Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

thats a bummer having a pipe blowout Blizzard, glad you didn't loose any fish.

Yavimaya, soon it will be 40C over here and heating won't be required, I think Blizzard just wants to extend the Barra season by a few months on his outdoor system.

Media beds seem to be great heat exchangers, this is where most heat is lost and gained yes?

Umm! I have been growing plants for thirty years plus, I have had fish in aquariums for around 20 years now,
ATM I have plants in pots and fish in aquariums.
This is just a hobby, a water feature in the back yard next to the patio, a conversation piece if you will. The fact that I went for Barramundi in Perth and that I have done a split flow system and created my own style filtration system, from day one! I just spent the weekend turning my system upside-down to do test for other people?
I am a creative person that doesn’t mind experimenting in a creative way. I took a rather large hit on my system trying to help others over the weekend, experimenting on things that I don’t really need to try? It took me most of the day getting my system back running the way it was before the weekend. Just to help others? Name anyone else on here that would do the same?

I hope you and others may judge me better in the future but I doubt it!

Sorry slowboat that response was not for you.
If you haven’t read yet the barra are back indoors, for a few weeks. They must be the most boring fish ever when indoors! They only move when they want something to eat? I think I may make them wait till morning now. Till they get used to being back indoors, I am getting sick of looking at fish that just sit there all day, at least they are moving now that they want a feed?

Alls good on my system, still even after the water loss,

Ok I am week, I fed the barra.

Blizzard I have been watching your experiments with interest
There have been great advances in aquaponics over the last 10 years with experiments
But to put a statement like
I am a creative person that doesn’t mind experimenting in a creative way. I took a rather large hit on my system trying to help others over the weekend, experimenting on things that I don’t really need to try? It took me most of the day getting my system back running the way it was before the weekend. Just to help others? Name anyone else on here that would do the same?
You did the experiment to help yourself and if it worked others will follow
That's what forums are all about helping others
On a side note to have water 2 deg different in your sump and fish tank shows you don't have enough turnover

Hi Blizzard,

I will stay away from the rights and wrongs of postulation,
and go back to your original post and the black poly pipe suggestions.

Black poly pipe on roof etc is OK but you get a lot of temperature variation and I suspect (based on swimming pool experience) hard to control for FT needs.

the alternate method would be to go down a solar water heater approach. Basically build something like a glass box solar hot water system (quite a few of these on the internet under how to build own solar hot water heater systems and sustainability etc ). Feed this into an insulated hot water storage - something like tanks they use for Solar Hot Water Systems [SHWS] or electric etc.

Run your pipes into, coil and out of hot water storage tank (in pipe all time). My experience from my SHWS in Perth is that I do not need electric boost after July/early august. In most SHWS the storage is good enough to maintain overnight.

You then have some form of temperature pump control for FT that circulates water through the storage tank loop when heating circulation needed. This gives a temperature control on your FT.

Note that you will need to think about thermal mixing else your FT will be currents of warm and cold water.
Also you may get an initial burst of hot water. So a diffuse discharge may be better than simply putting back in.

disclaimer:
(a) it is simple but still involves some effort, particularly on the drum side.
(b) [in advance of comments] - it allows for you living in Perth and not cooler areas/countries. In Perth sun is around quite a bit even in winter/spring.
(c) in summer the water would be very hot. I gather you would disable before then maybe.

the main saving principle is that insulated hot water systems tend to require less heat each day if the water is already warm, so your main loss of heat is to you FT feed. If your FT is already pretty warm this would be minimal (once system heated up initially) except when temperature drops and lot heat needed.

(d) you could look at an electric booster just like SHWS use to account for the few times when storage water gets too cool.

(e) I suggest this on principle you are happy to experiment - I suspect this would be very experimental with the risk being your fish. But on principle and given Perth it would certainly reduce the number of days you needed to electric heat.

Thanks Darren, yes I understand what you wrote, I have seen a few clips on you tube in how to build them, its something I will look at in the future, ATM. I just put the Barra indoors, in the 200ltr aquarium. It means I will need to do water changes once a week. But it wont be long until the Barra are back outside. that’s when I will get the trout and start growing them inside with some milk containers filled with ice, to keep them cool.

Thanks Darren, yes I understand what you wrote, I have seen a few clips on you tube in how to build them, its something I will look at in the future, ATM. I just put the Barra indoors, in the 200ltr aquarium. It means I will need to do water changes once a week. But it wont be long until the Barra are back outside. that’s when I will get the trout and start growing them inside with some milk containers filled with ice, to keep them cool.

Thanks for your opinion Food&Fish, but I don’t really need to heat or cool my system ATM, it was as I said an experiment. My water was 22.4deg this morning at 4.30am and its 24.3 at 6.25pm. But it looks like rain again? I just move my fish when the need or if I feel like it, if I felt like it I could move the whole system indoors. Now that would fix the heating and cooling problems. Just a few holes in the wall for the grow beds and bobs your uncle!

Cheers anyway.

nah grow beds outside will still give temp swings.
it would help, but its not perfect still.

Um humour?

Ok my turn. Today I went to the shop and brought some solar xmas lights. The woman in front of me didn’t have a rewards card when asked by the casher, she turned to me and asked if I wanted the points from her shopping? I said no thanks as they record everything you buy, and if they see I am now buying women’s underwear and a dress plus two romantic novels, they are going to think I am weird,

It’s a bit like that guy in America that got a discount card from his shop for baby apparel, apparently the shop new his daughter was pregnant before he did? From what she was buying.

No its not humour, its the truth.

Try gumtree for a solar hot water panel...
Only problem... normally copper pipes..
You could use a PEX pipe submerged in the tank and circulate HW from the panel through it..
..
.

I have to agree there, I had kept and breed 1000's of fish, mostly cichlids, but others as well over many years, built my own fish tanks and designed and built many large and effective filters for them.
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5987
I have also gardened for many years, even working on a strawberry farm for a few years when I was younger.

then one day bored at work I was googling and researching for filter ideas and general fish stuff and stumbled apon this site and aquaponics for the first time, that was in 2009. since then from here I have learned more about the actual science behind fish keeping and why things that I had done had either worked or not worked over the years and since then ive learned more than I ever thought possible and I still don't know s#!t!

Experimenting is rad, don't ever stop, if people didn't give things a crack we would still be cold and living in caves.
Aquaponics is very scientific (water testing, media ratio's, filtration designing), that doesn't mean it can't be fun or a hobby.