Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Shelly,

Thanks for the congrats I am just in the design phase right now. Also since I am going to Ryan Chatterson's training workshop next week. My current design could change a bit.

Instead of ties, you could use metal.
I don't want to use wood for my beds after what happened at the old house.

Problem with using wood (any type of wood) against liner is that humidity will condense against the liner which is cooled by the water inside the bed and if there is wood outside the liner you then get this nice moist place where lots of critters really like to nest between the wood and liner. Termites, ants, etc.

Now maybe Ryan has come up with some way to avoid that being a problem, I wish I could take his class this season, but I don't know.

I built the frames for my raft beds using the 1 3/8" metal conduit (like they use to make hoop houses etc.) Also makes handy frames for supporting shade structure and trellises and towers etc. PM me and I can tell you where to get it locally for a good price. It is not the cheapest way to build but I'm avoiding making termite prone structures near the house. I'm unwilling to use the termite deterrent chemicals around the aquaponic system and I doubt they would stop the ants from building nests between wood and liner anyway.

For media beds, I'm having pretty good luck (so far, been a year and a half) using the bunk feeders from tractor supply filled with light weight media. They don't stand up to the brown river rock though, too heavy.

I wouldn't count on it being safe or cheaper. Around here ties sell for a fair bit because their is demand for them for landscaping.

Ah that was funny.

Posted my comment in response and then read about a page of posts saying the same thing.

When the time comes I will be using cool room panels held in place by a wooden frame. I'll be using naturally termite resistant timbers, like redwood or cypress, and wont have the condensation issues because the panels will be in contact with the liner and where the panels contact the timber there should be enough air movement to not keep the timber moist and hence prone to rot or insect attack. This is important because "resistant timber" means it is resistant not impervious.

If it is not meant to be commercial why so big? Stepping stone?

Stuart,

How expensive are the cool room panels? They sound like a pricey item. As for why so big as a home system. I plan on being able to feed my extended family with it. Maybe help out a few people that are down on their luck. Besides that I see the uncertainty unraveling around the world at the moment. And would like, for my family, to be prepared for whatever comes. Besides anything we can not eat could easily be donated to the church. I believe that I read somewhere were you have done calculations on a lot of shapes and sizes for a RFF. I was thinking of using a whole IBC the long way. Inlet pipe at the exact middle. But instead of the traditional round stilling well. Placing 2 dividers across the IBC connecting the 2 closest sides. Along with having 1 weir spanning the short way also at the furthest edges. Oh well a pic is worth a thousand words right? The best I could come up with for numbers at this point is the inflow would be 28016gal (106.5972 liters) giving them a 8.875min retention time. What does your math think? Workable?

Stu,

I do also have the ability to go split flow and greatly increase the retention time. Maybe even safely double it. I t would depend on the pipe sizing between the FT's and the RFF's. And the flow required to keep any buildup at bay.

Second hand cold room panels can often times be found cheap. I can get them for like $30 for 4m x 1.5m


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Re the cool room panels it depends on what is available locally.

I can get them from Melbourne (about an hr away) for about $23/m2.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Walkin-Cool ... 41946754ec

They aren't too easy to find in state?? Seems like a good idea if you could locate them for the price Stu was getting his for. I just spend $300.00 for a 6' x 12' section from a reefer trailer floor. We used it to replace the wooden deck in 1 of our utility trailers. It turned out beautiful. Last time I'll ever replace that deck.

As to an earlier question you had about need for insulation in an enclosed fish shed.

Here in Central Florida that will really depend on
A-Type of fish
B-are you heating/cooling
C-amount of climate control for your growing operation
D-are you growing appropriate plants for the seasons?
E-Micro climate of your farm.

I'm located a bit Northwest of Orlando on the Florida Ridge but protected from the cold blasts by Lake Harris. I'm not insulating anything. I'm not using any greenhouses. I do have 40% aluminet above almost half of my systems. I am gaining a little thermal coupling with the ground by having my raft beds directly on the dirt/sand and a few tanks sunk in the ground. Gives me a little bit of cool in the summer and a bit of warm in the winter but the water temp still did get below 55 F this past winter for a little while a few times which meant my catfish didn't eat for several days when that happened. Bummer that the nutrient levels get a bit low in winter which is also the best growing season for things like Kale, broccoli, cabbage etc. Perhaps with a little heating I could keep temps above 60 and keep the nutrient levels higher for better plant growth but heating when the system is all exposed seems too inefficient for me to invest in. Since I'm growing channel catfish, I don't have to heat to keep them alive.

Now I know Ryan Chatterson is South of My location but in an area that usually sees far more hard freezes that I do, heck even 7 miles West of my location will get frost when we don't even drop below 40 F so you might be well advised to spend a summer and a winter at your new location before investing too much into insulating/climate control depending on your intended crops/fish and how much you want to buck nature or go with the seasons. I know, hard advice to follow when you are wanting to get your new system all planned before moving.

got cha

Bcasey,

Thanks

Stu,

I wish they were that cheap here

Coach,

At that price this option is out of the ballpark for me.

TCLynx,

A. Tilapia (blue), Crappie, Mosquito, Catfish? or other cold hearty fish I might actually eat, haven't decided
B. Almost none. I may heat the fish house if nessicary, And possibly 1 green house section If needed to help warm
water on the way back to the fish house.
C. Real old school (failsafe), Open the doors and vents on the FH to cool it. Close them to help it heat up. All manual.
D. I would have to study too be able to tell. I am not knowledgeable enough at this point to honestly answer. I did read
a couple of threads for seasonal planting. In our zone though.
E. My climate should be just a little milder than Melbourne Fl. Being in the St John's river basin It may frost a couple of
hours over night. Maybe 2 times a year. The amount of water in the area year round should keep the temp swings
from being to violent.

Yeah very hard advise. As I would start tomorrow if I could. But I learned from my current system. Rushed decisions usually cost more money.