Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

VB the grow beds are round, normally water troughs, food grade poly same as tank, 2.1 diameter , .4 high black corrugated. Should be okay. When full, they are going to be bloody heavy, so I'm going to need a decent stand... back to the drawing board. Might have an excuse to buy a welder....

Nice one Monya... Yes be very careful when it comes to building your stand.. You might want to get a bucket of whatever gravel type medium your going to use, then fill the bucket of gravel with water and weigh it. Now you know the weight of a known amount you'll have a rough idea how much the growbeds will end up weighing when full of gravel and water...

Making the supporting structures is one of the scariest things for me... I was standing on the new barrel systems gravel growbeds yesterday while attaching a gutter to my pergola.. I stepped on very gingerly at first, phew safe, nothing colapsed.... The other day a friend just jumped up onto the framework holding the yabbie barrels, I cringed as he did it, half expecting almost two tons of water barrels and timber to come crashing down... But once again, phew.......

Anyone who has read my book might remember the 'fat bastard' theory for calculating required support structures, I guess it has been doing me well so far...

worked out each bed is going to weigh nearly 2 tonnes when flooded (20 fat bastards ):shock: Luckily I have a very clever engineer friend who is auto cadding me a plan for the stand. Bought the welder today, so tomorrow its thunderbirds are go. Pipe rolling guy let me down, so no greenhouse construction this weekend, but plently to do making these stands. If I get one done, I will be extremely happy. (small miracle really) Haven't touched a welder for about 10 years!!

Do you have a digital camera Monya? I'd love to see some of the progress of your building..... Ahhh it's almost as exciting when other people are building systems....

Ahhh, you remember the thory then.... That's quite a few people to have supported on your stand...

Never quite got your fat bastard theory EB. I know some fat bastards and they weigh a shit load more than 100kg

Yeah well, I think I weigh about 100kg and I consider myself to be a fat bastard... Just the only way I could conceptualize how much 1 ton is when trying to work out support strength... Easy, ten of me... And Monya's support structure will have to hold 20 of me, or me and 19 other fat bastards.... I know, it's not very technical, or politically correct.....

agreed.

the problem with getting 20 fat bastards to stand on my stands, is then they would probably want to be fed afterwards . Nah, seriously, I'm with VB. 100kg is solid, not fat, so I think we should rename it the solid bastard theory.
I have a digital, will take photos as the system progresses. I'm pretty slow, and trying not to get fired from my job through obvious lack of interest in anything work related.

Actually, I think I prefer solid bastard... It takes on more meaning, as in the stands will not only have to support solid bastards, but the stands themselves will be, solid bastards....

exactly
just got the engineered drawings. Should be very SOLID. As I have no means of cutting mitres etc, the stand will be square, with corners sticking out, but my mate reckons with 2 tonne o' fun on board, you can't have too much steel underneath. Mark II will be more aethetically pleasing... when I get some skills (and maybe a mitre cut off saw... honey... please?)

The corners are ok to leave on , I get a little disapointed I didn't leave at least a bit more of a corner on my stands. When you go out there in the morning, theres nowhere to put your coffee... And even worse, in the afternoon theres nowhere decent to put your beer....

eek!

Just found a mitre drop saw in the old man's shed. He's away so I have free reign over his stuff... nRedrew all the drawings as an octagon, based on the thought that the beds are big to start with, corners sticking out will probably really S%$t me!!!

The key is, just don't put the beer down

What sort of steel are you using for the frame and then what is going under the beds - and in what spacing. I am very interested because I will need to do something similar for my f'glass beds, but they will be smaller and lighter.

Monya

If you make it octaginial, and, say two stubbys width wider than the tank. you will have no sharp edges and a convenient "Stubby" shelf all the way around the tank.

Remeber Plan 3 times, messure twice, cut once

Warren

Warren! I was wondering where you were

Hows the jadies? i have gone through about 150g of food so far They are hungry buggers at 25C

measured twice, cut twice DOH!! Got it all cut though, ready to de-bur and tack together tomorrow. Used 50mm fence post galv. Once frame is built will post photos, spacing of steel about 635mm, will put a plate of 2 mm galv on top, then, the grow bed. Galv plate will stop any sagging of the poly bed... Damn frame is gonna weigh 10 solid bastards alone!!!