Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

They are from terracorptanks.com.au for $385 a piece. 2 different model, 250mm high and 350mm high

The transformation is going full steam ahead. Removed one ibc grow bed today, plumbed the remaining 2 and the 5 half blue barrels into the new sump, washed 250l of expanded clay which wash in use for 2years.

On the to do last fire tomorrow...

Weld the grow bed stand, paint the connecting bits, install in place, paint the rest

Day after i will be filling it with the washed and some leftover clay from the first installation, the new grow beds are 500l to the brim, plumbing it up first new seedlings are already planted.

Some pictures will follow tomorrow... Promise

The grow bed stand is in place, the trough is on the fresh paint... Luckily it's very hot and the paint dries very quick and the humidity isn't that high yet.

I would have liked the bed another 100 mm lower but I had to make a compromise to enable good access to the sump tank underneath.

The concrete was for the ibc which was in this place before, I might use the space later for a vertical grow bed or some run to waste pots, we will see.

It looks pretty stable but i think I fill it with water first to get maximum weight in it for a load test, I decided on 40mm angle at 5mm thick, there is always the possibility of adding another set of legs in the center.

We had our second last harvest of red pear tomatoes today 2.5kg. There will be one more in a couple of days and after that I am going to remove the trellis and install the new one over the new grow bed. The switchboard on the wall needs to be relocated, it contains the aerator and irrigation controller, I might just move it to the inside of the wall.

When everything is finished I will cover the ground with some gravel and raise the height to the top of the sump tank, covering the drain pipes.

Those growbeds look great.

Wish we had something similar down here.

Another update, my missus made 2.5kg of cherry tomatoes into pasta sauce and we had some Barra fillets for dinner, first pan fried, than topped with tomato sauce and cheese, placed them for a couple minutes under the grill and served on rice, was very yummy,especially because 2 of the 3 main ingredients plus all the herbs came out of the own garden.

I have also just discovered that our dirt garden potatoes are ready for harvest, that goes on the to do list for tomorrow.

Maybe check out the rectangular troughs at http://www.teampoly.com.au/farm-products/livestock-troughs/

They look close enough, maybe the sell them without the float etc. All a matter of price i guess.

Cheers

Will give them a ring and see what the pricing is and whether they are food grade

Thanks

Greetings Charlie,

Following you from the USA.
You questioned putting your sump in the ground.
Make the opening in the top of your sump as small as possible.
Get some of this welded wire mesh http://www.weldedwirenetting.com/weldedwiremeshinfo.html
Put tight fitting holes in it to feed your plumbing through. This will definitely keep the beasties out. I had a problem with a local snake population, garter snakes (a beneficial critter here) but they eat fish and their waste causes wild swings in water chemistry.
Burying the sump will help keep the water cooler in the summer season. Also with the sump in the ground gravity is your friend moving water around.

Yes the digging can be a chore, but chill some Fosters and invite some mates over, you provide the shovels, it gets done quickly

See my system here
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=22925

What brand/manufacturer and model of water pumps are you using?

Thanks

-Ed

I rented this machine for a half day it's call a Dingo, I realize you have those critters running around the outback I rented the small hole bit. You should have a similar machine available there. This was made by a company named Toro (the mower people)
It made short work of digging the hole to bury my sump. I didn't have the tall round sump. I used the square IBS tank like your fish tanks so I only had to dig down 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) We don't have the hard-pan rock that you have though, a layer of clay marl and a 18" layer of gravel. Here in the U.S. the machine cost with the hydraulic drill bit attachment was $48 U.S. My back and legs thanked me for that investment.

Beware of the material that the livestock tanks are made from. You need a food grade material. Aquaponics water is much more aggressive than the water normally used to water livestock (which gets cycled with fresh water regularly). Here in the U.S. the tanks have a "recycling mark" molded into the material. Its a number in a triangle. Only 1 or 2 of those marks are rated for food grade use. I don't know if you folks down under have a similar labeling system, but it makes it easier for us to pick and choose which tanks we will use.

Here in the U.S. there is quite a market for the foodgrade blue barrels. I get them for $10 u.s. each. They were used to ship Soy Sauce in them, or apple cider vinegar. Even after rigorous washing, the greenhouse smelled like a Chinese restaurant for a couple of weeks.

Hello Ed

I am using an Aquagarden Barracud. 6000 dirt water pump, but now with the lower sump i might have to go to the next bigger one when all the new beds are online. The reduced flow caused by the higher head is practical at the moment because i have less grow beds than before.

We have dingoes, Kangas and toros or however else these machines are called but to reach the position where the hole was needed, i would have been required to remove a fence, cut through the existing plumbing of the aquaponics, remove 1 grow bed and other things and spend $300 for the rental. All together not feasible.

The tanks i am using are advertised by the manufacturer as for use as aquaponics grow beds, are made out of fresh materials and not recycled, apart from the lids which get melted again for the next tank.

Cheers

Oliver

Excellent, keep up the good work.

-Ed

The new grow bed is filled with the washed clay and all the leftovers i had from the first installation, it is on constant flood for the time being until the next grow bed is installed and the water mains relocated to the wall of the shipping container.

I will start this week to take the old trellis down and install the new one.

The stand is holding up well, i had flooded the bed first to get rid of some ants which built their nest inside the clay ball bags and couldn't see any deformation on the steel.

We did harvest another 1.5kg of cherry tomatoes but that will be it now, there won't be enough time for any more fruit to get ripe.

I also reduced the barramundi to 10, because we had guests yesterday and what is better to serve fresh caught barra for dinner? And this one was a very nice and fat one, 2.3kg of filet plus some minor off cuts which the dogs ate while i was filleting the fish.

From the top, 8 meal sized filet, center left off cuts for stir fry, center right some stir fry for the dogs (the prefer it cooked but better a couple pieces raw than nothing at all), bottom left barra skin for deep frying (i got told it will puff up like pork crackling but will try this afternoon for the first time) and bottom right the wing part (i also have to find out how to prepare this one best, trying to get the meat off raw wastes to much).

forgot some pictures...

The drain filter will be upgraded later, for the moment i made it bigger to have better access by hand for cleaning out roots etc. but i have organised some 316 stainless steel mesh (intruder safe fly screen) and i have to buy some 316 stainless rod or 3mm*25mm bar to build a cage, line it with the mesh and place it around the outlet.