Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

We have two primary GB's each 12'X2'X12", and will eventually add some verticle pipe beds. We have one 40-50 gallon sump tank (mainly used to preserve water level in stock tank) and two stock tanks, one 150 Gallon's, and the other 400 gallon's, for a total of 600 gallon stock/sump tank. For the time being, we are only hooking up the smaller tank, so we can get the kinks out of the system before bring the other tank and GB's online. The the water flows from the stock tanks to one end of the GB through a float valve (to ensure that the GB does not overflow and to control the rate of flow) and have a drain at the other end (with flow control valve to regulate how quickly it drains). It drains into the sump tank (plastic barrel) which has gravity flow lines into the stock tanks through a float valve. System is driven by a 1/2 HP pool/hot-tub pump, which has flow restricters. The line going to GB gets all the volume it needs, with the remainder being recirculated back into the stock tanks. The system has a filter that I can run the water through to remove solids, or I can simply circulate bypassing the filter. I am still trying to make up my mind whether to use continuous flow, or hook a timer to the system. I will take some pictures as I build it and attach those later.

Very nice.

The dryer vent is a good idea, I hadn't thought of that.

Will the pump and the filter be outside?
You'll be loosing some heat in that case. Better putting inside and insulate a box around it if it is noisy, put a grid on top to get the heat out and in the room.
And if you could put the pump on the other side of the FT, you would be using less piping, and maybe could link the filter on the sump tank so that if something goes bad with the growbeds, you could put the pumping in recirc loop with filter, sump, FT and back to pump.

Hope you'll find this interesting, have fun with your system.

What did you use for the growbeds Beltie.... where from and how much???

Can you post some pictures at all

good idea with the dryer vent, but watch the humidity.

That won't work for me, and when I get some pictures posted later on you'll see why. I am using a jacuzzi tub and pump/filter for my base system. I had made the jacuzzi from a stock tank a couple years ago so that I could cool off if I get overheated (I have MS and must stay cool). Now that the swimming pool is in, I no longer use the cooling tank. I will have to think about the pump placement. I hadn't planned on putting it inside, but rather insulating it in it's own little "shed" of sorts, that is accessable from both inside and out. There is very little heat from the filter as it is designed to run non-stop. I am tapping into the plumbing that I used when I built the cooling tank, so I will be able to circulate with just the FT in case I need to, I also designed designed it so that I can isolate any of the GB's without effecting the system over all.

I used some spare feeder troughs for my grow beds. I originally got them from the feed/tractor store for around $100 each. I put them on a cheap set of jack-stands so that I adjust the height if needed. Pictures are comming today, I promise.

The thing was thinking of having pipes with a hot water running outside in the winter, a fair big heat loss then. Plants usually prefer having there roots hotter than the air, it stimulates evaporation and reduces the energy needed to push the nutrients in the leefs or fruits, actually it will consume the same amount of energy but the plant activity is more efficient. The idea of having access from inside and outside is good, and you could put a T and a ball valve plugged with a hose to water the garden in case of water changes.
I'll be waiting for the pics anyway.

I'm wondering if you have enough fish tank to flood the grow beds with out running dry. Think your going to be needing more, more, more!
Welcome to the madness of course.

Checked the calculations, for me only one growbed can be used here with the 150 gallons of FT and the 210 gallons of one growbed. (ratio of your system is 1.4 GB : 1 FT, usual calc basis is 2 GB : 1 FT but the system works with less GB)

To flood one GB at 40 % of GB total volume will need around 66 gallons, so you will be emptying half of the FT if there was no sump tank. Your sump tank will need to be doubled if you use a 55 gallon blue barrel or you'll be short.
Maybe you could put another FT on the top right corner of the diagram?

Hope this helps, I don't want to discourage you at all, just pointing some problems you could be finding later. Sorry...

Not discouraged at all. I have been flooding one GB at the rate of 320GPH, and it takes 10 minutes, so that is roughly 50 gallons to flood. I expect to hold 25 gallons in the sump tank per GB, so my water depletion should be 25 gallons per flood per GB. When I add the bigger tank, which is 400 gallons, I am will not be adding a proportunate number of GB's, so it should even out. Would you agree? I will be testing the system long before I put any fish in, so I will have to verify the math. Thanks for the suggestion. I am leaving room for a second 180 gallon FT, which would make the total volume 780 gallons, all of which will be insulated and shaded. They will be placed on the outside of the deck, burried and insulated and then covered with a shed roof off of the deck. I will post some pictures here in a little bit.

This is a good suggestion. I can pick up a small water heater that is used in a barn to wash down horses. It is tankless, and is already plumbed to use garden hose connections. I can program it to come on at the same time the pumps do, which will warm the water going to the beds. They will then start cooling until the next cycle, which would be one hour later. My electric timer will be set to run for 30 minutes, then off for 60 minutes. I don't have the spec's on the heater, but it isn't designed to make the water hot-hot, but rather warm, maybe 100 degrees F, give or take 10 degrees. Do you think this would be sufficient?

This water heater is for farm use and not house use? What do these cost?

I found a koi pond heater for $380.

The cost around $200, and they plug into a standard 110 receptacle and have a hose bib in and another out. Only heats when water is present. Yes, it is designed to hang on the wall by the stall you wash your horses in. You can usually find them in equestrian catalogs or magazines

100 degrees is too warm for fishies. Can you dial it back? I have a tankless heater for the house, and if I bought the remote, I could reset the heat. Factory-setting was fine for our use, though.