Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey Doc

Thanks very much for your reply

I have read that sometimes you don't know whether you're getting a newer one or one that has been sitting in a yard for a long time. Presumably the older ones may have had a bit of UV damage/deterioration.

Your setup looks sweet. I can only imagine how pumped you felt when dug the final spade of dirt. That is a big hole.

Looking forward to more pics

Ben

Hey, Ben. Yeah the hole was a slog, so good finishing it off.

The IBC I saw is under cover and literally looks brand new and shiny. I doubt it's had anything in it or been exposed to much sun. But not 100%

What suburb you in? Feel free to pop over for a look. Perhaps once the GBs are in place.

It depends which pallet racking you get.

The stuff that I have outdoors has galvanised uprights and painted or powder coated cross bars (not sure which)

The cross bars have faded a touch in the sun but I haven't had any rust issues.

For the price of your connectors you might be better off getting a stick welder and just welding the frame together. It will be cheaper than the cost of the connectors and you've got the welder to use for other projects later.

There is a world of difference between a cheap stick welder and one of the nice inverter ones from BOC. The inverter ones don't cost a lot more but weld so much better. Welding the thicknesses of steel that you would be using isn't too hard with a stick welder.

If you don't have anyone to give you some pointers consider doing an evening course with WEA or Tafe. Make sure you get an auto darkening helmet, much easier than the old fashioned ones and can be had for as little as $50 if you shop around.

If the idea of welding it up appeals to you then you might be better off with RHS (square or rectangular steel) or Uni Beams (I Beams like they make buildings and retaining wall from) as you wont need to do round notches to fit the pieces together like you would with round pipe.

Of course if you have a small drill press and a suitable sized holesaw then notching pipe isn't the trickiest thing to do, it's just something you wouldn't need to worry about with some of the other types of steel.

This is a bit out of date (but still current last time I asked) and from another state but gives you an idea of costs to build with uni beams: http://www.stewarttrading.com.au/files/qcwneqbecp/BEAMS-JAN14.pdf

You wont often find steel prices online, and it does pay to shop around. I regularly get quotes for steel that are more than 20% apart in price when I play the major suppliers off each other - and it's not always the same place that is cheapest.

If you find yourself buying new steel in stead of scrap always buy full lengths. If you buy it by the metre you'll end up paying as much for a short piece as for the whole piece.

Whatever you do, avoid buying steel from the big green box. I was shocked at how much they wanted for a 50x50 fence post on the weekend and I can only imagine how ridiculous their RHS prices might be.

Just food for thought :-)

Thanks for the thought food Sean.

I would like to learn how to weld and have looked up the TAFE courses a while back as I am also interested in building my own Texas offset smoker. I've even started picking up some cheap welding accessories, but I need some skills and a MIG.

So far I'm going to pursue the fence post and connector idea. I've managed to find enough connectors at a scrap yard, but I need to sort through them to make sure I have all the sets I need. If I can land these it should work out pretty cheap as it's all scrap. I might buy the poles new from Madalia steel, the guy who gave me a quote gave me pretty good prices.

I just want to get all the parts and build the damn thing!!!

Regarding rust of those pallet racks, I think you're right, the ones I saw must have been lying in their yard for ages and were only rusting a little where the water had been trapped. In general I recon they would hold up pretty well.

I'm in Shents.... Let me know when the GBs are in place and I'll swing over. What suburb are you?

I'm planning on checking out Bills Salvage yard in the next few days.

Thanks for the tip

Ben

Im in Padbury.

Dont pinch my pole connectors lol

Is Bills the place with the Canberra Bomber?

I used to buy IBC's from a salvage yard with a Canberra Bomber quite cheaply when I lived in Perth.

Yep, plane out the front! Remember going past it as a kid I think, although I think there is another one south somewhere??

They have a big stack of 200L blue drums at the moment that look almost new, but the guy there recons they not suitable for drinking water.

Was a fun place to go shopping. Our equivalent in Adelaide is Paramount Browns

Whenever I'm looking for aquaculture tanks (hoping to get a bargain) on Gumtree there often seems to be some listed for cheap in WA, I would be using these instead of IBC's but the square tanks probably fit better in your available space.

Yeah, I love browsing through scrap yards! They have some nice big tanks there that would be good for aquaponics, but as you say my space is limited the way I have it set up. Still, I have the rest of the house to take over yet, and the pool! Muhahahaaa

OK, connectors purchased. 24 sets half 3240NB, half 3232NB. Which means half my legs will have 32NB pipe (thicker gauge) and the other half 40NB pipe. I got the lot for $60. $2.50 each. Now I just need the pipe and the bolts to put it all together.

Ok, it's been a while since I posted but rest assured things have been happening. I now have all the pipework to build the frames for my grow beds. First out of three frames shown in image. Still need to solve how to attach the inside supports for the pond liner. Simple ideas welcome, but plywood will no doubt be involved.

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wooden pallets make a good strong base and can be got for free. That's what I use.

You may have to lower the bottom level slightly. You can rotate the inside lengths (forklift spacers) onto sides to reduce the profile and put the top slats close together without too much effort.

Side can be plywood or cement fibre board etc. Jut make sure your liner goes over the galvanised if you are looking at food fish as zinc can be an issue. Less/no problem for goldfish. usually your uprights will be less of an issue.

None of this will be above your beds so risk of contamination etc is very low.

Hi Darren,

Thanks for the tips. Yes, I have already moved the bottom level down. The plan is to have approx 40cm depth.

My neighbor gave me a good idea for base support. Old pool fence. Upon which I can lay the plywood.

Agree regarding the zinc. I plan to use a wooden liner for the interior of the GB and line the top (some how) with wood, then sandwich the pond liner between that and another strip of wood.

Work in progress.