Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So this weekend I started looking for parts for a small system for my apartment balcony.

And growbeds proved to be the hardest thing to find for what I was picturing, and was also kind of concerned about finding something food grade since there is all the news about chemicals from some kinds of plastics. Originally I was going to go with a window box but all of the window boxes have overflow trays so they wouldn't flood.

I was thinking that perhaps I could use a bus boy tray, those should be food grade plastics. Only thing i'm not sure of is if it would be deep enough. Here is one i found:

http://www.restockit.com/Gray-Bus-Box-with-Handles-21-x-15-x-7-(11-0524).html

So what do you think?

it might be okay, might

What are you planning to grow in it? small (heightwise) plants would be okay.

Plus you would need more of them to increase the filtration volume (to make up for the shallowness)

Those probably would work though as you said, they are not very deep which will make it slightly more challenging. It can be done it is just a little trickier.

Other options include buckets (often you can pick up food grade buckets from the grocery store bakery for free.) My aquarium system has 5, 5 gallon buckets lined up hooked together with 1 1/2 inch pipe using uniseals. Seems to work ok for me. There is only one loop siphon to drain all five buckets.

There are many storage bins that could be used for grow beds but getting the "food grade" stamp might not be likely. You would just have to decide how much risk you want to take. I'm using a few bins that are not specifically "food safe" but that is just me.

If you can get your hands on a blue barrel that held food or food grade stuff, you could probably use one half of the barrel as your grow bed and the other half as your sump if you wanted. (Cut around the middle to use the top and bottom so you don't need to worry about special stands for them.

So far the goal is herbs and tomatoes, i have a bigger square outdoor plant holder that I was going to use for the tomatoes. Eventually i want to try getting some onions or strawberries.

I originally thought about using those big rubbermaid storage bins, but i wasn't sure about the whole food grade thing. I'd hate to slowly kill the fish because i cheaped out and used the wrong material for the grow bed.

TC I think i'm going to have to go read your barrelponics thread again. I'm not entirely sure if I understand how the drain systems works on that.

Is there a plumbing 101 somewhere?

I'm just trying to set up a system, I got a 40 gal. stock tank and a 24 gal. Rubbermaid Action Packer storage box, which is made of #2 plastic, HDPE, for the grow bed. I'm hoping that will make it more food safe.

I got a connector from a pond supply store that will make an overflow into the stock tank at the top of the storage box, but want to make a no holes outlet. I have to figure out how to keep the gravel away from the no holes outlet. Has anyone tried hobby plastic mesh that is used for plastic canvas embroidery for that? I also got a Pondmaster 190 gal/hr pump and 1/2" hose. I'm thinking of using some drip irrigation pipe and emitters on top of the gravel, and attaching an autosiphon to the no holes outlet. I don't want to use PVC in the no holes outlet though and don't know what else I could use. Perplexed...

Hi Stephanie:

I used Sterilite tubs ($12 from Wally World) for gravel beds, I think if the plastic is clear you are alright (don't quote me though). Didn't have any negative effects on fish or plants from using them.

Welcome HB!

The drip emitters will clog in about ten seconds, you could also drill holes in hose or PVC pipe to make the grid. Can you post a picture of the plastic mesh? TC has used something like a plastic mesh from aquaticeco.

You can use wide PVC pipe to keep the gravel away, or I've used corrugated black drainage pipe with holes drilled in it, or you could even use a round plastic planter of some sort upside-down if it doesn't take up too much room and is tall enough.

Terra cotta could work for containers too, not sure about putting holes in it though.

I haven't posted photos on this site before, I hope this works-

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n282/Zeph3rin3/Plasticcanvasbulkhead.jpg

The plastic canvas is 10.5" / 267mm by 13.5" / 344 mm and the holes in the mesh are about 3mm. It is bendy but stiff enough to stay in an overhead light fixture just held up by the edges and overlapping other sheets of canvas. I guess roots could grow through it so maybe it wouldn't be a very good solution.

I have one 5 gal. / 19 l. bucket I want to use to grow a plant with a 10 gal/ 38 L. aquarium, I'm wondering what to use to make a hole for an autosiphon since the bulkhead fitting is large and needs a flat surface. Also can the bucket be full of gravel or hydroton or does it need a standpipe? I'm confused about standpipes, do they drain into a separate hole in the GB or what? Do they prevent overflow if the autosiphon doesn't work? Does the autosiphon need an area free of gravel with just water to work, so gravel doesn't clog it up?

The photo is not showing up in the preview, I copied in the url from photobucket between the url things that showed up when I clicked on url in the menu. Help!

here is a link to some of that plastic mesh tubing I use around my drains.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/821/Mesh-Tubes-Plastic/RT144/0

Works far easier than trying to drill holes in any type of pipe.

Here is a link to some of the most useful fittings ever!
http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories/829/Uniseals/uniseal/0

instead of needing to buy $$ bulkhead fittings and then other fitting to thread into the bulkhead fittings and then needing to keep them from leaking, these things just require cutting the appropriate size hole in the tank or bin, the put the uniseal in the hole (I think a more generic name may be top hat grommet) the a little rubbing alcohol on the pipe and the uniseal and shove the pipe through the uniseal and done.

I found a post searching "upload picture"so here goes again. TCL, can you find the uniseals in stores or do you have to order them off the internet? I've been looking at the bell siphon posts, which seem to need a hole in the floor of the GB. Can they use a side hole, or if you put a loop autosiphon on like in your 5 gallon bucket system, what do you use for a standpipe or drain pipe to keep the gravel from getting into the siphon and stopping the siphoning?

the mesh tube suddenly rang a bell:
how about tubular mesh sleeves?
they will adapt to your tube diameter:
http://www.tenax.net/packaging/garlic.htm




and must be horribly cheap

frank

this is the manufacturer of uniseals:
http://www.injectionplasticsmfg.com/products.asp
see the bottom of the page
fitting instructions:
http://www.uniseal.co.nz/installation.html

and this is the worldwide distributor:
http://www.aussieglobe.com/uniseal3.htm

they will send you a price list

frank

I am experimenting today with putting in a venturi overflow (SLO) like second drawing in the "what to name a venturi overflow" thread. I want to put it in the GB corner as I will have the fish in the bottom tank and no top tank. I'm just sticking this small system in the corner of my dining room by a sliding glass door, west facing, as it's the only location in the house with much light coming in. Anyway, will I run into leakage problems using a bulkhead fitting for the hole through the GB for the SLO? We could raise the GB above the FT and have the corner of the GB overhang the FT and install another hole at the bottom of the vertical side for a loop siphon if the bulkhead fitting leaks.

If the top of the T were closed temporarily with a cap, then could the SLO work in reverse to siphon solids from the bottom of the FT? I'm using a cut up water container to keep gravel away from the SLO.

I'm considering putting the pump in the FT into a pond basket to suspend it a little above the bottom of the FT so it wouldn't be sucking in lots of fish poo. If the power went out the water would all run back into the FT which is a 40 gal / 151 L stock tank. Would there be any other catastrophic occurrence that could stop drainage from the GB and cause the pump to be high and dry? Maybe if the SLO clogged and didn't work? Then I would think the GB top would overflow. Has this happened to anyone?

HB

a good fitting if well installed will not leak


not if the FT is below the growbed: water will not travel upwards against gravity


providing a simple overflow below the growbed rim would solve that

frank