Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

When I decided how and what to make my grow beds out of I found I had two spare bath tubs to make other uses of.
I made a stand and converted one into a compost wee-er and the other into a wicking bed.
I prepared the NNW facing wall to fit 3 - 2.3 x 0.8 x 0.3 m GBs end to end.

I like the setup Pete What are the ground supports?

Hi Scotty,

I used 12mm all thread 250 mm long and plug welded a 10 x 25 washers on the bottom then immersed 6 of them into Rapid Set concrete. The timber frame is just the jig that held the threads in the correct position and height for the GB.
I figured the 552 Lt GB filled with scoria and water would weigh about 1000 kg/6=166 kg per leg so I dug 8"square holes and made sure the washers were well above the base.
It seems like a lot of messing around but with the rapid set concrete I installed 18 mounting threads in a day and I now have fine level adjustment, secure & stable platform on an otherwise sloping dirt base.

Pete

Thanks for the info.

You may find this interesting (or not ) - I used rebar to level the top of some wicking beds using a wood frame and cap around them. Your setup kind of reminded me of this even though I used the wood as a part of the bed and I'm not having to support the weight so the rebar is not set in concrete.

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13622

Interesting seeing what different people come up with. I can't recall anyone else here who's done stands the way you did but I like the way they turned out.

Thanks Scotty,

I had a good look around the forum and other sites to discover many issues with plumbing and container support stem from inadequate footings and cheap material. People will do what they can and/or learn by trial and error.
I felt there is too much work to go into this project not to have a sturdy base and good materials.

Pete