Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I've been reading a lot of wonderful information shared by the members of this community and I have to say it is amazingly inspiring! There is so much info here it's like trying to drink from a fire hydrant.

I am a complete noob to AP and haven't really done much traditional gardening either. But I am convinced that I need to do something to reduce my dependence on 3rd party food sources for my family. There are issues with the quality, safety, and nutritional value of what's on the store shelves, not to mention the potential for a complete failure in availability. Last, but not least, there's the COST of food and prices are NOT going to be going down anytime soon, if ever.

Those are all the practical factors which led me to AP. Once I began to learn a bit more about how the sytems work and what's involved with running them, I can now say I'm officially HOOKED. I am eager to get started building my system, but I realize that my budget is limited and it will take me some time to get this thing off the ground. But that's ok, because that will give me more time to do my homework and follow the lead of those who have pioneered this field. When you're on a budget, it pays to avoid mistakes that others have already encountered and there is no need to reinvent any wheels.

That said, I'll begin by simply posting the basics of my plan and try to get some feedback on how it might be improved. I'm basically looking to GO BIG from the start since I have a large family. My secondary aspirations are to possibly begin marketing organic veggies to local customers, but first things first ....gotta feed the TROOPS!

I've never used Sketchup before, but I was able to come up with what I believe is a good working model. Not a lot of detail on the model yet, just the basic essential components for now. I definitely want to grow year-round, so I will need to construct a hoop house. I found some very good plans free on the internet which use 2" polyethylene pipe for the hoops. It was created and offered by Steve Upson of the Sam Noble Foundation. They also have a separate set of plans for the end walls/doors. Here's the links to both in case you're interested.

Hoop House Plans
https://www.noble.org/ag/horticulture/p ... -hh-plans/

End Wall Plans
https://www.noble.org/ag/horticulture/h ... oop-house/

I've looked at several hoop house designs and theirs is excellent. They ran into some design problems early on and they do a great job of explaining the problems they encountered and the solutions. They provide lots of photos with very accurate markings and measurements as well as providing a complete materials list and prices from 2011. I've never seen a better set of plans anywhere, especially offered FREE!

Ok, so I have to build a hoop house. I see that most folks generally start building their AP systems and then later add a hoop house or some type of cover or shading. I thought about building a barrel-ponics system to practice on, but I just don't want to waste resources that will take away from the main plan. That's just me.

Here's a link to my Google Sketchup file for the system.
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/ ... tnG=Search

My goal with that drawing was basically just to see how much AP system components I could physically pack into a 16' x 44' hoop house. The Noble Foundation plans specify a 14' x 36' tunnel, but I think I can get by with some modifications. I just added two more hoop sections, adding another 8 ft in length. I also widened the design by 2ft. I don't think the extra span will give me a problem since we don't generally have much snow here in South Carolina, but I'll be watching for weakness. I'm also raising the height from 7ft in the center to almost 10ft by using taller steel posts to mount the hoops.

The AP system itself will be a CHIFT PIST design using IBC totes for the FT's/ST's and poly barrels for the GB's. The drawing shows that I can squeeze in 4 rows of 15 barrel halves for a total of 60. I've also drawn in 4 IBC FT's and the same number of IBC sumps. At this point, I think my ST volume is probably overkill, but I think that is OK. I'm not so sure about the ratio of GB to FT volume, but I haven't researched the fine points of those calcs just yet.

At this point, my thoughts are to pair one FT per line of 15 GB's, each with it's own ST. This would allow me to effectively have four independent AP systems. However, that would also require four separate pumps increasing my costs. But doing it this way would allow me to diversify my fish species and would perhaps give me some insurance in case of a catastrophic system failure. It also gives me the option of having a "hospital" system, as well as being able to do some comparison of different variables. Still another benefit would be to be able to stagger my plantings on a per system basis. There's probably a bunch of other benefits I haven't even considered by doing it that way and also some cons as well. I'm just trying to plan ahead and I like to have OPTIONS.

I will definitely be raising channel cats, but would also like to try some trout and some tilapia. I have a supplier nearby who sells tilapia fingerlings. I think the tilapia will survive the winters here in SC with a hoop house setup. I can add solar heating for both the water and air from other projects in the works, so I should be able to keep them happy. The trout will likely have trouble in the summer, but we'll see how all that goes...gotta build the system first!

I do not have any illusions that my current configuration and plans are cast in stone. There's a LOT that I do not know about this yet and I'm sure I'll tweak and modify many times before the first tank is ever put in place. For now, this is my starting point. Feel free to comment and let me know how many light years I'm off the mark!!

Here's a few screen saves of the Sketchup model for those who don't use Sketchup:

a question, how will you drain all the grow beds?

If you can get the IBCs I would be going with them as GBs rather than 1/2 Drums. Cut the IBC in 1/2 horizontally, seal the end cap and mount them on the framework.

Erich, When you have that many GBs the easiest way is to connect them all together and have an external Standpipe.

ohhh i agree with you, mega siphon i recon. Still be a lot of piping though

With that volume of growbeds it's going to require a very large sump with a mega siphon.

Personally I would look at Donone's thread at the way he returns all his growbeds back to his tank (originally with guttering but then improved with pipe).

With each bed returning back individually you have the choice of running some beds as siphons (bell on) or constant flood (bell off).

barrels are great for small systems but in a system of that size, they're just too inefficient..
if you can get more ibc's, you can have a growbed in the same footprint with a greater volume of filtration..
less piping too..
or diy growbeds..

Hey, thanks for all the replys! I had thought about using IBC's for the GB's, but wasn't sure I could get enough of them to do the job and whether or not the cost would be prohibitive. One thing I like about the IBC's is they already come with a fairly strong frame and pallet base. I guess I really need to go back and try to do a better cost comparison per sq ft for barrels vs. IBCs vs. custom build tanks. I can definitely see the advantages on the plumbing costs/hassle. With 60 barrel beds, there would be a LOT of fittings involved which really add up.

I've read Donone's thread and I've also seen Travis Hughey's system which uses the gutter returns. I appreciate the comments because I want to build a very efficient system at the smallest cost possible. I've also looked at JT's system with his custom built EPDM lined tanks. There are so many possible ways to do this which is good, but it's sometimes difficult to know what's going to be the best for your own situation. Thanks guys!

Was looking in the Sketchup warehouse for IBC GB's and came across Jet's setup which has uses full IBC's for FT's and also uses IBC's cut in half, or thereabouts, for the GB's and sumps, with the sumps resting on the ground. I like this idea very much as I really didn't want to have to bury the tanks. Playing with the modeling now to see how much GB utilization I can get in my 16' x 44' hoop house.

MrPisky have a read through this thread and will get lots of good ideas.

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... =13&t=6616

Id also change the design a bit.

Id split the system into 2 seperate systems for better control and margin for error. If one side goes down for some reason it is not all a loss.

Also, drop the IBC's on the ground and run it CHIFT PIST. 2 IBC's at each end interconnected. The SLO's will need to exit the top of the IBC's then drop to the ground and then back up at each GB, this will ensure all GB's get equal water distribution.

+1 - for 2 systems and CHIFT PIST.
Running Constantly Flooded/Continuous Flow

Remove the sumps (less material), drop the fish tanks under the grow bed height (thermal insulation), run constant flood and split the system into 2 (what Charlie said)^^^

agree with above

Yep, even better Lyndon.

I like the stability of one large system. I don't think the advantages people say about 2 separate systems are true.

You will use the same water to fill both systems so if there is a problem with the water both systems will have a problem. You will use the same feed so if there is a problem with the fees both systems will be affected.

The only advantage is when introducing fish. If the new fish are diseased then they will most likely affect existing fish.

If you run correct stocking levels, salt your system for fish health, buy fish from a reputable supplier and keep an eye on your parameters (things you should always do) then you won't have any problems.