Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Couple of thoughts - if you want the waterfall and you're concerned about the clogging, put it after the GB's - if you have the system tuned right the water coming from the GB's will be clean. Or you could add a swirl or radial solids filter to make sure it is clog-free.

Could you perhaps cover an area to the side for the feature? This would remove direct sunlight from your feature without affecting the system itself. A series of pools, perhaps with high sides and a spout and you could have a variety of habitats or materials in the bowls and a small waterfall between each bowl.

Also, you're worried about heat but you would like to run barra? I'd say you've got opportunity right there. You might need to put your feature under a glass or polycarb canopy to reduce evapouration loss but why not use the feature to warm the water for your barra?

Oversize your pump and run some of the water back to the FT to generate the current you want and you have warm, clean, running water, a feature for the missus, fresh veggies and herbs and barra.

The cover over the feature would help ensure the temps stay up a bit in winter too.

Ask her indoors what she regards as a water feature and then we can go from there.

I would not downsize on the FT and with the measurements you have, you will only get one GB from an IBC on the shed side and it will have to float ie three supports. There again you have room enough on the shed side to put a smallish sump under the IBC. I would go continuous flow (more water in the system) and you could possibly divert some of the water to an NFT across what is left of the back of your FT (approx 700-750mm) to grow fancy lettuce/ herbs.

All good thoughts, might need the swirl rather than just expecting to get it perfectly tuned on my first AP attempt. Figure it's safe to assume I'm not that good!!!!

Pools and spouts could make a nice feature, probably too shallow for any vege planting but that would certainly fix some of the heating issue, maybe getting complicated but I will see how I go. Glass cover I spose Will need to make it removable to clean... Can't very well go with a bleach and scrubber any more!

Barra barra barra!!!!!mmmmmmm but how hot is too hot? Was thinking of avoiding them as a friend said they didn't taste as well due to lack of current so over sizing to create a current will help with their muscle?
bulk will it?

My friend is the son of a brick layer... and so, he built a 'volcanic waterfall' in the back yard. It is roughly 8' tall, the pond is 40" at its deepest, and sports a 12" shelf around for potted reeds in the summer as added bio filter. He has not yet turned this into an AP feature... it was originally built to mask the freeway sounds when it went in. Only goldies and a few pleco to keep the algae down, and they winter indoors. The goldies have survives 24 years... bred, on their own...

The foot print is roughly 8' x 12', he curved the front around the pond, so one can sit and feed fish, or just sit. He has done to math, and believes he's got roughly 300 gal in the system. He runs his pump roughly an hour a day. It cascades down the 'pots' of volcanic rock and across a couple of strategic 'shelves' that cast the water into the pool at varying rates.

As a water feature-- do whatever you like... or what your space can bear. At present, his pot areas have held ornament-als, but there isn't any reason he couldn't utilize his flow for AP.

I think first thing you should do is properly calculate how much water your FT will hold. An IBC holds 1000l its 1mx1mx1m (usually). I doubt with the sizes you quoted on page 1 you could have that, from memory the internals were 1200x400x? with ? being depth (try to be realistic about that one)
A sump allows you to put the pump there and increases your total water capacity, so does continuous flood of the GB. The media in the bed determines your biofiltration, you could up that by ditching the sump and putting a biofilter in its place. ( an interesting thought might be the pump in the biofilter )
If you have never kept fish or grown vegies this way (a) don't overstock with fish that wont run all year (b) start with the simplest most foolproof system.
Have a look at EB's balcony system and realise this is wider than what you're planning.

"My plan is to convert my current vegie patch ( a stone retaining wall around (internals: 120mmx400mmx40mm - depth can be whatever i did it down"

I think that was this bit that stuffed me on the size; I kept thinking I have had aquariums a lot bigger than that