Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

You're right! If I could ever get there, lol. I have started riding my mountain bike to work though - 50 min ride through the scrub.

And so it came to plumbing time!

As part of my planning, I considered the need for extra solids removal, so I left space between the FT and GB for the addition of a swirl tank.

Great progress!

Couple of things...
First, I highly advise putting some kind of plywood or sheets of acrylic or something between the sump tank IBC cage and the earth walls of the hole. The sheets don't have to be screwed or attached in any way to the IBC cage. Just drop them in the hole between the cage and the dirt. The cage will keep the IBC from bowing out but nothing is going to keep the walls of your sump tank hole from caving in during heavy rains. I used treated ply sheets on mine and I coated those with an asphalt sealant to further the longevity of the sheets.

Second, just for the sake of space conservation, I would move the grow beds right up against each other. Maybe make a line of grow beds rather than four individual spaces for grow beds. If you have plenty of space and the foot or so of space you might gain by moving the grow beds isn't important to you... you may disregard. I can't help but think of how valuable that space might become when you choose to expand your system.

Edit:
I really can't tell the full layout of your yard in the pics provided but you might want to think about putting your fish tank where that pile of dirt from your sump tank hole is. I'm guessing that is closer to the outer edge of your yard or fence. That area may become a bit of a dead space after the system is operational. If you move the system over you'll retain more of your yard.

Thanks for the advice Squatchaponics I had been thinking that the cage would be enough support as the tank would be full most of the time, however you are right, I didn't take into consideration how much it would empty and remain empty on each cycle. As we get plenty of rain during winter, the walls would slowly wash in! Lucky I haven't filled it in yet so here goes to shoring up the breaches!!!

Space is not a consideration at the moment and I was unsure of:the amount of plant growth, access to different parts of the system, the quality of my plumbing, so it is probably a little spread out. I will definitely take your advice though and squeeze it all up when I do an expansion (probably in a year or so; once it's producing well I shouldn't have much trouble convincing the missus to sink some cash into what has been practically a money-less build).

I will post some pics of the system surrounds, after I complete the build posts to give you all some perspective; there's only a couple more posts to go to bring you all up to where the system is in it's current state.

Good idea Squatchaponics, I think I'll put my second FT in that spot. I have Silver Perch fingerlings in at the moment and really want to have some fish on the plate by the end of summer, so I'll have to get some Barra and I don't think they'll live well together?? so I will need another FT, or could I put the fingerlings in the sump?

You could put them in the sump but just make sure you have some kind of screen over your pump inlet to keep the little guys safe.

I didn't realize you were already operational and this thread was a "catch up" to where you are now. I think we all think of things we'd do different after we put our first system together. I know I have. You're on your way and I agree that the missus will encourage expansion once things start to take off. :-)

If you have the space, spread out! Access to the grow beds is always nice.

There's a screen over the pump so they should be fine. I'm worried about the water fluctuations in the tank, however the tank only stays at its lowest for about 5 min anyway.



I know what you mean, I haven't completely finished and I'd like to make some changes already! lol

I'm already thinking about building another system the same size, so I'll be using up all that space I've got!

I had decided I would be using gravel I could source locally for the growing media. I would go out the bush and collect the gravel from a few spots that I knew had fairly clean stuff. I did this once, and saw how damn long it was going to take, so I went to the local gravel pit in my ute (75 series landcruiser cab/chassis) and after a bit of a chat about what I was wanting it for I was lucky enough to get 2 free loads; I thought the first load was going to break the old girl.
I spent 3 days screening the gravel through an old spring bed base, then washing it in a cement mixer before carting it by wheelbarrow into the grow beds. Once again I was slack taking the pics and only have a couple of the system once the process was completed.