Starting small dreaming large!

[Eri B]

Hey guys,
I've been reading you forum and dreaming for a long while and have finally got my first small system running! I had to start small to prove to the Hubby that I can make it work and then later on I will build more on the scale of people like Gary and Murray!

First I have to say this is a fantastic site its so full of information that I can read all day and still not be satisfied that I've read enough!

Okay so my system! The rule was use things from around the house as much as possible and I only had a $50 budget to finish the rest!

First I thought I would simply move one of my 4 foot fish tanks outside and build off that but again Hubby protested due to the huge gap that would be left in our lounge room! So instead I used the rocks and fish and water from the tank ( as a bit of a protest as now there is a huge empty fish tank in our lounge :D ). The reason for this is that the nitrogen cycle was already fully established in this 3 year old system and therefore would not need long to adjust!

I also used an old tank pump I had laying around and some left over fish tank cleaning hose , I also grabbed a small piece of 25mm PCV pipe that was hanging around and a plastic water bottle both for the drain.

So all I needed was a tank and grow beds!

So thinking on the small side and wanting something that will last at least a year but also cheap! I went off to the local shops and got two of those plastic storage boxes one large 55L and one 40L container! Both with lids! Also checked that they were okay for food storage which they are according to their stickers so away i went!

And an hour later after shipping my 1 and 3 year olds off for their daytime sleep I set about building my set up and with only an hour to spare it was to be a fast build! Luckily the boys slept right through the drilling!

and anyway heres my description of how it works it's pretty simple because as I said like most others on here I am just getting an idea of how this all works before going bigger!

My pump pumps the water from the tank to the grow bed via the hose, The grow beds fill and as they do they drain back into the tank via the PVC pipe which drains from a height of about 40mm abovethe water surface in order to airrate the water (not the best way but thinking simple still) and as with all systems I feed the fish (goldfish) and they poo and the cycle continues!

The systems seems to run well so far and I haven't lost any plants or fish in the past two weeks. To my surprise simply because I thought failure was a certainty and the plants have actually grown!

anyway heres photos

Oh and its living on a table outside in our courtyard not in my house too many small hands! hahaha!!! I have also planted the rest of the seedlings in the garden bed next to the system to see which grows better over summer!

Feel free to tell me what you think!

Erica

[Jason Palenske]

That's great Eri! Small systems are harder to run from a cold start so it was a good start to use something already going. Your plants look good and healthy, are they from seed or transplants?

[Ravnis]

Great setup! Similar to what I had originally planned but the missus said if it was going in the living room it had to look good. Thus I used an aquarium instead of plastic totes.

Do you have air vents for ammonia to gas off? I remember a similar system that had a problem with that.

[Eri B]

hey thanks,

Your right is it a lot easier to start with the cycle already active! I've been keeping fish for about 8 years and have had everything from living coral reefs to fighting fish and everything inbetween! As well as having a big veggie garden growing lettuce, spring onions, brocolli, beetroot, totmatoes, potatoe, beans peas, cucumbers and herbs! not to mention all of my fantastic fruit trees! So I thought why not combine my love of fish with my love of growing my own veggies! Its just a simple and logical step! As well as an environmentally friendly one at that!

Sorry to answer your question yes they were seedlings to start with so I simply washed the dirt out of their roots and stuck them in! and they all seem to be happy now! I have put some climbing bean seeds in the grow beds to see how they grow. I just wasn't game on trying seed straight up!


I was thinking that if needed I could use worm tea as an extra boost to the system my worm farm produces a fair bit and the veggie garden just loves it! Wouldn't think it would harm the fish in any way!

Erica

[Eri B]

Hey,

Do you have air vents for ammonia to gas off? I remember a similar system that had a problem with that.[/QUOTE]

Yeah it has vent holes along the top of the fish tank to allow air flow as well as a larger hole for feeding purposes!

The fish are loving life and the system is very stable I'm just hanging out for the next few months to make sure it all works! So that I can start on a much larger project! I'm contemplating keeping fingerlings inside once I have built my big set up as they would make an amusing feature in one of my 4 foot tanks! I would just have to work out if what ever breed I choose would be happy inside or wether the temperature would be too high! But that is all in the future. For now its my small system!

Although I do plan on collecting the parts for my larger set up over the coming months and storing them in the shed away from Hubby's site until I get the go ahead on the larger set up! I'm pretty sure by what people have done on here and the hoarders(hahaha!) that I know I can set one up for minimal damage to my bank accounts! The only real lay out would be pumps, gravel and fish! The rest should be easily sourced from the garages of friends and the recyling station! But the fun will be in finding all these things!

Erica

***** At 23 my mates think I'm weird for being happier digging in my garden than drinking in a pub but they will all come around to my way of thinking eventually when they too realise that this world must survive for our childrens childrens children to enjoy!******

[Hamish]

Hey,

***** At 23 my mates think I'm weird for being happier digging in my garden than drinking in a pub but they will all come around to my way of thinking eventually when they too realise that this world must survive for our childrens childrens children to enjoy!******
Hi Erica - welcome! You have made a great little system there. Well done. Look forward to seeing your progress. You have now got the AP bug so there is no turning back :D

[Eri B]

Thanx I hope to post more picture once the plants are noticibly larger!

I spoke to my dad today who just happened to mention wanting to get rid of 2 old baths from his place so I have snapped those up as part of my future larger sytem I understand people use them as grow beds? I will have to consult with dad as to the best way to add drains to them. Now I need a large tank! Was thinking of going for an inground concrete tank lined with pond liner to stop any nasties from the concrete leeching into the water! Anyone have any ideas??? Also do you require pool fencing for large tanks??
My mum suggested I get some anyway because of my two boys and I would obviousely hate for them to fall in!

Looking forward to my next adventure! I sure was bitten by the AP bug! In fact I think im now infested!!!!

Erica

[Outbackozzie]

Pool is fencing is totally up to you - if there are kids around most definately. Children have drowned in Ap systems before.

Your beans will do well - see mine :D Got many kilo's off them.

http://wa-donaghy.smugmug.com/photos/298417249_ymjJ4-M.jpg

I built a lined tank also, I used steel posts to keep the surrounding dirt away, and lined with sump liner.

http://wa-donaghy.smugmug.com/photos/329973486_YcNKi-M.jpg

[Jonty]

Outbackozzie,
Your system is definitely going great guns. Love that red soil. Wondering what colour your carpets are?
Regards
Jonty

[Outbackozzie]

heh, thats the only red dirt around our house, the rest is grass. :)

[Eri B]

Wow Outbackozzie!

Your beans look like they are going a tad crazy!! hahaha! Your tank looks like it would be right up my ally!! I will be employing my dad as an advisor as his an engineer and knows all the tricks and pitfalls of this sort of stuff! I'm very glad his happy to help actually because while I could do this stuff myself while Hubby watches the kids its just easier having someone there to point out anything that you miss and to run calculations by!

As for the fence we definately will have one its just a question of where? I was thinking of placing the tank (similar to yours) in the grounds between my shed and the neighbours 10foot fence (they have a pool) and that way it is fenced on 3 sides already and I simply need to add the gate at one end. But I will have to find out what sort of light requirements the fish have when I decide what sort of fish to grow. Because they will only really get light from directly above so that may cause heating problems. Although I'm sure a cold water loving fish with low light requirements would be quite at home in there!

Anyway its all still on the drawing board! This sytem will need to be pretty compact as I want to use gravity to feed the water back to the tank rather than a sump pump for energy reasons.

Anyway If anyone knows what sort of fish are best for southern victoria it would be great to have a bit of a guide to start sourcing info.

Thanx erica

[Hamish]

Hi Erica,

I think you will find that no matter what sort of fish you keep the best situation is little or no light getting to the water and the fish. They are very happy in the dark. And the lack of light helps stop algae forming.

My tank is not fenced - although my yard is but it wouldnt be up to pool regs as there are internal doors that feed out into the yard - and I think pool regs dont allow this.

However - my tank is above ground so sort of forms its own fence - and there is a heavy wooden lid on the top tha keeps light and kids out.

[djs-sa]

Hi Erica,
most fish dont need any light, as mine live in the dark shed and the only time my lights are on is during feeding and maintenance!
and my barra love it.

[Eri B]

Thanx guys!

The light requirements are perfect then not a lot of light at all and making a lid will be easy then! My tank will need to be undergraound for the gravity fed returns from the grow beds and something like outbackozzie's tank will be easier to construct in that area! I also contemplated putting the tank inside our shed as its not really used for anything at the moment other than to house the lawn mower but again the gravity feed just wouldn't work but I will put it on the drawing board as that way I just need to lock the shed rather than put up fencing because my kids and my dog will all jump in if given the opertunity!

Not sure on the likelyhood that if inside the shed the water would heat up on those 40 degree days though? if the fish I choose doesn't like the water changes I might be in strife! Also might need to add a second door to the shed in order to actually get the tank in there! Well i'll put it to the oldman and see what he thinks our best bet is!

Thanx again guys

Erica

PS anyone got any victorian hatcheries websites?? I've found one called wartook native fish hatcheries but I have a bad feeling they may no longer exist!

[fishfood]

Erica google fish in farm dams theres not much around atm

[Outbackozzie]

Easy fence :)

http://wa-donaghy.smugmug.com/photos/376571171_YoM9i-M.jpg

This system runs on two x 4500lph pumps, pumping up to the barrels, then draining by a mix of siphons, and standpipes back to the tank.

[Eri B]

Thanx,
I know there isn't much around at the moment but I've looked around the net and actually found a couple and sent off a few emails to find out if they have stock available and if there is no reply I will call them next week and ask again. I will be keeping them in a couple of indoor tanks if needed while I wait for the larger tank to be finished. But this is only if I need to buy them before the bigger system is installed.

I have emailed someone at wartook hatcheries in victoria which I'm hoping are still open. Their asking $0.66 per fingerling of silver perch and are close enough for me to drive the probably 5 hours return to pick them up which will save a lot of money.

I was looking at silver perch( I'm notsaying this is my final choice though) but can anyone tell me the stocking desity per 1000 Litres of water? I don't want to buy too many, although some of the hatcheries only sell a minimum of 50 fingerlings. So I'm not sure what size tank to aim for because that seems to me a large amount of fish!? I know that I need to account for a reasonable mortality rate as its my first attempt at aquaponics although I am hoping that my experience with aquarium fish does assist in their survival rate!

Thanks for all your help.
Erica

[Outbackozzie]

Its mostly about your growbed volume, more than water capacity.

100 litres of growbed gravel will support around 10 x 1/2kg fish.

So at 1:1 ratio you'd have 1000 litres of gravel, which will support 100 fish.

Personally I'd get 50 perch for this season, then get some trout (20ish) for winter.

[Eri B]

Thanks for that Outbackozzie,

I will definately start with the perch over summer I just have to find someone in victoria who sells them. I have emailed a few places but they do not reply so I will have to call them next week.

Now tanks....

I'm looking for at least maybe a 1000L tank which will be probably half burried Depending on the size as this isn't really my house I just rent it off my dad so the decision will be up to him. I have looked around and as far as reasonably cheap containers go there really in victoria is only the IBC's for about $200 for food grade known origin tanks. I've also looked for the Mega Bins that Murray is often mentioning and cannot find someone in victoria who sells them so not sure about them although I will keep looking.

I have a friend who may be able to get me an IBC for free but I'm not sure what has been in them so I will have to check because I obviously don't want chemicals in my system.

I might start a victorian thread so I can ask others in victoria what they think and for any contacts they have maybe it might be easier.

I have a whole book full of possible designs for the system just need the funds and the contacts now.

Erica

[karl]

The Nally Megabins are produces by:
Viscount Plastics (Australia) Pty Ltd
17 Mills Road, Braeside Vic 3195
Tel: +61 3 9264 9222
Fax: +61 3 9264 9298
Email: packaging@viscount.com.au

[Eri B]

Thanx thats fantastic its right nearby as well!

[gtpratt]

The Nally Megabins are produces by:
Viscount Plastics (Australia) Pty Ltd
17 Mills Road, Braeside Vic 3195
Tel: +61 3 9264 9222
Fax: +61 3 9264 9298
Email: packaging@viscount.com.au

I rang them and they dont sell to the public but they put me on to a current supplier in my area.

I got mine three days from ordering they were delivered here.

They seem to go for about $250 inc GST plus freight.


They are very nice.

Kindest regards.

Gra.

[Eri B]

Hey guys,
Was just wondering if anyone has had any experience using old Spas for fish tanks?

I know it would be a pain making sure all the holes are blocked up but I was thinking that if my local recycling joint comes across one I might be able to pick it up for next to nothing instead of buying a big bin.

Was just a thought as i was rumaging around there the other day.

I am already about to pick up 4 bath tubs for my grow beds from the same place they only want about $20 each so thats fine with me!!

Thanx for any feedback!

Erica

[Dufflight]

A spa should work. Just make sure you clean it out to get any residue out of it. Remove the jets and plug up the holes or use some of them for pumping or adding air through. All else fails you can always use it as a spa.:)

[Outbackozzie]

A fishy spa :D