Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Did you create those comparison graphs Stuart? They are pretty sexy

Yes I did create them, I've got a spread sheet that I can plug the values into to create them.

@ Matt except for the Laguna 4000.

is that diagram in plan or side elevation view? It looks like the SLO may be going over the top of the tank, the SLO needs to come out below the top of the tank - i.e. through the side of the tank and a suitable amount of freeboard left above the SLO.

Thanks for fixing that Charlie. Ended up getting a third bucket to filter so initially we will go 20L RFF Bucket => 20L Brush Bucket => 20L Shade Cloth bucket. Apparently there is a plastic drum reconditioner (Tilkey) over at Coopers Plains - it's a bit of a drive but it looks like the best chance at getting some bigger drums for filters. Until we can get over there the pails will need to do

@mattyoga - More of a top-down view. The SLO will come up to a T inside the tank and out through the side. It might also be called a venturi overflow (new to this terminology, apologies if I'm messing things up). Anyway reading through the forums it seems that we should be leaving at least 100-150mm (4-6 inches) of space at the top of the IBC and the 90mm SLO outlet Uniseal will be below this gap.

SLO is the correct term. Solids Lifting Overflow (lifts solids from the FT floor and overflows to beds). 100 - 150mm freeboard should be plenty.

What fish you going for Memzer? Jades, Silvers, Cats?

Probably Jade Perch as it seems to be what people are recommending for beginners and they don't seem to be very expensive to purchase or feed (e.g.: $2each at SEQ fish - who can also sell me appropriate food).

The SLO design I was looking at was taken from a post on this site by TCLynx:
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5696

We started our build over the weekend and got the channels, filters, sump and first grow bed set up and cycling. It's probably time to abandon this thread and make a separate one but before that:

We had to do a bit of searching to find some of the chemicals. If you're around the the Ipswich / SEQ region in Queensland, Australia the following might be helpful if you're starting new like we are:

Calcium Hydroxide:
Bunnings / Masters Hardware Stores; Sold as Hydrated Lime - ~$10 for 20kg.

Potassium Hydroxide:
J & K Hydroponics at Wacol as Growth Technology PH Up - ~$25 for 1 Litre @ 480g/L
Green Living Australia at Underwood ~ $10 for 1kg.
* They cannot ship this via post, you have to go pick it up.

Iron Chelate:
Fe-DTPA:
We couldn't find this one locally outside of 25kg lots. Followed advice from tom77 in another thread and tried Duralite. Their website does say local pick up but their staff were happy to organise to sell it to us at cost plus whatever Australia Post charges them for shipping.
11% @ $24 plus shipping (~$15 to $25 depending on express / regular post).

Fe-EDTA:
Bunnings / Masters Hardware Stores; $10-20 depending on brand. Reading through the forums though it looks like you want to avoid this for Aquaponics as this iron is less available outside of low pH ranges and can it can be a plant growth inhibitor.

Fe-EDDHA:
As with the Fe-DTPA wasn't able to find a local source. GreenFingers sells it online at 6% at $45 for 1kg.

Ammonia:
We gave up trying to get Ammonium Hydroxide locally. Most of the store stuff was mixed with surfactants and other chemicals and none of the local chemists would order it. I ended up going with Ammonium Sulphate (people have also suggested using Ammonium Chloride; Dead Prawns; Simply feeding as if you had fish; or using Live Rocks).

Unfortunately we found out (two days ago) that you can actually buy this from Australia Post under science goods :/

25% LR Grade - 500ml - ~$24 + shipping;
25% LR Grade - 2.5l - ~$44 + shipping;
30% LR Grade - 500ml - ~$27 + shipping;
30% LR Grade - 2.5l - ~$50 + shipping;

Sulphate Of Ammonia - Bunnings or Masters Hardware Stores - ~$10.

Phosphate:
We haven't actually purchased this yet but we were looking at something like Manutec Mono Potassium Phosphate (MPK) which we found at Stratco hardware for about $12 per box. In one of the Bright Aggrotech videos Nate suggested rock phosphate over media beds so we're currently looking for a hobby supplier/source for this. Will put a bit more effort in when we get our buckets going for Tomatoes and Cucumbers.

API Freshwater Master Kit:
If you're looking for a local one you can try the RSPCA Pet Superstores - they sell the kit and the top up reagents but they're pretty pricey (~$65 for the kit; $13 for each reagent top up kit). If you are not in a hurry you can save some money and buy it online (BYAP and Practical Aquaponics sites sell it for around $50).

Uniseals:
Bought these over the phone from Uniseals Australia. Their staff were very helpful and will help you get the right sized Uniseal for your pipe as long as you know what type (Pressure, Stormwater, etc) and outer diameter it has.

You can contact them for a price list but for what we ordered:
3" Uniseals: ~$11 each
1 1/4" Uniseals: ~ $5 each;
1" Uniseals: ~ $4 each.

IBC Totes:
We bought these from Aqua Gardening in Enoggera. Their prices were between $60 and $120 (picked up) depending on their condition (cleaned or dirty).

Anyway, hopefully this is helpful to somebody. We should get our next IBCs and more square pails late this month. Once we get it finished and growing I'll get some photos and put them up in a new thread

Links:
http://www.jkhydro.com/
http://www.duralite.com.au/hobby-growers/
http://www.greenfingers.com.au/
http://www.greenlivingaustralia.com.au/ ... g_lye.html
http://www.bunnings.com.au
http://www.masters.com.au
http://www.uniseal.com.au/
http://aquagardening.com.au

http://stationery.auspost.com.au/chemic ... 500ml.html
http://stationery.auspost.com.au/educat ... -2-5l.html
http://stationery.auspost.com.au/chemic ... 500ml.html
http://stationery.auspost.com.au/chemic ... -2-5l.html

That's pretty comprehensive!

- don't forget the salt

Ammonia you could just go Charlie Carp or any other pure fish emulsion.

Phosphate and Iron? Just build your system and get going, we have NEVER had to add these..

Hope so, less expense/maintenance for the system

FWIW: Our little lettuce now have 3-4 leaves each now and you can't see any yellowing or veins sticking out. Just trying to follow advice on the forums I guess - suggestion was 2mg/L of iron and ~10 ppm phosphate for greens, ~20-40ppm for tomatoes, peppers, and cucumber plants to help with fruiting.

Will let you know how it all goes when we get the buckets and extra grow beds up anyway!

Thanks for reminding me about the salt mattyoga, and for the tip on fish emulsion ccBear - I guess that's similar to the guys who were using a dead prawn in pantyhoes

Howdy Memzer, I have a CHOP2 system with a swirl filter and some Matala media between the FT and Sump that removes most of the large settleable solids. From the sump the pump is split to the fish tank and my grow beds. I have two grow beds, one is a media bed and the other is a DWC. With this configuration I have no problems with solids on the roots in my DWC.

Since this is the internet and text is a one dimensional communication method....

No sacasm, genuine interest...

I don't understand how that can work. Espeacially given the stocking rates you mentioned in another thread.

Do you have a members thread, can you post pictures some pictures please. Also I know you have a lot of fish in your system but how much are you feeding them per day?

I've just had it pointed out that the graphs I did have L/min on the Y axis of first graph. Obviously should be L/hour.