Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So im new to the forums here so hi all

Im going to be building in my garage a 4*16*4 (W L D) Tank for my fish now that i got the okay to have them from the state of Utah

*=Sterile fish
Rainbow trout *
Brook Trout *
Brown trout *
Hybrid Striped Bass
Bluegill
and final diploid Rainbow trout

So i can get 3 different breeds that are not sterile but if i do i will have to get a yearly pond inspection cost 100$

I dont care to much about the money but dealing with the state people is hell.

So past that im going to start with a plywood tank with pong liner and a few uniseals.
then due to my land i will have to pump it about 8 feet up and out a window to my future green house.
And sadly i know this will need a dual pump system to work i hate this but cant be helped.

my greenhouse is going to take over my current RV pad on the south side of my house. its sadly the best location for morning and afternoon light.

Here is my question to everyone How many grow bed and or vertical towers, pvc runner tubes due you think i should have not area i can use is 15'x 45' of rv pad?

The amount of fish i can have i will equal out as i go.

will put up photos when i get home to take them. @work for this post.

Exceedingly curious to see what you do. I have been trying to work out keeping fish warm enough for Northern Utah winters. The Aquaponics system the state has is quite disappointing. How difficult was the permit process? If you need an extra hand, we have a few available in Davis County.

Well the permit was a JOKE and half but i found a great guy at UDWR Name Chris Crockett 801-234-9639. i told him i was going to share is cell number for everyone to call him so go for it.

But the permit is very easy tell them what you are doing and what fish you would like thats it, Chris can wave the 100$ inspection in many cases since they have no natural water going in and out!!!

So https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B8eDAPJw93qGeHJjTUlmT3JqTDA&usp=sharing this is going to be my tank and grow bed area im going to be building it over the next few weeks since this is a large project if anyone would like to help i will post a update and your welcome to come help of just watch always fun to have people to chat with.

Winter time this part will be easy i think im going to make my wood burning fireplace a dual side to the garage will get heat in the winter, or going to buy a New car radiator and place it in on the roof to get sun and put the heat into the water and in summer move it to a shady area to cool the water. if that dont work a rock mass heater with steel pipes in it moving the water in and out.

so as you can kinda get the idea the full super messy side of my garage will get the plywood tank with a high pressure transfer pump to lift the water up and out the window to the grow bed and grow towers.
that pump will be on a water level switch to prevent full tank draining

Outside i will be placing a Smaller 4*4*4 sump tank to have all of the beds drain into. then float switch pump back to tank.

So the pump i have 2 main ideas have 2 or setup a system of irrigation values in a way that when the float in the sump tank is full it open and the water can get pulled outside and return to the fish tank then float closes the valve pump returns to Fish tank pumping, Sound very easy how ever getting a dual float power reg to close one when a 2nd opens is going to take me a few mins to find or make.

The pump system is not that big of a problem ATM for me since this is just planning stage.

The greenhouse for winter growth will be placed on the side of my house up on the brick wall and the chain fence will be removed and bricked up, and to keep the whole thing from needing to get a building permit it will be build and slipped together. this is going to be a pain but still possible.

This is my crazy way over the top plan.

4m x 16m x 4m is pretty big

As he comes from that other place where big numbers are used to make small things sound bigger than they really are - I suspect he was talking feet when he said.. 4*16*4 (W L D) Tank

[edit] but I am definitely agreeing that 4m x 16m x 4m would be impressive... almost Texan in dimensions..

That is so disappointing. 4' x 16' x 4' is just getting started

Crap yes it Feet not meters my god that would be the whole garage if i did that size lol

if you like i but it into mm so its a BIG number but still small

Welcome TravisC. Metric is so much easier to deal with, alas here in the USA we can't go to the hardware store and speak metric. I use this link daily https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=fahrenheit+to+celsius It will change all of our idiotic numbering systems to what most of the world uses. It is also used by scientists around the planet.
If you drill a hole in the exterior garage wall you should be able to have all the returns be gravity fed back to the fish pond. My first reaction to a garage fish house was, all the chemicals in a garage may be hard on fish you want to eat. I'm certain you have a plan. Good luck.

I know it sounds big, but it seemed logical to me as it would help with water temps. We freeze pretty hard in the valley for long periods of time. 5 months of snow is the norm here.

Thanks for the info on a contact!

Yea i did forget that part it going to be very basic me and my family hate the temp swing in the garage as it is so we are hoping the waters thermal mass will help maintain air temp, then a Swamp Cooler will get put in the same window i plan to pump the water out. and winter this is still up in the air to to coast to run but a wood stove, rocket mass heater, or and normal gas furnace.

all 3 would work with the last being the easiest to maintain air and water temp but cost the most to use.

And since im a broke joke right now (child support is a killer) this build is going very slow, How ever got all the legal stuff done.

i will add a few my photos to the google drive in a bit when i can get the space ready for the work and got a new idea on placement and pvc plumbing

youtube upload of my updated plan