Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

It's finally going to happen... some time in the week after ANZAC day we the wonderful byap team will be coming to install our 4 GB, 4000L system.

Being this imminent I think it's ok to start a 'Member's System' thread. Pictures to follow in a few weeks.

3000L + 1000L. Both housed in 80m^2 super shady shade house.

4 GBs. I'm now leaning towards having these outside the shadehouse and making a fence, laserlite shelter as and when necessary (I'd have to get the laserlite sheets anyway if converting part of the shadehouse for the growbeds)

4000L of rainwater storage which pretty much only gets used for the odd home brew. 80m^2 catchment at least (I can't remember whether the granny flat and workshop are plumbed in as well). There's bore water as well, but hopefully won't need to bother with that.

Although I've been wanting to do this for ages ( see viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2676 ), I'm still a newby, so any suggestions will be most welcome.

cheers

Be patient, and if something goes wrong, refrain from panicking, that makes things worse.

Welcome to the joy AP ownership!

Could I please have some advice?...

I've just been out to clear the floor of the shade house in preparation for install of a byap family system in a few weeks - and discovered something useful right where I was planning to put one of the tanks. At ground level I found what looked like the rim of a buried galv water tank (2650mm diameter). I got pretty excited about it, though it turns out it's only 400mm deep and has no base (ie a (sunken) raised garden bed). Still potentially very useful though. My first thought is to put a pond liner in it and use it as a sump tank instead of the 1000L one I have been planning to get as part of the family system (1000L FT, 3000L FT, 4 GBs).

I'd be grateful for any suggestions on how best to make use of it.

Also, if I do end up putting a liner in it would it be okay to increase the volume by scooping out the middle to deeper than 400mm?

cheers,


(sorry still no more pics - I can't find the cable to upload from my camera)

Sounds okay as long as you line it. You will have to dig it out a little to see what kind of shap its in. You might end up with a spare tank. Or you may be able to use it for a gb.
If you dig it a little deeper you could slop the bottom to help direct the solids towards the pump.

How big is it, as in how much water will it hold with a liner and the center dug down? If it won't hold more than the sump you are already getting, I'd say use it in some other way than as a sump.

Isn't it fun to find stuff?

Already enlarging the system that even isn't installed yet!
Enjoy the Addiction

That underground tank is 1.3m radius and 0.4m deep. Volume of a cylinder is Pi r2 x height . 1.3 x 1.3 x 3.14 x 0.4 = 2.1 cubic metres ie, 2100 L. This is plenty big enough for a sump but at 400mm deep it is too shallow. You would need to allow 100mm free board at the top especially if you use it for fingerlings which reduces the volume to 1600 L, still big enough. Then allow enough water in the bottom to keep the pump fully submerged, say 300mm, and there goes your 400mm depth! However on that diameter you should be able to dig down 500mm for a conical bottom. So then you have 1600 L plus 1.3 x 1.3 x 3.14 x 0.5 x 0.33 = 875 L. All up 2475 L, and that is neally as big as my FT, and your pump is still fully submerged.

Mmmm you may need some more grow beds.

Yeah, I think I jumped the gun a bit starting a system thread. Not only is it not installed yet, but the system design is looking less finalised than before. Hope I didn't breach etiquette to badly by posting under Members' Systems so soon.

I've been without a system for over 6 months. Just put my barrel system backtogather. Its better to get all the free and valuable input, you will end up with a better system. etiquette whats that?

I wondered about that but wasn't sure I'd be able to dig down much further without some sort of support (??). I wondered about sinking the equivalent of a 500L tank (it could even have holes in it as I'll have to line it anyway). Then I'd have heaps of depth for the pump.

Obviously this is all new to me and I do want to get up and running soon, so I even thought about just leaving it filled to the surface with soil and using it as a level base for one of the FTs. Just seems like a waste though.

Mate i started wih a brilliant set up from BYAP (thanks faye) and have exended it slightly... now i am digging a 6500L pond and planning more beds, sumps, fish...... the lot. If you get a free weekend and are keen feel free to whistle me via PM and you can have a peep at whats going on. starting to think the workshop is a beaut place to put a FT over winter........ and while my new pond is under construction.

I was thinking the lounge room was a good place for an over winter ft.

LOL... keeping space there for the ducati.

My shadow is going in there as well once I work out how to get it through the front door. Darn ramp goes the wrong way.