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View Full Version : MY Rooftop System (Photo Journal!! :D)



alex281
10-28-2011, 02:17 AM
Well, after a long time of scrapping up the pieces, i finally got some work done up on the roof. Here are the pics of a near complete system! Let me know what you think!

Edit: this is now my journal where ill be adding pics of progress :D

Small housing for electricity + fish supplies. (going to be water proofed later on for rain.)

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4715&stc=1

Fish + air stones and pump

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4716&stc=1

Side View

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4717&stc=1

alex281
10-28-2011, 02:19 AM
more pics!

Just a pic of the grow area. More gravel needs to be added so its an inch above water level.(the strainer is there for when i was rinsing rocks and then adding them.)

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4718&stc=1

Siphon in action

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4719&stc=1

davidstcldfl
10-28-2011, 05:57 AM
:D

keith_r
10-28-2011, 05:58 AM
looks good.. before you know it, you'll be designing your "next" system!

foodchain
10-28-2011, 07:59 AM
Would a walmart kiddie pool for $15 be a better tank? It has more surface area, and therefore will hold more fish, and allow for better amonia control. You would have to put a screen or egg crate on though to prevent predataion. It would heat up faster from the ambient temps, and would displace the weight of the system over a greater area. Just a thought.

alex281
10-28-2011, 01:00 PM
Would a walmart kiddie pool for $15 be a better tank? It has more surface area, and therefore will hold more fish, and allow for better amonia control. You would have to put a screen or egg crate on though to prevent predataion. It would heat up faster from the ambient temps, and would displace the weight of the system over a greater area. Just a thought.


That is actually going to be part of my next system.(perhaps NFT not sure yet.)
However it would be a pain to accommodate a kiddie pool under the grow bed as my pump is very weak(3ft pumping height/more distance to get it to growbed.) and i would have to have the kiddie pool off to the side which would also require more pvc so the growbed could drain back to it. Also this growbed was sized specifically for the 55 gallon tote. im afraid if i add a kiddie pool the large surface area will cause water to drop to low and kill my goldfish :P

Definitely a smart idea though! thanks for the advice!

And to all others, Thanks for looking!

foodchain
10-28-2011, 01:33 PM
Why not run the kiddie pool in conjunction with what you have. Like a daisy chain. You can hydrostatically connect easily with a bulk head.
There by using the same pump. Maybe adding a second small one to increase circulation.
I run 325 gallon volume tanks daisy chained this way.

alex281
10-28-2011, 02:06 PM
Why not run the kiddie pool in conjunction with what you have. Like a daisy chain. You can hydrostatically connect easily with a bulk head.
There by using the same pump. Maybe adding a second small one to increase circulation.
I run 325 gallon volume tanks daisy chained this way.

Daisy chaining is Genius!! i bet you saved a lot, rather than buying larger, more expensive tanks! :D

I calculated the size of the grow bed to be the same size of the tote, so the water supply should be enough!
however, only time will tell how its going to run, i can always add when needed, if needed. Thanks for the idea, i wouldve never that about that!

cookie
10-28-2011, 06:46 PM
I had the corners fail on bins like that. I needed to drop a liner in and it was a waste of money to get them. I use the 4 bins for worm food now. The corners might push up and start to leak any day. I think maybe putting them on foam or a soft surface would have helped.

alex281
10-31-2011, 10:24 PM
I had the corners fail on bins like that. I needed to drop a liner in and it was a waste of money to get them. I use the 4 bins for worm food now. The corners might push up and start to leak any day. I think maybe putting them on foam or a soft surface would have helped.

I just found a leak today! posted about it. im going to get a kiddie pool tomorrow unless someone has a better solution!

cookie
11-02-2011, 02:19 PM
You could drop a liner in the tank. The corners are a pain to fold in a tank like that but that is what I did. I now just use them for poop storage. I have one of the bins with a slot cut in the lid that fits my weed wacker so I can fill it a 1/4 the way with paper scraps and nail them with the weed wacker to make them bite size for the worms.

I did switch over to a kiddy pool that I garbage picked then used it for my sump/raft tank. There are so many right now on craigslist for free its ridiculous. people are giving away the cheap ass intek ones with the steel frame and the inflatable but I would not trust them in a finished basement over a solid plastic one. I got a plastic one but still made a berm of cinder blocks lined with cheap plastic around the area making sure if it blew out most of the water would go down the drain and only a little would leak under the berm.



Cheapest replacement options will be on craigslist. I see a 1000 gallon tank on there right now for 200 that only held water before.

keith_r
11-02-2011, 04:15 PM
where are you located cookie?

cookie
11-04-2011, 08:55 AM
chicago area. Another guy has been advertising 1625 gallon tanks for 225, he had four of them I think but I do not see his ads now.

alex281
11-05-2011, 11:48 AM
i wish i could create a larger system, however since i do not have a garden and whatever i build is on the roof, weight is a serious issue. i was already terrified that my 55 gallon system is going to crash through the roof as it weighs about 900 pounds.(which is why i added support beams on the bottom of it.)

alex281
01-08-2012, 03:19 AM
Some updates :D

My new tank under construction. the stupid rubbermaid cracked in the same place as the last one!

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4710&stc=1

Various Lettuces and peppers, cant wait till they go upstairs!

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4711&stc=1

The rosemary branch i took off from somewhere is starting to flower.

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4712&stc=1

What seems to be a pine tree, must have been blown from the nearby trees as a result of the violent winds not long ago.... its gonna stay.

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4713&stc=1

A nice eggplant added to the system.

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4714&stc=1