Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

This is a thread where people can upload their Google Sketch-up components so that they can share with everyone.

I'll sticky this for now, and if it becomes too busy we can have a whole category for sketchup downloads. I've also changed the forum settings to allow uploading of many different file types, this is only in this section "Links and Downloads", and the following file types are allowed:

ai, doc, dot, pdf, ppt, ps, skp, xls

If there are any other particular file types you may want to upload please ask, but there are certain file types that will not be allowed, like exe, php, cgi etc...

Oh thankyou EB, been dying to learn how to play with this, looks like more fun than 4 wheelers, not, but close

Be fun to see what others do with it. Am adding a side hen house to hose down into pond. Can add that design too when finished if anyone interested.

May as well put up as many things as you can Chelle, hen houses are important...

Attached are the basic materials that we use for designing clients systems, growbeds, tanks etc..

Sure EB. Will do. ASAP. Sketchup is still new to me and has a mind of its own when I want it to do something.... I am nearly finished the add-on henhouse design.

But so long I will put up my other AP design I first worked on till I decided to go CHIFT PIST to more fully utilise the gradient of the planned site.

This is a circular "raceway" with the beds as an island in the center. Note the slope of the base of the pond down to venturi drain. The hoop like structure was to suggest my greenhouse to go over it. I will be putting in an extraction fan in all the greenhouses with a window that opens on the opposite side to draw fresh air through if too hot inside. That is what that funny circle up top is supposed to be.

Hope it is useful to someone - or at least jogs some more creativity!

I have added a hen-house to the side of my CHIFT PIST system. The floor slopes down to the fish pond with a slot for water to swill it down into it. Click on the scenes to walk through. Not too professional yet so enjoy the walk through walls occasionally as you move from scene to scene! Underneath is their "yard" with shade under the actual henhouse. Fencing is essential here. I might even fence in a roof. Lots of predatory birds and so on.... I have not put the roof on so can see inside. I fancy thatching as roofing material. Lots of grass available to me here and I love to use what is on hand as much as possible. Part of the challenge..... besides the obvious cost benefits.

My first preference for any henhouse is a "tractor" which can be moved from place to place. No build up of parasites etc... But I do not have flat meadow type pasture to do this with and also such a light-weight unit might be easily vandalised. I might do a simple unit like this to put them out to pasture for a little bit.... carry them to it and put them back at night.... still pondering this. I need to find a way to rest their "yard" sometimes to keep everything healthy. Maybe even have a series of yards in time or something.

nice drawing, Chelle
you should learn to draw in layers and with components: it is quite easy and opens a lot of possibilities
will take only minutes to learn

here is how to:
layers:
first in the menu line go to window and click on it
in the drop down menu click on layers
a new window will open with all existing layers
clicking on the blue bar will expand or retract it so your screen is not cluttered while drawing
you can drag it to where to your taste it hinders the least
In that window you can choose which layers are visible or hidden and what layer you want to work on
you can add layers and name them
i.e. hen house, hen pen, roof, floor, growbeds, tanks ... etc...
you can delete layers but be careful so you don't loose what you need in the future

then go to view ---> toolbars
click on layers
this will give you a new toolbar in which you find in what layer every component you click on is drawn
you can drag the toolbar within the menu area to where you want it
next to the layer name is a drop down menu arrow
click on it and the other layer names are shown
The component(s) or element(s) that you have selected can be moved to the layer of your choice by clicking on the layer name in the drop down menu
If that layer is invisible you will see the components and elements disappear from screen
make the layer visible and they appear again

all very easy and gives you a lot of possibilities

another thing is components
I advise you to turn as much pieces of your drawing into elements
this way if you inadvertently delete something you can find it back in the components list and paste it back in the drawing
take your growbeds: you only have to draw one growbed, make an element of it and copy this element as many times as you need
to do this, select all the lines and surfaces of the growbed you have drawn, right click on them and click on "make component"
you can then name it
make sure you activate the box "replace selection with component" before clicking on create

make as many copies as you wish
double click on one of the growbeds and you are able to modify it at will
all other growbeds in your drawing will be modified in one go

If you want another series of slightly different growbeds (i.e. longer or wider), first copy the last growbed to where you want the new, different one,
right click on it and click on "make unique", it will automatically get a new name growbed#1, then #2 etc...
you can work on this new growbed without altering the first series of growbeds by double clicking on it.

just like with the layers you can open a window "components" and a window "entity info"
The components window allows you to pick and paste any component you have made
The entity info window allows you to change the name of the component you select.

have fun

Frank

Thanks so much Frank! I will take a look at it.

drains and names
all red pipes are 50 mm
green pipes are 80 mm

frank

CHIFT PIST Vaquaponics with Hens

alright, here is my first alternative version of "best so far by Chiara" (TM)

Chelle,
you must realize that there are a myriad ways to set up a system
so this is only a start

what did I do?
I respected your components and your setup,
but "rationalized" a bit your drawing by
1. making better use of your components in groups
this way if you change a component it will also be changed in the group
that is the difference between components and groups: groups are individual items
changing one group will not affect the other groups even if they are copies
components are the same item
changing a component affects all components even if incorporated in groups

2. putting things in layers
this way you can more easily create alternatives for yourself by clicking layers on and off to visualize them.

so make sure to open the layers window:
go to Window, Layers, and click on it to find a new window in which you can decide what you want to see or not.

This is pure fun, you will agree


next I have tried to rationalize your setup in a parallel drawing: reducing lengths to 6 m (which is a standard length for profiles), adding a "slope" layer (which you have to adjust) to see if it fits, reducing growbed depth to 30 cm (acclaimed as ideal), increasing ergonomic work height to 95 cm (which leaves 60 cm underneath for chickens or worms or rabbits), increasing gangways between growbeds to 80 cm and perpendicular ones to 1 m, ...

as said, this is only one of a myriad of solutions

I have not drawn the chicken coops or nests or worm bins or rabbits coops
as there is ample room beneath each of the growbeds
the drawings allow you to decide where to put them

one remark: having chickens or rabbits above the worms seems like a good idea, but it not only reduces height, but also makes harvesting worms and compost problematic

neither have I drawn the piping yet
For that to be optimal I would need orientation: where are north, east, south, west and where do you live?

I believe in simplification

let your brain work on this, Chelle

Frank

newer version with details
sunny side is the smallest side
width is maximum available
a.o. floats drawn in detail in the growbeds in the most right drawing
all piping
water tower
frank

small footprint variation on a flowform:


greetings

frank

I am going real blonde here Frank....

Please explain how the water flows through this oxygenator. Just looks like it will come from up top and bounce over the tiles and out......

I know I am missing the point. ... so beg you patience

I did a lot of reading up yesterday on flow forms.... and it seems to be about gaining a gentle figure 8 action in the water with swirls and eddies much like the sides of a river as it meanders over rocks. I am going to carve into rocks and have them in series like little waterfalls downhill to the fish pond. The flout will lead into this.... so will be a bit of a sculpture resting above the pond. Well ....my thoughts so far....

sounds like you have it sussed then chelle.
enough rapids and waterfalls will give you ample DO.
You just have to find the level.
I had envisidged several level changes
...and middle gravels ponds, ...extra GBs
where the water can accumulate, when the syphons/flouts release a rush
creating flow and drop,
will aid large detris to accumulate and be a pre-filter...
and will likely help keep NNA in balance

For filtration we based our greywater system on a 30mtr 300mm wide
rammed earth maze,
with gravel dams and stuff, greywater for
us is : kitchen sink, laundry and shower. the water is quite clear
by the time it gets to the fruit trees less than 20 mtrs away. and 2 mtrs of fall.

If you start out with basicly clean water(ex FT water) it can't be too hard
to 'polish' it.