Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I wonder how these would work as grow beds?


http://www.amazon.com/Intex-Mini-Frame-Pool-Blue/dp/B00HJGTLVW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1405432627&sr=8-2&keywords=metal+frame+pool

And only $42 . . .

I know people on this forum have used intex pools as fish tanks. Those dimensions sounds interesting as a DWC bed.

I dont think i would try to use it as a gravel bed for a few reasons
1) It may not hold gravel well
2) if there's is ever a puncture that you need to patch or a bed failure you have to move a ton of gravel

I'll agree with Brian.

I'm thinking the weight of the media will push against the sides of the bed, and bow/stretch it until it breaks.

Plus I don't think they were designed for constant use, more of a use - empty - store type of pool.

I'd throw away the weak looking frame and use the liner in a wooden box made for the liner. You could then re-use the weak looking frame as the frame work for a mini greenhouse.

i'd use it as a crayfish tank

I think this would be great as a DWC bed. Do these have any nasty anti fungal ingredients added?

Keith, how would you plumb this? I imagine your pool had a pump fitting and you are reusing that maybe?

i don't think i'd ap it, i'd use a couple sponge filters... water changes as needed...i'd grow even more marmokrebs to use as a supplemental feed for the yp..

Yeah what I meant was how would you put a pipe through one of these? Uniseal with a backing board or a bulkhead fitting or ?

i wouldn't put it inline, so no plumbing, just a couple sponge filters (run off of air lines), and lots of pvc hides
or, i'd use it in series with no hole overflows, or bridge siphons, i've had good luck with them.. i'd just like to see how many marms i could raise in a tank that size with low flow

That seems really expensive for 16 sq ft of grow space that might not work. I can get a hard plastic 5' circular kids pool for 12 bucks at the box stores, that's over 19 sq ft and much more durable I would think. A little unhandy since it's round though.

A lot of those style pools use PVC for the liner, so I wouldn't even think of using.

Hey Stewart. Do you have any evidence that PVC liners are bad? I mean real, concrete, evidence. Not "opinions" that litter the message boards.

It seems there are several commercial ventures using PVC above ground pools:

http://www.rdmshrimp.com

https://www.facebook.com/BigBarnShrimpFarm

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/fish-are-fueling-this-farm/article_eefd9218-2f0f-5383-a265-b637e405021f.html

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Aloha-Mahiai/147384555328253?sk=photos_stream

PVC liners are certified as potable water safe in many jurisdictions.

So if you wanted to use them in a commercial operation you could quite comfortably say that they were certified safe (if you were ignorant of the risks, if you dismissed the evidence or if you were unehtical).

The chemicals that make PVC liners flexible are human hormone analogues. Over time these chemicals leach out of the liners and the liners become brittle and fail because they are so thin and now (without those chemicals) rigid and hence fragile.

The human hormone analogues being liberated from the liners are then free in the environment. There is a growing body of evidence that these chemicals and chemicals related to them are disrupting endocrine function in humans. That is in the environment, rivers, lakes, etc. I don't know of any studies from recirculating systems but I imagine the potential risks would be greater.

If you search for info on human hormone analogues you will find a whole stack of information some of it is dodgy some not so much. This is a wide group of chemicals used for many different purposes.

Check out fire retardants while you are at it.

That sounds like one big opinion Stuart.

You are correct it is an opinion.

It is the opinion that I have formed after extensive reading on the topic. So I believe that my opinion is well founded. You may have observed my posts on the difference between evidence and proof so you would understand why I won't ever say that my conclusion (scientists word for opinion) is proven. However, that being the case I would say that all the conclusions and advice I present is always and will always be what I believe to be correct but that will also always just be my opinion.

Conversely, every conclusion you present no matter with what evidence it may be supported will also be in the end your opinion. With the evidence you present I may then also share your opinion but then in the end we would be merely in agreement that our opinion is correct. Even shared it would still be merely an opinion.

Now a quick reply to this post would be that I haven't presented any evidence. Well that would be true but I have offered you enough information to give you a starting point for your own research. Many of the articles on human hormone analouge endocrine disruption are not available on the internet and if you wish to research this topic carefully then you will need to go beyond abstracts and google accessible summaries.