Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Ao... please start a thread on this forum
I often find myself checking back over my own thread, usually to see what date I did something.
It's very useful and gives others the opportunity to see what you are doing

Started removing cement and gravel from the blown out area. It will take a few weekends to complete because my yard is becoming smaller as I go. LOL. We stacked cement blocks to make a bin for the gravel so it will be easier to use again. The broken cement will be used for fill around the large pond being constructed or at least under the patio portion of that area. Maybe this coming weekend I can get some photos.

I was shopping in a plant place near my home today and I noticed the orchards. The cement tanks the orchards are in are 80 cm dia. X 50 cm high. They are just a round ring/cylinder that sets on a round base slightly wider than the cyclinder. One mixes a little cement plaster and fine sand and puts it on top of the base and then set the cyclnder in place. The man there said that he had almost no leaks. He has them full to the top with water. There is no reinforcement/iron in them. Has anyone ever used these before? Any ideas? Again, this weekend I will try to get some photos. I thought about making a flat cement base high enought that I can drain the GBs to the FT/pond. There I would set up the rings on there base, paint them inside with a sealer/waterproof paint to be on the safe side and seal around the drain hole. Might work and might not work. Any ideas?

John check my 2012 Thread again....
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=11386&start=15

You can also buy them with the base already cast, with iron.
IIRC 135 baht for the rings, 270 baht with the base included, delivery also included.

I just scanned through that thread again. Did the rings work better than the cement beds you had in Surin? I never saw any beams or foundation for the rings so I assume none are needed.

I need to know where they make these. A link or telephone number.

AO+. I like that link. Send more links like that for me to check out. Please.

Now as Dui requested and I now request - get to work on a thread and tell us all about your system/s from start to finish. Plenty of photos and links. I think you are a gold mine of information, we just need to get it out of you. Language is no problem - put it on in Thai and my wife can translate it and I can type it into your thread in English. However, I think most of your English is ok.

Thanks for the link - send more. John

They are made all over Thailand, I am in CM so the phone number of my supplier isn't really gonna help you, you need to ask your wife to ask around.
Delivery from CM to Korat most definitely will _not_ be free :p

Did they work better?
Hmm, hard to say because I still haven't had time to connect it all up.
The beds in Surin were built too low, and they leaked, but only a dribble.
The rings leaked at first, but slime seems to have cured that.
The rings are a cheap and versatile option and (important for me) just about portable, should I choose to move to another house.
You were unlucky in the design of the front wall of your growbeds, from the pictures it looks as though the front wall just popped out, a few bits of iron would have prevented that and saved you your current dilemma.
The rings are ugly though, your system was so neat and organised.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Repair & reinforce the current system is a good choice.

LOL Dui. Believe it or not my wife loves those rings.

I thought about repair/rebuild the system just like it was except that I would cut off the top half. Waterfall and all GBs would only be 14 inches high instead of the 28 inch height they are now. And add in iron reinforcement where I can. If necessary I could strip off all bed walls, clean and strengthen the base and rebuild the system again with only 14 inch walls. I see many small cracks here and there all around but I think they are because of the immense weight of the system.

Dui, I just looked over your 2010 system. When you made the GBs, how deep were the beds? From the photos the GBs only look to be one block high, only one course which would make the beds only about 8 or 9 inches deep. Is that correct? Where did you place the iron, one rod under the block and one rod over? Please explain.

I am, at present, thinking about rebuilding on top of the original cement base/foundation after I clear out the walls and gravel.

There was no iron in the Growbed walls.
When I talked about iron on every course I was referring to the fish tanks which were 2x2x1 meters.
The GB's were only 1 block high because my brainless builder didn't listen to me and built them too high.
The original plan was to have them 2 blocks tall, but there we go.
IIRC 30cm is thought to be about the ideal height for GB's (in terms of maximising growth area)
I think if I was you, I would just rebuild what you have as Ao says.

Well the rain has at least slowed down. Now maybe some work can get done. This past Sat and Sun we removed the back row of beds and gravel. Looks like I will have to tear it out to the bear foundation beams I poured and start over with whatever type system of GB' I rebuild with. If I rebuild the system as it was it will only have 16 inch high side walls (two cement blocks) instead of the original 28 inch deep beds as before. They were just too deep and it took a lot of gravel to fill them not to mention the extra weight on the foundation. The original GB's were built 28 inches high and not reinforced because they were only built to hold coco couir and rice hulls, not gravel. I believe the overall cause of the system's failure was the extra weight of the original beds plus the excess rain this year causing the beds to sink down and slide back even so slight so as to put more strain on the side walls which burst open. I will test the front row of beds for leaks today to see if I can save them. If not I will have to tear them out as well. John

I just finished testing the front beds. There is so many leaks I could not even fill the GB's. I will have to remove all GBs, waterfall, walkways down to the foundation and start over new again. John

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