Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well it's official my 1st client paid his deposit today.
This is the Plan

And I sommer started by getting some bits.

I must have looked delightful in traffic

Put in some effort on the parts for the client build.
As promised a few progress pics.

Garage is a bit chaotic at the mo.


I decided to cut the sides of the IBC as apposed to the top and bottom traditional cuts.
This was the off-cut - The leaky stuff.

This is what the bed looks like - much less complex in terms of convolutions on the bottom.

As apposed to the traditional top cut.. Had to do one traditional cut to create a sump.


But check out the support structure underneath
.

Decided to chill a bit tonight and do some admin - bit pooped . It's much harder work than one remembers and it always takes longer than you recall.
The next step is to make up the frame edges that attach to those wood surrounds. I don't like having all those edges and poky bits. The clien't wife is shorter than me and i don't want her ripping something while reaching into the beds.
Then a cover for the fish tank.

Is the client a friend, or were you advertising somewhere to build they systems?

He's a friend/consultant that spends a lot of time in my office and finally succumbed to the barrage of photos and ravings about my system. He said he wanted one and that i should cost it as if i was running a business.

I have a full time day job so if I advertised I might get more business than I can cope with. I have to build at night and on the weekends.

For me it is about the build and doing it the way I'd do it if i was starting again.
I really enjoy the hand work and physical aspect. Also having something to show for a days hard graft.

Ag we’ll see how it goes

Hey been busy but here is a progress pic.

An update

Here's a pic of the bell siphon installed.
To fit the stand pipe I cut the hole in the bed just a tad smaller than the OD on the fitting. I heated the hole in the bed with a heat gun then quickly turned the fitting into the soft plastic so it would cut/mold a thread and give a tighter fit.


The NFT Channels worked out well


Then the signature filter came out nicely


This is what it looked like all together just before we packed the trailer.


Then with a bit of teenage help ....


.... We were ready to roll, in rush hour traffic


Check out the marketing for the people who must be wondering - what the hell is that?..


The delivery went well except for the downed biker we drove past on the way.

Looks great!

I'm sure they'll be happy.

Thanks man - dude was stoked but his builder has messed him around so he has to wait a bit before we can fire it up

Had a productive day and a bit.

I got home early on Monday so I had a gap to build the raft for Rod's Deep Water Culture tank.
I did an improved version of mine.A pipe float with a deck and neoprene inserts to hold the plants.


I used 50mm PE pipe. Mine was 40mm PVC but that could use a dash more buoyancy

I got a bought a damaged carpet protector from work as the deck


Strapped them all together and cut some neoprene inserts


Today it was off to Rod's to finish the piping for the DWC tank, add the air stones to the fish tank and the DWC tank and tidy up. I must say the air pump he got was awesome.



I think it worked out according to plan + the extras added along the way.

Very neat congrats

Cobus

Thanks mate

Outstanding work mate im impressed

Thanks

Nice design. Looks fab - hope you can get progress pics too

Progress pics as requested

He decided he wanted to start with the fish and use a bacteria starter.
We decided to go fishing, seen as all the normal suppliers were away or closed for the holidays.

The quarry nearby is full of bluegill which seems quite popular in the states for aquaponics.
We pulled 39 fish in 45mins, they basically snatch the hook as it hits the water.



I changed out 10l of water every 10mins to make sure it stayed fresh and I ran a portable compressor line into the water for aeration.

They all made it safely to the tank with no casualties, luckily the water temp and PH were very similar. My car clunks a bit like wet dog from the spilled water but hey it was an adventure.

It's been about 2 weeks now - no casualties they're still learning to feed off the surface but I'm sure they'll get it when they get hungry enough.

Here they are in action they still a bit timid in the new environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3osnr4wSHI&feature=youtu.be
Mine were shy in the beginning too, now they're actually quite rude.

The ladies are insisting that we build a pipe stack for them and add plastic plants for them to play in.

Well 2 weeks in he only had an ammonia and nitrite reading on the 2nd and 4th day the Nitrate levels are rising steadily