IBC Aquaponics

Sounds about right Pat. By the ton in regards to gravel: one ton fills 2 IBC GBs to about 12" as well. I am paying 18.00 per ton if I pick it up.

I need to build a filter for my 175 ibc tote. I need plans or ideas for it? I was quoted $200 for a 55 gal drum filter by someone that can build one, but no pump so trying to see what I can do for the same range plus a good pump? Thanks

Bayy, there are numerous filter plans on YouTube. Just look for radial flow filter and swirl filters.

Pat, You'll need to consider weight in your equation and if you use lava rock I would get as small as possible, even sorting through and picking out larger pieces. The lighter the material the easier it is to dig around in. I put lava rock on the bottom 1/2 to 3/4 of my bed and expanded clay on top. 

Pat-

  I agree with Jeff although Lava rock has the tendance yo be rough on the hands, it is volcanic glass so-to-speak.  With the pea gravel be sure it doesn't contain limestone.  This has a buffering effect on your water and you may be fighting with a high pH down the road and constantly trying to lower the pH which seems to be a loosing battle

Michael-

Worms do work.  But, depending on the amount of fish you have and the depth of the GB media, overwhelming the GB with solids can happen.  You Definitely need a filter if you are doing NFT, but this is not the case here I believe.  Talking about using an IBC generally means a media based system.  Nothing is said of a hybrid set up.

  If you over feed your fish or over populate your system the need of a filter is recommended or a bit of research is advised on pounds of fish per gallon of water.

  We don't really know what the circumstances are so I would still recommend a filter system in this case.

This just a full time crawfish tank, not hooked up to a grow bed yet

Just a crayfish tank, you then will need some kind of filter.  As Jeff stated, check out YouTube and the videos on swirl filters.  There are many great videos there for you to choose from to fit your budget

Finished my IBC unit adding two more units this week on to it.  https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10205170490998312&set=vb.1...

Looks like my first system. It's almost fool proof. You might want to start cycling before you add important fish or just use something disposable like goldfish.

Thats the plan today I have a 55 gal tank with 20 tilapia that have way out grown their tank. So the goal is to get them in to this tank. This will be my sump tank later this week. Just waiting on the pet store to open to get some feeder to cycle it

Wow Jeff, I hope we don't need to call in "Big Dog" (video) just to take our AP system off grid. A whole house system runs $25 to $35K but a small AP system of say 2500gal can be done by the average home owner with basic skills and even recycled solar collectors from say the DOT and golf car batteries. Biggest problem I see is that we are only averaging about 1 day a week of clear Sun here in NE TN these days so based upon one mega million dollar installer who makes Big Dog look small you need to boost your calculations by a good 20% more panel and storage than say just 10 yrs ago and he attributes that to the chemtrail program that we see in our skies almost daily now. Even if there are no chems in those trails as some would like us to believe they still reflect about 20% of our Sunlight so they must be figured in. Depending on your location wind or water power (my personal 24/7 favorite and under way as we speak) might be a better bet. There is an off grid group on here that should have your answers.

Jim, Just trying to show the best and worst of solar. I dropped the idea because I get so little sunlight, especially in the winter.

I hear you Jeff. I have wanted to do solar for years but the more I look into it the less I am impressed. We have good Solar coverage here in Winter (we made sure of that when we purchased) but we have had such heavy cloud cover I would have to at least double up on everything if I wished to depend on it.

I recently happened upon a YT vid on using a washing machine "Smart Drive" for a wind or water gen. Some simple rewiring and it is ready to go. Here is just one good example of folks converting this amazing drive. Turned out we had one with a bad computer in the shed so I am on it as we have a good year round stream on our property with a 35' drop in 300'. Should be enough for most of the house as well as the AP. This guy in the vid is blessed with a 90' drop if I am hearing him right but 35' will do a great deal with 4 nozzles rather than one. These are permanent magnet 3 phase motors. A prepper's dream.

I live in the desert I see maybe 10 days out of the year that there is little to no sunlight it dropped in the low 30's maybe 3 days this winter in the valley. So I think I will be ok 

@aquaman. I use every possible (plausible) method to heat the system water which in turn keeps the GH at least above freezing on most Winter nights. I also have 4 55g black barrels that sit in direct sunlight and of course absorb a good deal of heat. I have a 100' x 3/4" pvc solar collector that is mounted on a 2' x 16' metal roof panel all painted flat black. I used an attic fan control, removed the cover, adjusted it to come on at about 80F, painted the bimetallic plate flat black (Sun turns it on directly) and mounted all of it at the S peak of the GH wall (between my hot house and fish room) and it comes on whenever the Sun is out via a small pond pump (20.00 eBay), in the below grade 275g sump, which only acts as a circulator and not a pump as it would never pump that high up on it's own just like the circs on a home heating system (must all be primed first and have NO air leaks). I have a ss coil inside the digitally controlled wood stove for those below say 20F nights and that is set to about 38F on and 39F off. The use of the wood stove of course depends on how many days have been clouded over prior to the cold night(s) as to when I need the wood stove. My next plan in this regard is to double and then triple the size of the solar collector to cover most of that S facing wall which will bring the system temp up a good 6F on a single sunny day. In a 2500g system that is a lot of btu's. Temps this Winter have only dropped to 10F below on clear nights. That brings up another point: the GH gets a nice cover of ice on the inside on those cold nights and that prevents radiant cooling and saves a great deal of heat. Not something I hear mentioned much. Many things work in our favor in Nature TG. All in all this has been the easiest Winter yet but it takes time, a little $ and above all planning.

Do you have any heat storage in the collector loop, or does it directly heat the AP water?  What is you heat transfer fluid in the collector?

Arthur, KISS.  The little pump sits in the sump and pumps sump water. It heats about 2500g of system water. If you used say copper at great expense these days, then you would need a heat exchanger in the sump but I try and keep it simple and cheap. I would use cpvc for the next 2 expansions maybe. Better for the system and more rigid. I used thinwall pvc which does transfer the heat better perhaps. IDK for sure. But since I automated it I am thrilled with the hands off performance. In Summer I just drain and shut it off. The paint protects the pvc from UV so it should last forever. Just remember to start under water (pump in sump) and end under water (extend the exit pipe well below the sump water lowest level so no air can get in) so there is nearly no load on the pump as it merely circulates the water and the up forces are countered by the down forces. You need a hose bib tap valve and a shutoff ball valve right below it so you can purge the air from the loop just like in a household heating loop. You can see in this photo how easy it will be to add more collector for even more free heat.

Thanks Jim for the pic.  I have been thinking about something like this for a bigger system I'm going to build this Summer.  The cost of copper and an exchanger was somewhat of a deterrent but seems like CPVC works just fine. 

I built a 3'x5'x4" box painted black with a double pane glass front with 200' of black irrigation hose inside. The temp got really hot in the hose but as it circulated it didn't seem to keep up well. I ran it during the summer and with the severe cold and lack of sun in the winter I just retired it. Circulation was a problem but the way you describe it Jim that might take care of that problem.

Welcome aboard Nikki (Artus). IBCs are a great way to go. Let us know if we can help in any way.

Arthur, Aquaman, and Jeff: Thrilled to help. The more I think about it I may stick to the thinwall because as long as it is painted it should last forever and the thin walls should pass the heat on better. It will need a bit more support than I gave it as it has sagged a bit over last Summer. I'll pass on what support it should have as I tackle that. It probably gets mighty hot with no water in it. I might even place a Summer cover over it. (Duh) Mylar?

Now keep in mind that solar is sneaky (or subtle for lack of a better word) as you might not notice a big difference between the in and the out (to the touch) after the initial start up each day BUT the real test is how much did your system water rise by days end. 2F in a 2500g system is a lot of btus. If I can even double that with more collector I will be thrilled. I can tell at a quick glance if the collector is running by the slight condensation on the pipes. At such times you know it is sucking up the heat. Now a clear cover that keeps the moisture away (evaporative cooling is working against us in this case) could help quite a bit as well. There is always room for improvement.

Hey guys, I put together a slideshow of the first 3 yrs building our IBC tote 2500gal system here at our homestead in the Smokies. It is about an hour long but you can jump around by watching for the title cards before each topic. Not perfect but after about a week of editing (yikes I had no idea) my wife gave the order to "publish the darn thing" so here ya go. I am sure there's something here for everyone. https://youtu.be/ljP-99aqwI4

I'm watching your video. I've seen most of these before but I still find it interesting. I just hope all the newbie will see this and not jump in like I did. Had you done aquaponics before you decided to set all this up? I tore down my first set up and started over. Still there are things I've learned that makes me want to do it all again LOL.

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

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. :)

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)

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Welcome Michael & Kristine Stoddard. Shade from the house in Winter is a tough nut to crack. Here is a plan ot our AP GH here in NE TN for some ideas and ck out my FB page under Smoky Mountain Aquaponics

We changed our raft bed over to a wicking bed using 3" of gravel media covered with weed barrier and topped off with about 7" of compost mix and it has taken off. I used a 3" x 3/4" standpipe and bell siphon to "tide" the system water up and down just enough to touch the bottom of the compost and keep it watered and fed. Here is a picture of the growth at just under a month.

Jim, so that's where you've been all summer. Did your raft bed under perform?

Hey Jeff, we have done DWC twice now and we just don't see any advantage for a home system. Commercial where you run it as a conveyor belt with seedlings going in at one end and harvesting at the other of course makes sense but we don't harvest that way. We pick leaves and tomatoes, etc and they often get to be a year old and still cranking so DWC makes no sense for us. The wicking bed is far better suited to our lifestyle and the compost makes for such healthy plants there is no comparison. So the combination of our 5 IBC media beds for the nitrogen cycle and the wicking bed to help feed the system with compost tea and worm castings just makes sense. As to where I've been there are about 5 FB groups that crank and of course our own FB page so I spend a great deal of time on there. Trends LOL. Forums have been quiet and "groups" have taken over.

Hey Jim, I'm curious to know how you run your wicking bed. I was looking at doing a DWC but a wicking bed sounds better. Mainly my question is: Do you just turn on the water for a few minutes each day to keep things moist? The wicking bed sounds better because then i could actually make/use compost and water from the aquaponics. Did you just leave the old plumbing on the image below (I didn't think you would leave it attached or risk the compost tea leaching back into the sump. (whatever info you could give, i'm very interested.)

Jim,

Good to know that DWC's can be converted over to a wicking bed setup; we might try that if we don't see an advantage with the DWC. We were toying with the idea of having separate 1/2 barrels for supplemental wicking beds once the AP system was chugging along, but couldn't think of a way to incorporate the barrels into the water flow with a return to the system.

We like a lot of your other ideas and we have seen several of your YouTube presentations. The dual solids filter and the SLO modification are really good stuff; thanks!

As you've probably seen, this post is also in the Arizona AP group, Thanks for your help.

Yeah, in a homestead type "cut and come again" setting, I suppose one of the only potential advantages that a DWC trough might provide would be the extra water volume (thermal stability, a bit more pH stability)...