Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

hey ruperto, thanx for the links, will have a look at them when my daughter is in bed asleep

hey rupert, i looked at the gb's from tilkey, they look abit flimsy,and the size is abit small with what we spoke about, i need to look around 2 mtr mark to make the system work for me, ie:room to move around whole system, i really dont want to have heaps of small gb's, rather fewer larger 1's, even though the yellow 1's looked ok in depth for me, it's just the lenght.oh well,i'll keep looking i spose

Mario, look/click on the green trough above the yellow picture in the link I posted ...

They're 1870 * 1050 * 320mm ... pretty close to what you talked about.

Yep they need some side support, but I'm sure Les will set you straight on just how to do it and how practical they are....

Have a look at his thread...... being an ex-chippie you'd have no trouble supporting them

About the right size (1.85mtr) and a darn good price for what you get.

i did look at that one aswell rupert, but the depth is only 320mm, i need to look around 400-450mm depth mark for the volume i need to carry, but i might give them a call 2morrow and see what they might have to offer in that range,or any idea's that they might have.

G'day freeway

the measurements quoted on the troughs are the outer measurements (they all seem to do this )

actual volume the troughs are able to hold is ~460l - the troughs bow along the length but it isn't a lot (max 50mm) - I had some lengths of gal pipe and used that to strengthen the sides.

Be aware of the weight if you are going to use gravel, make the stands strong (I used besser blocks)



tomorrow being Saturday, they may not be open - not sure ( they are more of a wholesaler)

...and a warm welcome to ya

HWC, why do you *need* a certain volume of growbed? Sufficient surface area for plant growth, depth for bacteria health (most people seem to say 300mm is ideal)...I don't see what other parameters you need for a good system.

If you made the beds twice as deep, they would drain twice the water from your tank each flood, but would they actually provide any extra benefit? I guess they hold more bacteria though...can anyone comment on whether this would provide more filtration and allow higher stocking rates?

Also, if you're going all out like this, you might want to consider upping the size of your sump tank to more than half the water volume of your growbeds. That way if you have the two halves of the system running on alternate timings, in the event of a fubar with power or pump failure you're unlikely to lose water. Might help keep you out of the flood club.

Just thoughts...
Cheers

cruiser,

something you could look into. Alot of irrigation companys around here use "black brute" pipes. This stuff can be plastic welded. They also get this stuff in sheet form. So you may be able to get your beds made. I'll try and call the local guys here and get a price. Im interested in the costs myself


springa

Steem, from talking to Mario this afternoon I think that, for reasons of space and the size of his proposed tank - 8000 litre...

That's exactly what he's thinking.... that the extra depth allows for an increased bacterial capacity within the area he has available....

In theory this would appear to be true..... as you said, other peoples comments would be welcome concerning this.

Mario, the point Steem makes about the increased volume during a "flood" cycle is a valid point. Have you considered the overall volume of your proposed beds at this depth compared to the volume of your actual fish tank....

From talking to Mario, I think that he has factored in the amount of volume in the sump tank and plumbing as well as the beds, but it is worth confirming this Mario.

Mario intends running two pumps each feeding several growbeds. Both will be operated independantly I believe, not in unison....

So this in itself will lessen the overall drain on the fish tank on any single occasion.

Steems suggestion of a second sump is perhaps a vaild idea as well, especially as you have two pumps... with the two pumps and two sumps, if any one pump fails you have the ability to failover to supply all beds from the remaining pump and sump..... just fit a bypass (two-way) so that you can switch in the alternate bank of growbeds if you need.....

Have a feeling that Les's work with actuators might tickle your fancy as well Mario

hey guys, i think rupert has nailed it on the head, i was actually thinking of having a diverter between both pumps in case of failure, and the main reason i would like deep beds, is yes for more bacteria surface area, but also the more volume, the longer the pumps dont have to work, the better, more time in-between fill's, against more time it takes to out flow, and the sump issue wont be a bother, cos it is on a float switch, it will run as long as it it above the cut out switch, and i havnt decided what size sump pump i will use, but i will make sure it's large enough to pump out at least what is coming into the sump .more calculations in the next few days

the out flow pipes will be insulated with r2 insulation batts, like in roofing stuff, set in the concrete floor,which will create a thermal barrier, in-turn helping control water temp, clogging wont be an issue due to the size of the pipes,and nothing a plumbers snake wont fix....

Hi HC, regarding your insulation (r2 insulation batts) may I recommend to use polystyrene insulation, if the pipes are in concrete. R2 insulation batts get compressed and take up water during the pouring/curing of the concrete, unless you can can completely waterproof them.

Good point Heka, wouldn't have thought of that until you pointed it out

Mario, here's another member using those Tilkey budget troughs... the green one.....

Same, same.... says they straighten up and are a lot sturdier than they might appear....

Still, they are only 320mm deep though

Edited : Doh... forgot to add the link....

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/vie ... 0002#20002

Sump tank size is very important! Ive had big probs with power outages ,such as dogs knocking power lead off ! Installed a 1000 litre ibc but it collapsed!
colin

hi Mario, good to have you on here. Everyone else has said lots of stuff already, but I'll add, we've got 2 ibc's joined as our sump for the 10,000L tank. We needed that volume to cope with the flow back from the grow beds.

Have fun, your daughter will love the journey too

yep, Sttem (my old )system has a 200 litre sump. Does struggle. The biggwer the sump the better I say, no reason why it can't or shouldn't double as a fingerling tank.