Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

i have cut an ibc from top to bottom to make grow bed frames.
on one of the pdf guides i saw they put wood planks to reinforce but is there need for this (currently my frame does sit into the grooves of the ibc, and the metal sections do run both ways criss-cross?

what do you guys think?

i will be using clay pebbles, probably around 300l

thanks

The sides of the IBCs are not as ridgid or supportive as the base which has maximum surface area to support and transport a full container. Since in our applications they don't move around or have transport shocks we can get away with a little more.
If the pebbles don't float they're considered heavier than water (which is 1kg /Lt) minus the weight of the water they displace. The heavier the medium the more you'll need to reinforce the base as over time the stretched plastic beneath will degrade and break.

Water is heavy. Plants start light, do well, grow and get heavy.

Do yourself a favor and support your grow-bed.

thanks for your advice.
i managed to find some dexion and some old car roof bars from work.
i think this has worked out well for the frame for my 2 side chopped ibcs. the roof bars were conveniently 1200mm so just the right size, so it was just a few cuts of the dexion and some cable ties.





i'm still not happy about the supports under my top-chopped ibc growbed.

its such an odd shape, with the ibc lid and all. ive currently wedged some timber underneath and filled it with clayballs but im tempted to empty the media out and start again with to see if i can improve it using my newly found roof bars and dexion i have.

I did a 2x6 frame for my system 10ft by 4ft with about 10in on center cross supports.