Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What is your depth? I am putting a poll for easy response

I am determining how deep I want my depth to be.

all our beds vary from 12 to 20 inches deep.

12 inches gives a good depth to protect the bacteria from desiccation during drain periods.

That sounds terribly deep

11 inches, if I filled them anymore the gravel would keep falling over the sides.

12 inches....300mm....30cm

80% of the folks on this board are using the metric system, Slicer. They'll have to get out their calculators to know how deep their beds are. What I can't figure out is why they always talk in terms of mm, not cm, though.

Janet

When Oz converted to metric there was a bit of resistance to changing sizes. So you have for example 6 foot sheets of fencing and you need mm's to measure accurately. (my theory anyway)

Janet
I have a deep-seated anxiety about the decimal point, possibly linked to the genetic memory of our ancestors, to whom anything that suddenly moved without a valid reason was a source of fear and wonder. The decimal point is just such a beast, totally under control at one moment and then just as suddenly appearing where it has no right to be, ruining the lives and projects of innocent people with absolutely no regard for the heart-ache it can cause.
Every centimetre comes with a built-in ( though possibly hidden ) decimal point, which can be triggered at any moment without the user being aware of the danger. The European ones, often disguised as a comma, are especially dangerous.
The millimetre is a stable, manageable little beast which usually requires no division or reduction, and there are literally thousands of them around - they are my little friends !

Slicer
200 mm or 8" worked fine for me, I was using tubs which held around 50 litres (about 12 gallons US) and were 250 mm or 10" deep - they were light enough to shift around if the need arose, and deep enough to provide good root development for my tomatoes.

12 inches..... 300mm

12inches would be 308.4 mm (roughly ).

Alrighty then I was thinking of around 6-7 inches deep. However I am willing to go deeper if need be. I have currently on my NFT 3 inches deep.

Thanks for the reply.

Bad, Sleepe!! You made a decimal point.

Take it easy, Big Mick. It was a mistake. It will go away. There, there.

mines a little under the 30cm mark, i don't think it matters a great deal as long as the bacteria is protected from sunlight, in my case with larger flat river stones over the perlite.

Wasn't me, honest, was Rupert's convert program

Hi

Janet said

My son was studying building technology at TAFE. In the words of his lecturers, only dressmakers use cm.

gg

Mine is 28 cm deep. You need the depth to get the ideal conditions for the bacteria. Although in a NFT setup it might be ok. As long as you end up with the correct VOLUME of gravel.

big mick that was the best laugh i have had in a long time!

one thing that always struck me a s weird was every think is like 32 16th qrt...... and then they throw in "thou" as in 40 thou(sandths) of an inch !! i think they secretly want to go metric.........