Gary's 3 Mega Bin System

[GaryD]

Hi,

Yesterday, in a marathon 16 hour effort, Crusty and I (actually more Crusty than I) built my new 3 Mega Bin System.

I've been fond of mega bins for the entire time that I've been associated with aquaponics.

Their cost and versatility makes them almost a 'must have' for a microponics (integrated backyard food production for the unitiated) design freak like me.

I wanted to demonstrate that a mega bin (or two or more) could be set up in such a way that they would function as a serious backyard aquaculture/aquaponics system.......but at a fraction of the cost of the kit packages that are around.

Anyway, in the next few posts I'll talk about the background to this system and I'll reveal how it went together.

Right at the outset, I want to acknowledge the efforts of my collaborator and mentor for this project. I know of few people who would work as hard as he did for sixteen straight hours just to help someone else realise a personal goal.

Paul, my deepest appreciation.......you're a legend.

Gary

[Shane]

Great,
Looking forward to seeing it all come together,

Cheers,
Shane.

[RayH]

Lower costs for good results is always wonderful.

Looking forward to the pictures.

Regards,
RayH

[Crusty]

Yes it was a long day, though I am pleased we got it finished on that day. You did well Gary, to keep going until midnight without dinner, then stand about staring at it for an hour while I looked for faults lol. Also a big thank you to Jan for keeping me in supply of caffeine and bickies.

Gary can explain away the workings of this little gem and if there are any gaps, I will be more than happy to fill them. I hope you all gain some benefit and knowledge to add to your sustainable journey.

I too am looking forward to photos and I have seen it lol.

[GaryD]

Hi,

Our new 3 Mega Bin System was an idea whose origins are about 18 months old. More about that later.

I wanted to get some photos happening so here they go.

Our first task with the new system was to get it up to so that it was at the right height for the swirl tank (and a more convenient working height) so we placed the mega bin on cement blocks.

Then we set up the second bin at the appropriate distance from the wall and from the first bin.......followed by the third bin.

The filtration module comprises a swirl tank and the 200 litre polyethylene drum we used for the combination sump and Moving Bed bio-filter.


Gary

[Crusty]

Must be me, I can not see any attachments mate

[GaryD]

Some more photos.

1 - This is a packed media filter - it's filled with Kaldnes K1 media and is designed to function as a clarifier. It sits inside the swirl tank. The clean (less the sedimentary solids) water flows through the holes in the clarifier bucket and flows over a stand pipe and enters the bio-filter.

2 - An inside view of the swirl tank plumbing.

3 - The filtration module plumbing.

4 - Inside view of the bio-filter

Gary

[GaryD]

This piece of handiwork is Paul's innovation.......and I'll leave it to him to explain what it does and how it works.

[GaryD]

Airlifts move the water around this system......just one of its several innovative features.

We're still tweaking the airlifts and they're looking promising. We can also add a small submersible anytime we choose......if we decide that the water flow is not quite what we want. I'm besotted with the idea that this entire unit runs on air.

We're also running a 200mm air stone in each tank and air drives the the moving bed bio-filter.

At this stage, it looks like it will require about 125 watts to drive the entire system. Not bad for three tanks and an all-up capacity of over 2000 litres.

Gary

[Crusty]

This piece of handiwork is Paul's innovation.......and I'll leave it to him to explain what it does and how it works.

This is an outlet used in some much larger tanks. It is designed to remove dead fish and solids from tanks that do not bottom drain and are too big to reach into. We have put much larger versions (big enough to suck up full grown 1kg + fish) in 25,000 liter tanks where floor space is a premium. The same thing can be achieved with side box outlets and dual drain bottom outlets which both need additional floor space. Where both can not be done, this is used.

In this little application:

• will take up solids from the bottom and small dead/near dead fish
• act as a skimmer to remove the oily film build up when using high fat feeds
• is a level control to manage the operating height of the water in the tank
• shows when you are over feeding
• does not block or restrict flow
• completely removable for cleaning and netting, without interrupting the water flow
• can be installed into any tank size or shape that does not have a center bottom drain. This would be nearly all tanks used in aquaponics.
• can be any size for any tank

It is a far better method of removing solids than putting a sump pump in the center of the tank with the fish as the solids are taken up without grinding them up. Any one interested in building them, they are easy enough to whip up. If you need to buy the components, simply pm me for prices. Either way, they make life much easier if you can not put a center bottom drain in your tanks.