Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So we have picked up our very first IBC



And unless anyone knows how to shrink one to less than 900mm to fit down the side of our house we will be doing the cutting in the front yard!

Its new home in our tiny yard is a space about 5m wide (from the deck to the compost bin & where our current soil beds are). Hopeful enough room to place 1 or 2 more IBCs in time.



A few questions before we break anything:

1. Can we still put a hole through the bottom of a plastic based IBC?

2. Our cap is a full cap, can we easily modify or should we replace it with the cap with a hole?

3. What can we paint it with that will help UV protect the plastic?

4. Am I completely out of my mind for starting this whole process?

First system is exciting Just finished (almost) my first IBC system.
To answer your questions..

1. I think so
2. Check out my system, I cut a hole in my IBC cap http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=11347

3. You can paint it with any paint. It only has to stop the light. Wait untill the very last minute to paint it because its very easy to scratch off, even if you use plastic primer first like I did... The primer was white which is a great colour because it makes the inside of the FT white and easier to see fish.

4. Heh nope! Its all pretty straight forward and anyquestions you have are quickly answered by all the awesome experienced people on this forum

Good to see you have made a start Teejah!!

Im assuming you are making a single IBC system which will be fantastic and Im sure you have read through the IBC manual from BYAP so no doubt you have a thousand ideas running through your mind - which is good! This is called an addiction....a very enjoyable addiction.

As you have pointed out, your space is limited but this in no way will hinder future expantion - trust me you always find a way, before you know it you will have NFT tubes running the perimeter of your fence line.

If I can offer any assistance it would be - put thought into where you place your initial FT, take into mind that it is a big job to move. Also, the splashing of water or hum of an aerator can get anoying if it is next to your bedroom window or can sometimes bug the neighbours.

good luck!

I love that you've (almost) finished your 1st and are providing help, gives me confidence that it may not be too difficult once we get started



Thanks for the link to your system, that is exactly our problem. As for the paint did the primer scratch off too or just the paint on the primer? Do you find the white blocks enough light for happy fish?



Yes we have read the pdf right through and watched the video twice, it was when our IBC differed from the one in the video that we had our little freak out



We saw photos of this on a previous post and it certainly got us thinking vertically, we have big plans for that little yard.



Not having a lot of choice really takes the pain out of making a decision lol, luckily for us our bedroom is at the front of the house. Only my 22yo brother sleeps at the back and if anyone deserves their sleep to be disturbed

Once you have done one system, you become an expert
Almost means it's not cycled and no barra yet

I painted with a white primer and then 2 coats of green indoor/outdoor water based paint. I do think the primer makes a significant difference to the paint scratching off. But when you slide the painted IBC liner into the cage it tends to scratch it all. No big deal, I touched it up again after.

Actually... you can become a "world authority" apparantly... especially if you publish a book, or e-book... of collated material from the forums... and promote yourself accordingly...

downloading BYAP forum..........complete
google: "How to write a book"

With the current Sydney weather I'd say yes....I'm about to kill someone or something.

Week 2 update:



After looking closely at the plastic base we decided to not put a hole through the middle which consequently solved our 'no hole in lid' issue.



Shorts and crocs count as safety gear right?



Wonder what the neighbours were thinking about our front yard???

Slightly nervous moment.....

We did manage to ever so gently coax all parts into the backyard though.



At which point I took the offered advice and marked out where we wanted our current system and planned ahead.



And I must say we were quite pleased with out initial results.

My IBC had the same plastic base, doesn't look suitable to put a hole in the middle

Its a shame because supporting the GB in the top part of the frame required LOTS of extra effort and expense...

You could always use an external syphon or loop syphon.

p.s. nice use of PPE there Teejah

And yet despite the almost constant rain for the past week we have finally had some more progress!

We had enough of a dry spell for the paint to dry



We had a visit from our friendly supplier



And we actually filled our fish tank with water



So now it is time to discover all about fishies.....