly hard) lawn and until I decide to make this a bigger project I didn't want to go preparing the ground. Basically it isn't to be a permanent setup nor will it be in a final location (no power to the back of the yard yet).

I'm also being a bit tight and don't want to buy any more than I have to to build supports. I have several 5m lengths of hardwood to use. If I had the materials, tools and the skills, I would have welded a nice solid structure a week ago, and when the time comes for a full system, the majority of it will most likely be steel, bricks and concrete.

My new plan is now a 3/4 IBC FT, the top for the GB, and a blue barrel sump. This should be easy enough to support as well suiting the area I have to use and suiting the AP2400F pump I looked at today. This should pump ~1100L/hour for 35watts at 1.5m as opposed to the 500L/hr one I returned and the 9000L/hr 400W one I returned.

I hadn't thought of tyres other than to use as stands for the beds. That looks like a good setup you have there. Is that one system for each tyre ?

Have you thought about doing it like we've done on this page Patto..? viewtopic.php?f=51&t=10126&start=75

It's been fine so far with just 2 pieces of wood....

Hey Patto,
Looks like your trying to do what I am !
I couldn't use the base of the IBC cage because of its design (couldn't cut out the center).
I used 4 lengths of 40mm box pipe to support the GB, also used some builders strapping.
The builders strapping alone wasn't good enough, the GB full of just water pushed it below the bottom edge of the GB cage. I didn't like that so sat it all on the box pipe.
Anyway read my system thread and let me know if you have any questions..

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=11347

G'day Patto,

Hope you are winning with your building process. I don't think anyone ever ends up with exactly what they originally envisioned, which is good because you usually end up with something better (fingers crossed)

Ill start a new thread for the tyre design you can read there. Yes there's two complete systems theyre sharing the same wall timer for the pumps + one air pump split to the two tanks with the air hose upsized to 9mm garden irrigation pipe to reduce friction over the 20 or so metres the air needs to go. With regards to pump size, i'm not sure what is the norm, but my pumps only hang down a couple inches into water to reduce head height to absolute minimum. So i can get away with smaller lower wattage pumps without compromising flow.

Originally I intended to do as you have earthbound, however I would need to do something to stop the cage sinking into the ground as I don't have a concrete/paved area suitable for the cage as it is.

Currently the system I have been inspecting closely is SuperVeg's although trying to use wood instead of the steel tubing. Now that I've been looking at pumps I'm considering using a sump as well, which changes the layout and support anyway. The pond pumps I've been looking at don't handle solids so well so I figure best not stick it in the fishtank. I had planned to raise it on bricks or something in the tank but hadn't actually considered hanging it higher up. That may save me a bit on a pump. I am 100% certain I'm overthinking it, and asking lots of daft questions but hopefully that means I won't have issues with pumps and collapsing growbeds.

Made no progress today due to urgent pruning work. The wind has been brushing trees and roses against my roof and window keeping me awake so I decided to fix that first. I'm off work for 2 weeks and colleagues are requesting progress reports. Back to it tomorrow.

if you run CF then you don't need a sump. Apparently it works just as well or better for the plants

finished yet ?

Nope. Had the house to myself for a few days so I caught up on non child friendly movies. However that's not to say progress hasn't been made

My Father is a welder by trade and happened to have the week off, so here is the progress report.

Lookin good! Ain't it great having parents with trade background?? Couldn't have built my system without my chippy father...well, I could have done it, but the first breeze will have knocked it over!!