Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!

I never went back out last night to modify the heater settings apart form the first time where i changed one to around 20 - 21C.

I've just gone out now. ALL heaters off!!! water temp 21.0!!!!! Just before i came back in one heater cycled back on (the other two will always stay off now becasue they are set at 18C, but will be left in to provide insurance, if the 21C one dies then the other two will kick in at 18C.

Guys, i can not recommend buring your tank / pond enough! I did not expect nearly this level of insualtion. My indoor 200 lt looks like its using almost as much power as the one outside Looks like jadies will be going in tomorrow afternoon

Steve - would be even more effective up her in Qld I imagine. The ambient temperature of the earth up here is more than 20 degrees. I know this because there is no point buildign uderground cellars up here (for wine) because the temperature of the earth is more than optimal temperature of 16 degrees. Now I don't know how much below the surface is affected by air temperature drops, I wouldn't think too far.

Only problem as I see it is being sure that you have chosen your correct location for the tank before burrying it. Lot of effort digging a hole and then deciding you want to move the tank . Murray - would a fibreglass bed cope with being burried. This would probably be more effective thatn insulation, if burying was an option (which I know for some people it would not be) as the temperature of the earth would in effect heat the water in the tank as well as inulate it.

VB i think mean soil temps around here are about 14 to 16 degrees i think, but it would warm up from the tank and hold heat.

Don't forget soil temps of 20C would be good. you don't really want it lower thanthat for optimal growth, and it would provide the same insulation against 38C days, just the opposite way Good old nature

It really surpassed my expectations. I don't think i would have had that sucess if the top wasn't covered by the green house. whenever i open it at night it feels toasy and humid

I'm fighting the urge to put the perch in now

fight it, move away from the darkness and to the light... come to light side luke.. (got carried away )[schild=6 fontcolor=000000 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]again[/schild]

VB. No problem for FG to be buried, won't go rotten for about 900 years. Lots of Service Stations have underground petrol storage tanks made from FG
25mm of polyurethane foam around the FG tank and glassed over will do the job of temp stability both in winter and summer.
Good idea to bury tank provided you were sure that, that is the spot !!!
My tanks will all be insulated, but as Joel or Steve said in a post somewhere else, there is the heat loss factor while the water is passing through the grow beds..... but I wonder if that will prove to be much of a problem anyway, in the end.
In a flood and drain the water is not getting sprayed about in the air, it is in contact with the gravel etc , so I imagine once the gravel is up to temp and the water is up to temp then they should hold pretty well with the help of a 300 watt heater in the tank somewhere.
Do you think that is a reasonable assumption ?

Murray I think that the losses due to grow bed pumping will largelly depend upon how the water re-enters tank. If it is splashing back in then it may transfer temperature from the air quite effectivelly into the tank. As for the grow beds, there is potential for them to help keep the tank warm at night because some heat will be captured in the gravel during the day.

I want to avoid burrying my tank if at all possible - but there is a certain attraction in thinking that the ambient temperature of the soil could actually serve to heat the tank during winter. Having said that my thoughts re wine cellars related to summer and it may be that the soild temperature in winter is singificantly lower (stands to reason).

Think I's just keep thinking about greenhousing the system instead.

One of the original reasons why i buried mine was so i could have gravity feed water retun the excellent insulating properties were a welcome surprise.

I think you'd be surprised how much heat you will loose via the grow beds. Not going to go on about it. Just keep it in mind

Temps been turned up to 24C in the outdoor system. Fingers crossed it gets there tomorrow sometime and i'll transfer 5 of the Jade perch when i get back from work Yippe

Yes bury the tank is my idea too. One pump then can....

Provide thermal insulation in the form of a heat sink. This to insulate the fish, and maybe help a greenhouse keep more constant night temps.
One pump for all water movement in system outline and passive return.
Venturis and/or waterfall returns for free aeration.

And how about a waterwheel to take half your power back?
Or a trickle tower in Summer hooked into water flow for cooling.

If I had ground temps like that I'd be out looking for investors shortly hehe.

with regards to putting a tank in the ground, does anyone know what is the best material to surround the tank with. ie dig a hole a foot wider and deeper than the tank, and drop the tank in then backfill with ???????
maybe the dirt that was in there is as good as anything, but maybe not... Any clues

to do what - don't these add air to the water, or is there something else theu can do?

Well, if you run the wheel on a generator you get a double whammy. Apparently it's easy but I have no idea the percentage of power return.

which in turn is dependant on the volum of water flowing over the wheel...

I am going to use for my pond lining... Now, this is experimental.

Sand on the bottom. 5 cm. (sand is standard practise) Then 2 cm sheet of polystyrene. (Insulation too)

A couple of layers of roofing paper round the sides, it will draw water then mulch a bit. Layer of weed mat on top of that to stop any roots that may plan a comeback. 2 cm layer of polystyrene.

Oh, and then of course pond liner...