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kneedeepinwater
06-07-2011, 01:50 PM
Hope everyone is having an awesome day!

I was running some ideas through my head about how I might want to do things. I'm starting out with either 20x48 or 26x48 greenhouse to grow some delicious veggies and fish aquaponic style. :mrgreen:

I was looking at tanks for the fish and figure I might come out cheaper as far the gallons I can get building or having one built. I was thinking of maybe digging out an area for a L40xW5xD6 (Gal.8964) tank or would it be wiser to break that up into separate tanks something like L10xW5xD6 (Gal.2241) I would probably build these beside each other. I want to maximize all the space I can in this greenhouse. I would just start off with this one large FT or 4 seperate ones and build more later. I figure the tent could hold a total of about 3 large tanks (one to the left, one in the middle and one to the right) or 12 of the smaller ones in the same order. I could also just do the larger tanks and put some sort of divider in it to make sections. I know the separate tanks would be easier for harvesting the fish and moving the fingerlings, etc.

What would be the best way or best material to build these tanks. I was thinking have the hole dug, a little cement put in for foundation, then use cement blocks for the walls, and use the 45mil EPDM pond liner. What do you guys thank?

How many beds could a system like this support?? I was thinking about having GB size about 4x8x12. I know different plants use different amounts of nutes so it may be hard to say.

Would I need a sump with a tank that large or could i just let the beds drain back into the tank. The GB would be sitting above the tank because the tank will be in the ground some.

Pump wise what you recommend, I didn't see any pumps that had 40ft of head if I put GB the length of the tank, I was thinking of doing a raft setup also. Would I need to add a swirl filter on the system? I am familiar with flood n drain and don't have a problem using it. I was wondering though if I could keep the water level in the beds at 6-8 inchs and run the water constantly and have it drain into the raft beds and back into the tank?

Thanks in advance for all the advice and please if you have any ideas..Im all ears!

cedarswamp
06-07-2011, 02:59 PM
You're planning too much water for too little GB. For 1 GB at 4x8x12 you only want about a 120 gallon FT. IMHO You would have a problem feeding the plants with nutrients that dilute. If you haven't seen the threads Aquaponics 101 by Oliver you would do well to read them. :D


Your pump head is vertical lift. Horizontal run other than a few PSI for friction loss doesn't effect head.

urbanfarmer
06-07-2011, 04:57 PM
Your ratios are way off. You will want to read through the tutorials to get an idea. Once it all sinks in your mind, write up your design plan again and we can go from there!

BTW, are you trying to do this commercially?

kneedeepinwater
06-07-2011, 08:26 PM
I read over aquaponics 101 and I see what you guys are saying about the rations 1:1 or 2:1. You say for 1 4x8x12 GB I only want 120 gallon FT. Which would be a total of 1200 Gal FT for 10 GB. The trays I am looking at hold 235 gallons (1 tray), after filling the tray with hydroton, it wont take more than 120 gallons to flood and dray the one 4x8x12 tray?

Even stocking like 1500 fish in 2241 gallons I would have a problem with dilution?

That was my intentions at some point was to do it commercially. I know this is probably big to start out with but I feel confident and when it comes to building stuff like this I prefer to do it once not two or three times so I guess thats why I was going to go ahead and make the FT so big.

keith_r
06-08-2011, 05:27 AM
it will need about 40% volume of water to fill after hydroton is added.. so each bed, in addition to the hydroton, will hold about 94 gallons of water..if pumping to all growbeds at the same time, that's 940 gallons for your sump, and leave extra room for the pump to remain submerged..
what kind of fish are you planning on using? i wouldn't go over 500 lbs target, especially with a first system.. so 500 trout fingerlings to grow out to one pound..
1500 fish would need massive amounts of filtration and air added unless they're minnnows?

rfeiller
06-08-2011, 09:18 AM
I have many years of plant and fish experience but aquaponics has been a real growth experience for me. I'm in my third trial run. Each time it has been larger then the last, eventually it will be a commercial size project, with a differently purpose.
I admire you for the size of system you are starting with. If you don't have a lot if history to contend with you will have less challenges then me. Good luck!

urbanfarmer
06-09-2011, 12:16 AM
Try to learn the scientific principles first and put them into practice while monitoring everything. It's not very complicated, but takes a little getting used to. This will allow your theoretical knowledge meet practical and hands on experience, even if with a small 10 gallon system! Once you "get it" then move on to designing the BIG system. You will need a fundamental knowledge of aquaponics to put a system together correctly. There are MANY ways to build the MANY different components in your system. For instance, you could completely throw the ratio out of whack, but you could implement mechanical and biofiltration to make up the difference. It's very doable and there are lots of folks out there who have posted their innovations and system designs.

If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend 5 hours sharpening the axe and 1 hour cutting the tree down. :mrgreen:

rfeiller
06-16-2011, 10:41 AM
UF there has to be an easier way to instruct those getting into this. What you are saying is correct. However, how do we promote this to the masses that can not or are not able to purchase the basic regents and test equipment? There is a fair amount of do diligence involved with everything from containers, pumps, diet, flow rates, on and on.

We work it to death on this forum. Which I personally appreciate but it isn't the answer for the masses. KISS I believe.it is called. (That is a personal reminder to myself) :)

rfeiller
06-16-2011, 11:00 AM
The construction of the pond depending on the soil could be just the ESPN liner on top of single piece weed cloth. If for some resonance later should you want to remove the pond or change it it is relatively easy to fill in or modify. There are several manufactouers that make bottom drains etc for ESPN liners. Be sure and install bottom drains.

15mules
07-10-2013, 06:53 AM
I know this is an old thread, but I think it illustrates a point well. There are so many acceptable (different ways, but not necessarily better or worse, just different) ways to build a AP system, that for someone new it can be very confusing without a BASE amount of knowledge. While each different system works well for its intended climate, purpose, crop, etc. when you start, mix matching this idea for a media system, with that idea from a deep water raft, etc. and get the numbers crossed, it can go bad quick. I think this leads many, who we never hear from to give AP a try, then simply give up, because of a failure and determine AP, just don't work.
I certainly do not claim to know it all, but I can assure you if you are looking into AP for the first time, spend the few dollars to buy a book or two, spend some time doing basic research and read as much as you can on AP, before laying out money or labor to start building. You really need that BASE knowledge and understanding of the SYSTEM as mentioned earlier, to make AP work, once you have that base knowledge you can work through the rest, with out it, it is simply "a shot in the dark" as they say.

Aloha Don
07-24-2013, 06:58 PM
Kneedeep - did you build your system?
Give some After Action Reviews so we all can learn from your experiences.

eddiemigue
07-24-2013, 09:14 PM
Ditto to Don's post.

JCO
07-25-2013, 12:06 AM
Once again, it's the case of the disappearing member... Don't ask, I have no explanation. :? :mrgreen:

Roger L.
07-25-2013, 08:39 AM
I hope my member doesn't disappear! I just had to go for that. You just tossed it up there and I couldn't refuse to hit it.

JCO
07-25-2013, 08:43 AM
Aren't you the one with the bad back :shock: :o :lol: :mrgreen:

dead_sled
07-25-2013, 09:58 AM
Its all downhill from here...... :shock:
http://forgifs.com/gallery/d/188285-3/Steep-downhill-biker.gif? (http://forgifs.com)

Apollo
09-02-2013, 08:51 PM
What would be the best way or best material to build these tanks. I was thinking have the hole dug, a little cement put in for foundation, then use cement blocks for the walls, and use the 45mil EPDM pond liner. What do you guys thank?

Hi, too much, too fast...slow down and get more input. I built the kind of GB and FT that you're talking about and built it the way I want it the 1st time so I wouldn't have to do it twice. I'm new to all this too, so I'm not the one that give you the knowledge you're looking for. But check out my post "Pipe Siphon by Apollo" and check out my pictures, I will add some earlier pictures for you to view.

Good Luck

Aloha Don
09-03-2013, 04:29 PM
Wow Apollo
Did we warn you that this was addictive?
Looks like you are jumping in feet first/knee deep.
Cant wait to see your progress through to completion.
Looking good!

Apollo
09-14-2013, 07:35 PM
Aloha Don

Well...I finally have both GBs full, got enough rain water to top off the FT and add 50 Pink Tilapia, 3 Gold fish and 1 algae sucker fish. No plants yet, I will be uploading new pictures to my "Pipe Siphon by Apollo" post

Hammerstack
09-17-2013, 05:28 PM
Thanks for the photos, please keep them coming. (Lynn from Phoenix)