bcotton's 3rd (current) system

[bcotton]

3 ibc are fish tanks, 2 ibc combine to make a sump... first two of 6 or 8 grow beds are built... I plan to build two more 4x8 out of wood then i plan to start tinkering with ferrocement as a grow bed option.

I plan to insulate tanks by building a standard light wood frame around the tanks with some sort of siding on the outside. I am not certain what kind of insulation would be best for this, suggestions are welcome..

this system is for perch and catfish [and maybe tilapia during the summer]... I still pipe dream of a greenhouse system for year round tropical plants and tilapia but that project is on the back burner..

The catfish are channelcatfish and I am going to try again to breed hybrid blue gill x red ear sunfish to make hybrid with vigor and 95+% male...

Marbled Crays grow in sump.

[bcotton]

additional pictures

[michael33b]

Nice!! How much did the shale set you back?

[bcotton]

I think it's about 65-70$ per yard around here. this is 1.5 CY and it was $115

[michael33b]

Thats really a nice setup, why did you make 2 sumps instead of one sump/pump/filter and one combo filter?

[davidstcldfl]

....I was going to ask, how tall you are ?, untill I saw the deck.....

Safety note...the blocks aren't as strong sitting on their 'ends'. Just thinking...Each fish tank is over a ton of weight.

[bcotton]

michael,

two ibcs to make the sump is so i am not as limited on how many grow beds i can flood and drain. It just leaves me with a lot more options for expansion in the future. If i ever add in power backup i could conceivably have 10-12 grow beds and run high density in the fish tanks.

david,
Yes, i didnt want to bury the ibcs so in order to CHOPS i had to build the grow bed higher than the sump and then the fish tank higher than the grow bed.... i am not real worried about the blocks.. given i dont know what their weight rating is at this orientation, but there's 9 holding up each fish tank.. assuming 300 gallons of water and 8 lb's per gallon, i feel like each on can hold 275 lbs each. if someone knows better feel free to educate me.

brian

[bsfman]

Awesome system! Very nice!

[urbanfarmer]

Lookin' good!

[stucco]

kewl!!!