Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Doesn't look like there's a lot left of the shipping container, except in the first ones...

Gawd

I was recently asked to help convince someone to NOT build their house out of refrigerated shipping containers.

My strongest argument was the same as I have used here they are expensive and crap. At $4500 for a refrigerated tall container (3m tall) it works out to be ~$110/m2. On top of that the surface you are paying $110/m2 for then has to be turned into a house even if you just paint it that adds a few extra dollars.

So we pointed out that $110/m2 buys you a high spec wall, roof or floor.

What I hadn't thought of before was that containers are regularly sprayed with some pretty nasty chemicals by quarantine services. So if you needed another reason not to use them that should do it.

I don't know this one is kinda cool. http://money.cnn.com/gallery/real_estat ... ner-homes/

Caribbean-grower,
Did I miss something? Or are you just doing this as a proof of concept to try and scale up to a commercial venture? As you had said "I am thinking 2 men working with 50+ of these for a living. They would have to be trained and have a love for aquaponics for it to work best.". Along with "If this works I want 100 of them".
Although it is a cool thought. the space constraints would make it a pain to work with. Such as no real headroom when you were working or even worse harvesting from the FT. Which by design would be a raceway tank. Known to be less efficient at self cleaning than a comparable round tank. Equals more work. Not to mention that you stated that "you cant use a fully continuous flow type system. I continuous flow water through my fish tank but my coconut husk bed gets a low flow through for 1 hour every day, it holds enough moisture and still allows for root aeration for the next 24+ hours giving my solar system enough time to power up." So you will still need to put your filtration system somewhere, to deal with the other 23hrs a day.
Just using your numbers for the end game. 50 shipping containers = $200,000 USD/$250,000 w/waterproofing. To get the same amount of square feet as 7 of these buildings http://www.ebay.com/itm/DuroBEAM-Steel- ... 41915b215d
total cost $97979 USD. Leaving $152,021 left over for tanks. Plus it is tried and proven to have long term stability, and ease of use. Which is more trial and error/ wait and see with the shipping containers.
The only benefit is that a shipping container could be moved to another location on your island a little quicker. I.E. no dismantle and rebuild time. Once the container is cut as you have proposed I doubt if a shipping company would take the insurance risk of moving them over seas again.
Sorry for the long post. Just trying to get my head completely around this.

We have been over these issues repeatedly.

The points you raise FF are well made but have been made before.

Containers for some reason have a particular fascination for people and they are often cited as an excellent buidling material/component for reusable, recyclable, repurposing reasons that will save you money and help to save the planet

The thing is when you do the numbers alone they just don't stack up either as having a small environmental foot print or actually saving you money. In fact they have a larger environmental footprint, are very expensive just to buy let alone to retrofit and when used result in an inferior product/build that not only costs more to build but to operate and maintain.

I used to recommend them for discreet simple jobs like lockable storage. For example I had included them in my plans as a feed store because they can be dropped in instantly and they are water and vermin proof. However, since I've now considered all the chemicals that have been sprayed in them and around them to fumigate them I don't want one even as a tool shed.

I've been involved in dozens of project where using shipping containers was raised as a cheap and environmental friendly option. Everything from wine cellars, long term storage (large multiple containers), Fish tanks, GBs, houses, retaining walls, the list goes on and every time the numbers just don't stack up.

The final word is that shipping containers are VERY good at one thing. What they were designed for. When they are no longer fit for purpose just recycle them and be done with it.

I liked the steel building better myself

It might not be cheaper once you add in the tanks but it would be so much easier to use both from a personnel point of view (ie getting access to the fish and such) and from an operational point of view. Controlling the environment in the shed would be SO, SO, SO much easier than controlling that of individual container/tanks.

I have a friend who uses wrecked tractor trailer rigs for storage. They make great storage/work areas. Insulated, easy to move into place, lockable, dry, and the ones he uses are aluminum, and very durable. He gets them for around 3-4K each, depending on size.

Found another shipping container swimming pool company..




I like this design, comes complete including child proofing, pump/filter etc..

http://robustpools.com.au/above-ground/

It's looks like swimming in a dumpster

They have that too. Repurposed dumpsters with liners.

Yeah and Pentair has fish safe liners for them too.

Leaving aside the accumulated fumigation chemcial residues. They are just so expensive.

Do the sums your self.

How big are they?
How many square meters of material do you get when you buy one?
How much water/gravel will this hold?

Once you have a price per square meter compare this cost to other materials that are available to you.

For me that one comparison blew shipping containers out of the water.

If it doesn't for you then add in the cost of:
cutting them down to size or adding access ports.
structurally reinforcing the sides to actually be able to deal with the force of the water you hope they will hold.
additinoal finsihing so that you don't slice yourself open on a cut edge.

In addition consider how dangerous it is to cut a container in half to get two tanks or GBs.

I agree that they are not cost effective as a fish tank/AP system but as a stand alone pool, easily trumps a normal swimming pool. You pay anywhere between 30-60K for a swimming pool whereas you can get one of those robust pools for 17K. Easy maths.

I can supply an above ground FT for 5m wide 1.8m deep and 16.4m long for about 8k plus labour no plumbing.