Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone. I am a newb and I live in Nebraska, USA. My system is an IBC tote system. there are three grow beds and a 275 gal fish tank.

We are putting the room together now to house the system. We have an enclosed patio with a bank of south facing windows and I just put a separate furnace in there for our system. I have to finish the room as it is framed but has no wall coverings yet. I am in the process of insulating the ceiling and walls now.

I have a bunch of questions. Do any one have recommendations for finishing out the walls? Should I just drywall tape and texture, or use green board or maybe cement board at least in some areas? Also the room is wired with a bunch of outlets in the walls and several boxes for lights. Are there any special considerations while I have things opened up to maybe add more opportunities for lights or ceiling outlets etc?

I am most likely going to go with 6 foot racked fixtures so I can vary the height. If I can get T5's locally I will go that way otherwise it will be t8's.

The space currently also has a nice sink and my flat stove top. We use it for an outdoor kitchen for canning in the summer so we dont heat up the house so much.

Anyway I am excited to be here and to be beginning this journey. I appreciate any suggestions. A hearty thank-you for the many people who have added content to the forum over the years.

Hi Timmo and welcome.
I cant answer any of your Q's but I know lots of other members will be very helpful. Luckily we dont have too many probs with heating here in our part of OZ. Looking forward to seeing some pic's

Welcome Tim!

Cement board sounds expensive, I would wonder if you need that expense but then again you don't want mold. Shouldn't be a problem if the area has good ventilation and you aren't trying to build a jungle in there. You might consider a vapor barrier but maybe it is opposite because the moisture may be greater on the inside. Definitely insulate as much as possible and block any air leaks.

You definitely want multiple GFCI circuits for safety, and more than one so that if one trips it doesn't take down the whole system. HTH!

Thank-you for the suggestions. I am most worried about mold. From all that I have read in the last few months it should be ok. There will be a few ceiling fans and I do have a few furnace blowers I can also wire up and use.

Does anyone know if I need to exchange air or can I just move it well?

I will post some pics today if I can.

Welcome Timmo

"I have a bunch of questions. Do any one have recommendations for finishing out the walls? Should I just drywall tape and texture, or use green board or maybe cement board at least in some areas?"

There is no mention of size of this room, or weather the system will be up against the wall, will you be putting a waterproof membrane on the drywall or geen board? ( called wetcheck in Australia i think) or what you will be painting it with (gloss? semi gloss? flat?) what are the chances or water coming into contact with the wall? I think these are all factors that need to be taken into account.

"Does anyone know if I need to exchange air or can I just move it well?"

Once again depends on size of room/will room be totally shut off? But i would be inclined while building it to factor in some venting/air exchange, saves having to modify your room later when the AP bug hits you and you want to expand

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I was young and stupid once, i'm not that young now

J-the room size is roughly 34' by 17, one end has a diagonal cut across. I was not thinking of putting it against the wall although that is an option. No consideration has been given to a waterproof membrane. I have no idea how much water is involved and if it is controlled or what. With the room not finished I can do whatever is necessary. If I paint I will be using semi gloss. I can do faux rock vertical concrete so have considered that as well. That would be like a pond and be totally waterproof if need be. Time consuming and most likely not necessary.

The room is totally temp controlled on its own. There is one sliding glass door connecting to the house and I am cutting another door that will come out of the master bath into the AP room. Currently I am plannig on one over head fan. I could put up another box for another one or I can cut in a vent for a blower as well. just not sure the best way to do things.

I ran out of light tonight before I could get any pics. We have had really nice weather the past week so I have been working outside building new raised beds in the intensive garden.

It sounds to me like you can get by with finishing conventionally with regular drywall for now. I agree that the special wall treatment probably won't be necessary, except you may want plastic over the walls to keep moisture away from them if the room turns out to be humid. I had a system in our basement and humidity never really became a problem but those were concrete block walls that sort of breathed somewhat. HTH!

Also humidity might only be a problem if the room sees wide swings in temps over the day, which I doubt if it is a real part of a building and has heat.

Thank-you for taking time to answer questions. The south outside wall is 4 foot of concrete block then mostly window after that. It sounds like I can just finish with standard drywall, tape, and texture. That is what I will go with first then.

Temp swings should not be huge, although I am not sure about summer as I dont have an air conditioner in that area. I did make it so I can add one to my current unit but I will wait and see how things work this summer.

Good luck Tim, post pictures when you start putting the system in!

Hey man,
Wouldn't worry too much about AC. I've been to North Platte in the summertime, and, Lord help me forget, in the winter. Summer temps are more like a warm greenhouse than a killing heat that will take down your plants. Just a way to have cross ventilation inside the growing area will probably suffice for summer.

As for winter... well lets just say that I'm glad I'm down here in GA!
That separate furnace for the growing area should keep things in decent temp range, which will have help with the south facing windows. The furnace may have some type of condensation pan which may need to have a drain installed to keep it from overflowing. Running the furnace for warmth may dry out the air to keep the mold at bay, but would also lead to more water top-ups to the system.

You said, "enclosed patio". Is it off the ground or on the ground level? Water weighs tons, so hopefully you've thought of that already


+1 on that for sure

Would like to see the proposed system, layout, and plans. Good luck and keep us posted.

Here are some pics of the room, provided I can figure out how to append them to the post.

I still have not figured out the pic gig yet. But here are 3 others of the room as it is today.

If you plan to have your system in that space you will need to think of some form of humidity control..

Or if the area is heated and is connected to the house.. then cycle the air thru the house..
I have a friend in Oregon who has a sun room built over a 20000lt pond and they keep the windows open.. the hardly have to heat the house due the large mass of water and the water temps have been comfortable for the fish..

Juergen

What kind of humidity control? It is directly connected to the house and also has a separate furnace.