I am building a system - Update 5/5/13

[hawkiye]

So will bite the bullet and use tap water and let the chlorine dissipate.

Hawkiye, you might want to check in with your city's water dept. Most, if not all city water now has chloromine in it, rather then chlorine. Chloromines don't disapate like chlorine. It might stay in the water for a month or so.
Some of us use sodium ascorbate, which helps to break it down. Or you may need to use another water traetment. Some use special water filters.

Hmmm thanks for the tip I'll check on that. I use a 4 stage reverse osmosis for drinking but could never filter enough water for the tank through it. So something like a carbon filter for Chloromine perhaps? I am going to use an intex pool external pump which has a filter housing in it maybe I can find a carbon filter that will fit in it....

[badflash]

I use a Kold-Ster-il filter. It remove chloramines , heavy metals, hydrocarbons but not good minerals. Setup is about $350, replacement filters are about $80. These are high flow and I get around 100,000 gallons through it before the flow slows down to the point I can't deal with it. It will block up before it ever passes bad stuff.

[hawkiye]

Update 3/30/12

Yea the tank is technically done however I was thinking of facing it with river rock and the wife was out looking at it and said hey I think you need to face it with river rock... Guess what river rock it is LOL.

So it turned out to be a little more work then I anticipated (doesn't it always) however it saved me a lot of money I was checking around for pond paint and it was like over $100 a gallon. So I did some research and ended up buying acrylic concrete fortifier to mix with the cement. it makes the cement water proof. So I used that as a final coat on the inside of the tank.

I talked to a local pond guy here and he said it will work good but to fill the tank and let it set for a few days to leach out any nasties then drain and refill and it is ready for fish. Acrylic goes inert after it cures...

So now I need to put the ornamental rock on but that should. not take long and it will add thermal mass for helping keep the water temp stable. So I gathered up what I had laying around the yard and then combed the neighborhood empty lots and found enough (hopefully) to veneer the tank with.

I am starting a new job so I don't know how soon I'll be able to get to the plumbing but have to get the rock on first. So hopefully within the next couple weeks we will have water flowing.

On another note my Apricot tree is in beginning bloom and the bees are rocking that tree hoping for more soon. The Nectarine and Cherry are getting ready to pop also then they will bee on bee heaven

Here are some pictures of the progress of the tank.

Finishing the floor. If I had it to do over I would do the floor first and let it set up for a couple of days and then do the walls.


Getting ready to do the last part of the tank which is the lip area. I had some pieces of cedar fence pickets laying around so I drilled some holes in them and wired them to the lip hanging underneath for to keep the mud from falling through:


A couple shots of the finished tank:





And here is a shot of some more work I made for myself LOL... The decorative rock that will go on the tank..



Enjoy and be glad I am doing the work and you just get to watch LOL!

[hawkiye]

Update 4/14/12 Ok finally was able to get back on the system yesterday and today. I was out of town week before last doing some training for a new job and of course have to work during the week so am not able to get to the system till the afternoon and weekends.

Any ways I am making some headway i got the inlet installed in the tank and sealed but not able to test the seal yet as I am waiting for the sealant to cure fully and still need to put rock on the tank. So while I was waiting I decided to get the bottom supports for the grow bed cut out and d drilled and make the bell siphons and test them.

Here are some pics of the tests of the bell siphon it works this is an Affnan style bell siphon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmxsI5ZRLA4









I used 3/4' pipe and a slip fit fitting with O rings on each side of the plastic like a bulkhead fitting sort of and it works great. No leaks and the O rings I got at Harbor Freight. I have had them for a while I bought them a couple years ago a whole case of about 20 different sizes and I finally have a use for the bigger ones... LOL.



The clear plastic flare you see at the top of the stand pipe is cut from a 2 leader pop bottle. and I heated the end of the stand pipe with a 3 dollar old hair dryer I got from the thrift store and flared it out by pushing it over a wine bottle end till it fit on the pop bottle end. I did not have anymore pop bottles so just flared the end of the PVC pipe. and tested them all and they work good.

Anyway I am close to plumbing it and starting cycling it.

[hawkiye]

Update 4/28/13 Ok so i finally have the system plumbed and tested it and there was some leaks and some problems adapting the pump hoses to 3/4 PVC pipe. Fixed the leaks (hopefully) and got all the plumbing glued together at least the stuff that is underground and about ready to start cycling. I have to drain the tank first as the water in it has been sitting for a week now to leach out any nastiness in the acrylic fortified concrete so need fresh water to start the cycle.

To adapt the pump hoses to the 3/4" PVC I tried to use some poly-pipe but it was too rigid and would not allow the pump hose to seal up with hose clamps. So I ended up getting some 1 inch automotive heater hose and it fits over 3/4" PVC pipe (barely) with a little work and then I had to cut a short piece of 1" poly-pipe (3") long ways and actually take out about a 1/4" section long ways and push it in the heater hose then work the pump hose over the heater hose and clamp it down. I figure since heater hose is high heat it will be inert as far as off gassing since it can withstand high temperatures

Here's what it looks like:



Here is the plumbing all done and in the trenches:





Here is a shot of the Intex pool pump.



I am anxious to get it cycling the weather just turned warm so I can start growing now but having to work a damn job to make a living takes up so much time it is maddening. Plus I got some orders for beehives so that is taking up my free time too. Hopefully the next pictures will be of the grow beds filled with media and the tank cycling. I need to get a PH kit too...

[foodchain]

Couple of questions. The ferocment tank is built close to the house. Is there any concern of the ground shifting under the weight from the house? This was a concern of mine when I burried an IBC tote under my deck.
The ferocment tank sticks above the ground. Ferocment is a fairly thin coating typically and needs to be reinforced. For the parts in the ground, dirt that settles back will do this. But what supports the part above, other then chicken wire?
Would cinder blocks above ground and ferocment over have worked better, and back filling the cinderblocks with concrete and rebar? I used to be an underwater welder, and differential displacement/pressures is not something you want to take chances with.
Water is very heavy, you are looking at something like 8 1/2 lbs per gallon ball park. That's a lot of pressure per square inch.
IF you wanted to try trout, long troughs is better, water comes in one end, and goes out the other like a stream. People who have had a hard time with it, usually have tried with a round pond or tank. Trout do not like to go in circles.

[foodchain]

Water volume will help better with your thermal mass. Rocks actually pull the heat out. It's sounds bonkers I know. But that's what it does. To stabilize temp fluctuations, and PH fluctuations increase volume of water. The larger the volume the more stable it is. And avoid pollution through dillution. Those two sayings will save your butt more times than not.

[foodchain]

I do like the idea of using kiddie pools as grow beds. I might pirate this idea. They are definetly cheap enough. And the depth appears to be about right for an ebb/flow system.

[hawkiye]

Couple of questions. The ferocment tank is built close to the house. Is there any concern of the ground shifting under the weight from the house? This was a concern of mine when I burried an IBC tote under my deck.
The ferocment tank sticks above the ground. Ferocment is a fairly thin coating typically and needs to be reinforced. For the parts in the ground, dirt that settles back will do this. But what supports the part above, other then chicken wire?
Would cinder blocks above ground and ferocment over have worked better, and back filling the cinderblocks with concrete and rebar? I used to be an underwater welder, and differential displacement/pressures is not something you want to take chances with.
Water is very heavy, you are looking at something like 8 1/2 lbs per gallon ball park. That's a lot of pressure per square inch.
IF you wanted to try trout, long troughs is better, water comes in one end, and goes out the other like a stream. People who have had a hard time with it, usually have tried with a round pond or tank. Trout do not like to go in circles.

Its the only place I had room for the tank. No worries of the ground shifting. The wire in the cement is the reinforcing. I am a 3rd generation mason concrete has tremendous compression strength but not much tinsel strength. When you add wire or some type of mesh even fiberglass can be used (fiber cement) encapsulated in the concrete you combine the compression strength of the concrete with the tinsel strength of the reinforcement. It makes for a super strong matrix. I have the tank filled up now and leaching out any nastiness on the concrete it is just fine and I don't even have the final coat on yet.

What about lake trout? They don't swim in a stream? Temperature and heavy feeders seems to be the biggest factors for trout?

Rock will only pull heat out if there is a big temperature differential. If the water is cooler and the sun heats the rocks it will radiate heat into the tank. If the water becomes hotter then the rocks then yes the rocks will absorb heat until they equalize. Water and rocks are both thermal mass so they should work together to stabilize the temp better.

Kiddies pools are what I had already so i used them

[Ike016]

Looking at the kiddie pools they would make an awesome raft system with the drain in the middle using a rotation system like a clock. So many ideas when people post pictures of things that could be used.