Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The Shire ,, God's own country

I think Port Maquarie has the most stable temps in Australia ..... from memory.

And that is the million dollar question... I've been hitting all the solar water heater companies in town and picking their brains about sizes and ratios and whatnot. From what they're telling me the sweet spot ratio is 1.5 gallons of storage to 1 sq ft collector. So to keep 2200 gallons of water at 140F (60C) I need 1467 sq ft of collector. However, I don't need to keep the water at 140F and I'm planning to insulate the heck out of it so I should be able to count on increases. As for winter time... they say the normal heating temps are about 80-100F which is still on my goal to keep the water at about 70-80F year round.

As for all the other posts... you all have given me a sooooooooooo much to chew on.

I really like the idea of incorporating the radiant heat with the double ply bubble system. I have access to cheap water proof motors so I should be able to work up a simple bubble blower without too much problem. The added water mass of the bubbles will also help with the heat.

I've also decided that there is no way I can do this without biological filters for the tanks. Chappo is right that running 80F Tilapia water when its 40F outside, is just a waste of heat... so I'm going to keep some of the filtering inside the fish house. I'm revising the plan for both trout and tilapia. In the winter, Tilapia water will be run through the system at the hottest time of the day, Trout water at off peak times. Adding heat exchangers of some sort between the tanks and the ingress/egress lines will cut down on losses as well.

I'm also thinking of changing the DWC tank so that it can also be also used as a raceway for additional fish. (Thanks Dan!). I'll post the diagram when I get it finished.

Now if I could just find 5 acres outside of town, I'd be a super happy camper.

I've got 5 acres in Thailand if you want to build there:)

I can only dream and boy would it solve my temperature issues If only the government was a wee bit more stable...

As far as the Thai government is concerned.. it's quite stable.... it's just the populace that's the problem...

Exactly correct Rupert.
Through into that the corruption in the Police AND Army ,, makes an interesting mix. Actually it's aMAZING HOW WELL THEIR ECONOMY IS CONSIDERING ALL THESE EXTRA PROB'S.
Nothing is really as it seems in Thailand , believe me the more you learn about Thai culture the more twisted you see it is.

Still a good place to retire:)