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Comment by Michael & Kristine Stoddard on September 29, 2015 at 5:39pm

Hello all,

We are planning on an IBC system in the back yard in Phoenix, AZ and have some questions concerning layout. The backyard is on the north side of the house and also slopes up to the north away from the house. Protecting the fish tank from the heat in the summer, but letting the sun heat the tank in the winter is one goal; the other is setting up the grow beds to take best advantage of the sun throughout the year. Shade cloth for mid-summer is already a plan, but with the shading from the house in the winter, would an arrangement with the FT on the south side of the GB be best or should it be placed somewhere else? Also, would arranging the GB's in a N/S alignment work best overall or would a different setup work?

Seems like a south-facing backyard would have helped in this planning, but it's too late to turn our house around.

The plan is a 3-IBC system; full IBC for the fish, a sump, and three grow beds, (pretty standard). We plan to sink the sump and the FT into the ground at least partially. Any suggestions in favor or against that idea?

Thanks for the help. Glad to see so much help out there.

Comment by Jim Fisk on April 22, 2015 at 9:16am

Great advice Leo, I am spread out over 3 computers so there is some safety there. I often back bu (I use the term often loosely lol) my stash to my wife's computer as well. I too learned the hard way some years ago when my daughter ran into my office to ck her email after a 2 week vaca and the ups (battery bu unit) had gone bad and that fried the HD due to repeated spastic startups before I dove to unplug it, too late. All my business records went with it. Not a good moment.

Comment by Leo White Bear on April 22, 2015 at 8:57am

Jim-

  I agree with you 100% that YT is the go to place to find out what needs to be done to start / finish anything.  I also collected (and still do) information off the internet and make documents with the collection.  I had over 2500 (no misprint) documents alone not including PDF's on my HD, UNTIL I got hit with a ransom virus.  Nothing could be done with the corruption so the HD was wiped clean and I'm starting all over again.  My advise to you and all within email shot is to back up your HD and information.  Make a CD storage library sorted alphabetically so you can just reach over and do a search for what you need.  I lost all aquaponic information, self-sufficiency docs, homesteading, alternative energy / healing / gardening ect. ect. ect.  DEVASTATING!  Make a back-up disk everyting you chang anything on your computer such as the keyboard or screen.  I didn't. Please learn from my faults and protect your stuff.

Comment by Jim Fisk on April 22, 2015 at 7:54am

Jeff, YT is amazing. I have even repaired our old 42" plazma tv with ease twice due to YT vids. Even learning new welding skills on SS and cast iron and tips on using the plazma cutters (I got 2 at a great deal some yrs ago and they sat for a good 8 years ready but untested until our wood fired boiler project this Winter) YT has been my go to place.

That is a big part of why I put so much info on there despite the cries that I am giving too much away for free. I look at it as a chance to give back. You have a question and you will find an answer on YT or the forums. We live in a whole new age. Let's just hope it doesn't all blow up. I now download entire pages of important stuff as opposed to a bookmark, just in case it all goes away. If it is on your HD, save for a Solar flare lol, you can always retrieve it should TSHTF.

Comment by Jeff S on April 21, 2015 at 9:10pm

Jim, I'm 62 and semi retired and like you have done many things in my life that afford me some skills a lot of folks won't have. The aquaponics is a great way to inexpensively utilize these "talents" in a single hobby at the same time checking out all the neat things others are doing. My downfall is YouTube. I want to do all these neat things.

Comment by Jim Fisk on April 21, 2015 at 3:00pm

Hey Jeff, I found myself looking for the "like" button, lol.

Comment by Jeff S on April 21, 2015 at 9:22am

I'm beginning to understand about the BS on YouTube. I do a as much in the different forums as I can to help out newbies but I try to stress that I'm no expert and am just trying to share what I've done or heard about. I toured a local aquaponics farm this weekend near me and I think I gave him as much info as I got from him.

Comment by Jim Fisk on April 21, 2015 at 9:02am

Thanks Arthur, that's what makes it worth all the evenings invested. I will add more pics down the line and get rid of some that are redundant but I felt there was plenty there to help folks out now. Gotta get off here and enjoy this first Sunny day in a week. Changing that dwc to a wicking bed this week after a trip to the granite quarry. (I hope lol)

Comment by Arthur King, Jr. on April 21, 2015 at 8:36am

Jim,  I didn't plan on it, but I watched all the way thru.  I found it inspirational and enjoyed all the build-outs.  Garnered some idea for my future expansion. :)

Comment by Jim Fisk on April 21, 2015 at 8:17am

Hi Jeff, I first heard the word Aquaponics around Christmas 2011 (I fell for that barrelponics cd at 9.00 lol) and had my plan on paper by mid January 2012 (rewritten almost daily during that month as I read and learned) and broke ground right away due to unexpected temps in the 60s as you can see in the photo dates. AP seemed like the perfect prepper setup to me and TS will HTF sooner or later.

Keep in mind that I am about to turn 68 and have done a great many things over my career and like I tell my kids "everything you do in life contributes to everything you will do in the future". My work has been featured in mags like Yankee, newspapers and on TV over the years. Knowledge is power and gives you confidence. I spent last Winter building our new radical wood heat system for our new house from scratch based upon prior knowledge building many wood stoves starting in the 70's oil crisis. I read and build a lot. Also the more you know the easier it is to spot bs when you see it and there is more bs in AP than I have ever seen save perhaps when it comes to wood stove design where bs can actually burn your house down. I see vids on YT on both these subjects that make me cringe LOL.

Basically I just love to build things (especially on a shoe string as that is even more of a challenge). That is my rush. I also love passing it on when time allows. That's an even bigger rush. What I need here is a video crew. I am designing and building things all day long and some day I would love to pass it all on. We have a son who soaks it all up TG and got his engineering degree unlike me who left Columbia U. to go to work. I learn faster on my own, I think.

I guess what I am trying to say is "just keep on keeping on" and if that means tearing things up and starting over occasionally, so be it. Hone the skill. I am learning all the time. I just this Winter learned how to mig SS and use my plazma cutter. Double rush

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