Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey, that's a really nice colour. The interior of our house is a very light, slightly purple-y grey, with cool dark-grey feature walls, which really lifted it out of the 70's...

and yet for some reason i was trying to decide on a shade of green i didn't hate for the back yard....

Hi Guys! just thought i'd pop in and let you know we haven't fallen off the planet!

Soooo.... Due to budget (and time!) constraints, our grand CHIFT PIST system idea hasn't progressed past buying the IBC's.... We've decided to scale back to a single IBC system for the moment, and hopefully we'll be able to start in the next few weeks....

looking forward to it guys.... not a bad idea to start off small then build on it. Most of us have that way

Sooo, if we're doin say 900L FT with 100L GB, how many fishies should we get? like, 10?

Not unless you have another bio-filter stashed away somewhere?

The general rule of thumb, for fish growing to be "plate-sized" (300 grams +) is one fish per 20-25L of matured GB filtration media. In immature systems, this should be tempered by about 25-50% so really you'd only be looking at 2-3 trout or SP in a system with only 100L of virgin GB filtration.

The next thing is...

If you chop an IBC to create a GB which only holds 100L it will only be about 100mm in depth. Although you can get away with this, the general guidance is to not wet the top 25mm of media (if the water can see light then it promotes algae to grow in the GB), so you'd only be left with 75mm of effective filtration; and many plants grown in AP systems have root systems which extend deeper. The rule-of-thumb for GB depth is 300mm+ so you'd be looking to chop the IBC to make a 300L GB.

Look carefully at your IBC, particularly at the frame and decide the best place to cut, unless you want to go making supports for the GB and/or FT from other materials, but you should be able to get a 250-350L GB from an IBC with the remainder as the FT.


Scott

I'm so confused. Everything says something different.....

well... ok... I have 3 IBC's sitting in the yard... and plan to expand later.... I don't wanna waste one by cutting the fish tank too small to use later....

So, how about if i cut hole in top of one to make 1000L fish tank and use another one to make first grow-bed, .....say... 1/3ish lengthwise.... what's that? 350Lish? might have to dig hole for FT so i can still reach the GB.... will that work? how many fish then?

Might be able to borrow some goldfish from a friends pond to cycle it first... does that make a difference?

With 3 IBCs, I'd be keeping one whole as the FT, chopping one to form two GBs and chopping the last to form one GB and the ST. How you cut the GBs will be up to you; aesthetics might be more important than other considerations. Here's some planning for a very similar 3 IBC system : http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=331237#p331237

You could end up with something which looks similar to :


With the 3GBs, the system should be able to support up to about 50 fish but in the 1000L IBC FT there are other considerations to come into play if you're going to have that many fish in that volume of water (arguments I am not going to get into now, but can be sorted out later).


Scott

As for cycling with goldfish...

I reckon it's just as easy, just as fast and safer to cycle with Charlie Carp; 20-40mL per 1000L of water. At this time of year, it is still going to take just under 2 months to fully cycle, but whilst that is going on, Charlie Carp has enough trace elements and nutrition to kick-start and support healthy plant growth. You'll need to dose once per week initially, but as the bacterial colonies establish, this will become more frequent. When your regular water tests show that all the ammonia source has been converted to nitrates within 24 hours, then you're "fully" cycled and well on the way. (Some people add fish sooner than being "fully" cycled, but patience pays its own rewards).


Scott

That set-up was pretty much the plan, but as mentioned above, budget constraints have come in to play, and i don't have a spare $300 for the plumbing i'll need to set that up straight away. looking to keep it cheap and simple to start with.

For the one bed system, I'd still do all the planning for the three bed configuration, then use what will be the ST as the FT for the mean time, with one GB (cut from the same IBC) on top; simple flood and drain, and you shouldn't need to do any digging?

Yea I agree with Scott, definately set the first part of the system up with the plan of the extention/beds in mind. Doesnt matter if it takes you a year or two.. or more to get it done.

I wish I had have done this in the beginning, would have made things a lot easier as it evolved.

Coming from experience, best to have a fairly good idea what the end result will look like and then just build on it bit by bit.

My system is no where near complete, and it will prob take me another few years to get there. Then Ill probaby move and have to do it all over again.... but bigger..... and better.

It never ends.... and I love it. Its a never ending hobby.

ok, yeah, that makes sense.... saves having half an IBC dangling around my back yard too....

so.... 300L-ish GB over 700L-ish FT (which will later become ST) wiiith.... 12 fish?

then..... flood and drain.... to my understanding... is better for veggies to have air around their roots, but trickier/more expensive to set up (timers and/or taps/valves to regulate flow)? Constant flood is not Ideal, I suppose, but it would work?

300L of GB will eventually support 12 fish, but when the system is virgin-new, you should reduce the load at bit; I'd be going for no more than 8 fish for the first "season" and then increasing the load only in subsequent seasons.

BYAP did a whole series of trials between timed flood and drain, siphoned CF and CF systems. The results are published in Ed13 of the magazine; essentially, no one method outperformed any other method, each has its own merits. Also here : http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=8621

Setting up a mechanical/digital timer on a pump takes one-two minutes and you only have to do it once. I have a 96 segment (15 minute) mechanical timer, $12. Setting up siphons can take many hours and they can work unaided for a while and then for no apparent reason fail to start (creates floods) or fails to stop (fails to filter and water plants). Having plant roots constantly flooded with well oxygenated water does them no harm, in fact many plants thrive; CF also doesn't allow ammonia and wastes to build up during pump-off periods and the water returning to the FT can provide continuous aeration.

ok, cool! I think I'll probably go with the CF option, it seems to me to be the simplest method, and to have more pro's than the other options.

So, 700L FT, 300L GB, CF system. Get it set up in the next few weeks, have it cycled by mid-september, hopefully then it's warming up a bit, throw in 8 yearling Barra, grow them out over summer, cook them up on the barbie, serve them to my mum to prove to her what a brilliant idea this is (she thinks i'm such a hippie) and then throw in 12 silver perch fingerlings around autumn next year! good plan?

Sounds awesome...

By then, you might also have the time and kerchings to upsize?

Set up in weeks?! The most time consuming part is cleaning the IBC and washing the gravel; it takes me one afternoon to do the whole job on my own, less time with a friend helping, longer if his kids help too My foolproof 9 step method:

Step 1. Plan.
Step 2. Revise the plan.
Step 3. Measure.
Step 4. Revise the plan again. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until 100% satisfied.
Step 5. Measure again.
Step 6. Cut once.
Step 7. Assemble.
Step 8. Set to work.
Step 9. Drink beer. (only when the course of antibiotics is finished )


Scott