Aquaponics in Paradise

[hellbent]

Version 1.2 is the starter/test bed

I was posting in the introduction thread, thought I should start one here.

Setup:
FT: 2 55 gallon drums
GB: 3 1/2 55 gallon drums, and experimenting with 2 rubbermaid containers.
400 gph pond pump
whisper 60 air pump
ac/dc backup pump


pic 1 is how it started a few weeks ago, after i attended a class.
pic 2 is the current setup, with trellis
pic 3 is the modification i did, still needs to be prettied up, but its moving.
pic 4 is some chinese taro i planted yesterday.
pic 5 is a picture of some of the plants. the middle tank uses a float, but is shown without float and with 2 water hyacinths.


fish: currently 20 feeder comets. 12 tilapias just met their maker a few weeks ago.

plants: bun long taro, tomato, manoa lettuce, strawberry, lilikoi, marigold, water hyacinth, sweet basil, and a dying bell pepper plant (droopy leaves, any suggestions?)


i am already planning on building a 300 gallon tank.

[HawaiianSi]

whats up man. I also live in hawaii and was wondering what class you attended? Was it the class in waimanalo at olomanu (spelling) gardens? Looks good, i also have a small system with some tomatoes, bibb lettuce and cilantro.

[hellbent]

yes, i took his class. in a way you can find alot of information here and on the internet, but someone local is good to learn from too.
post some pics of your stuff, wo/man!

were you the one on craigslist looking for AP info?

[hellbent]

so i built a 300 gallon system. its made from 2x4, 5/8 plywood, resin, acryllic.
sadly, after first fill i found 2 leaks. hopefully i fixed it and will fill it again this weekend.

[hellbent]

a few more pics

[GaryD]

Hi Hellbent,

That is looking superb.

I'm sure our members would appreciate more details on the construction and waterproofing. You mentioned resin......does that mean resin in the West System sense or fibreglass resin?

Gary

[hellbent]

there are many plans on monsterfishkeeper.com.
i talked to my local fiberglass shop and they recommened isothalmic resin, which is fda approved for food and is supposed to be fish safe. this can be dyed a variety of colors.
however, this is still a 2 part resin, and still has a strong smell. cure time is about 30 minutes. i did ask for west system, they did not carry it.

its built like a house as you can see, its got framework, which was overkill. it is very heavy but pretty solid.

[GaryD]

Hi Hellbent,

its built like a house as you can see, its got framework, which was overkill. it is very heavy but pretty solid.

When you consider that it has over 1200 litres in it (and therefore weighs 1.2 metric tonnes) it needs to be robust.

What did you use for the viewing window in the front?

Gary

[hellbent]

actually, if you use the GARF plans, it didnt need framing. just a 2x2 connecting each corner, with a top brace for this size.

i was considering using a 2'x4' sheet of 3/4" glass, but that would have cost me over $300 USD. instead i got a scrap piece of 1/2" acryllic that was 13"x28" for $40. now i wish i had a bigger window, but really, its not neccessary for an AP setup.
the lumber costs around $250 for 2x4's and 5/8" plywood. resin costs another $120. found out after that i should have used at least 1 sheet of fiberglass cloth for added strength and waterproofing, that would have cost another $30 usd. the outside sheets are 1/8 mahogany and i bought 3 sheets for $12 each.

i was hoping to make these for resale, but these are wayyy too much work.

i am planning on adding a 10'x4' lettuce run out the side of the tank or some kind of NFT setup. also going to stack a few 3' strawberry towers in the gb.

[hellbent]

GARF:
http://garf.org/tank/buildtank.asp