Aquaponic Gardening

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I'm gutting out an old refrigerator for the goldfish we have left over from our first setup and would like to line it with plastic so it can be a grow-out tank later down the line.  Does anyone have any ideas on the type of plastic I need to get that won't be expensive?  I was really hoping that I could just get some heavy duty polyethylene plastic lining from home depot because we need to use that for our greenhouse anyway.  That would solve two problems at once.  Any suggestions?  I do know that pond lining exists but it's expensive and won't double as a greenhouse material.

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Firstly - welcome to the Arizona AP group.  We have a broad mix of people here, from beginners like you and me, and some very experienced and knowledgeable folks.

Having just commissioned my first system I'm fresh to the research on all these issues.

Tank liner?  

The big thing to look for is that the liner is 'fish safe'.

The granddaddy of all pond liners is Firestone EPDM pond liner.   The problem is that it is expensive and I didn't find a local source, so freight is expensive.

I finally stumbled across pond liner at Home Depot, which claims to be fish safe.   I'm using it and so far have been very happy with it.  That said, my fish have only been in the tank for 3 days!   The Home Depot product comes in various sizes and although it isn't cheap, it's affordable.   For $100 I will be able to line a 500 gallon fish tank and two 6' x 4' grow beds.

Generally, other plastics leach nasty chemicals in to the water, which isn't good for the fish, plants and ultimately, you.

Links to the Home Depot product.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202278976/h_d2/ProductDispl...

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202278980/h_d2/ProductDispl...

It sounds like you are attempting to build a first system for next to nothing.  While that is admirable you will eventually have live creatures depending on you and the viability of the system.  Artificial environments are inherently risky, but using flimsy materials that will be prone to problems is inviting even more trouble.  I am not in favor of 6 mil polyethylene even if it happens to be fish safe.. 

The pond liner at Home Depot is very good.  It stretches less than EPDM, but it's still strong as nails, fish safe, and I believe it is UV resistant.

My advice is do it right the first time,  Most likely you will grow to love aquaponics even more than you think.

You will also need to purchase a pump.  Be sure to size it appropriately, and don't use an oil filled submersible.  They can blow a seal and loose transformer oil.  Very nasty stuff.

Choose your location carefully. Temperature is a very critical component to aquaponics.  You may need to insulate. 

An don't get too anxious to add fish.  Be sure the tank is fully cycled before added anything that is alive or has a face.

This may turn out to be an expensive route, but it would not hurt to look into Grancrete.  Here's an article I recently posted about this material.  GranCrete is manufactured in Casa Grande.  http://chicoaquaponic.blogspot.com/2012/04/magnesium-oxide-cement.html

Being the absolutely cheapest person I know, I too tried to build my AP system on the cheap.  Quite frankly, it cost me a LOT more than I was ready for, even with freecycling materials and building as much as I could myself.

Here's a rundown of costs:

500g FishTank :  $200 : lumber, screws, paint, liner, hinges, insulation, plastic sheeting

6'x4' GrowBed : $150 : lumber screws, paint liner, gravel for grow media & delivery

Plumbing : $100 : pump, PVC pipe, fittings, silicone, fasteners/clips

Air pump : $75 : pump, airstones, tubing, power inverter for transport.

Ancillaries : $200 : Pick (x2 : I broke one), concrete blocks, staples, ammonia, muriatic acid, odds and ends from hardware store, water test kit

Fish : $50 : $1 each x 50

Those are rough numbers, but be ready to spend along those lines...

I feel poor now. 

Oh I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that I have an ibc tote setup with tilapia already.  So this isn't my first AP attempt.  It's more like an attempt to find space for my left over goldfish.  Basically my goldfish are like crash-test dummies for my future AP systems.  However, this setup will start with goldfish but is something I'm just trying to get ready for when my tilapia need to grow out.

 

I have settled on the pond liner from HD.  I do have an air and water pump for it already.  Thank you guys for telling me what I needed to hear.  Thanks for the links too!  I'll take some pics when I get it done.

I do have a follow up question.  Why don't people dig a huge hole in the ground, line it with thin wood then line it with pond liner and use that as their grow out beds for the fish?  I just ask that because someone suggested getting a cheap kiddie pool from wal-mart (the plastic ones, not the blow up ones) and using those as grow out beds.  But I feel like I can keep things cooler if I dig them into the ground....cause this is AZ and that thing plastic isn't going to give enough insulation to keep things cool.  I have a huge backyard but it's just dead and there's nothing there.  If I buy wood in bulk and pond liner then I can make a ton of grow out beds back there.  But I don't see anyone doing that so I figured it can't be done for some reason....any ideas? 

Don't line it with wood.  Use clean carpet scraps to keep the sharp rocks from cutting into the liner.  Wood will move, bend, break and deteriorate.  What I mean by clean is be sure there are no staples, nails or screws in the carpet scrapes.  Or you could buy the stuff they sell for this purpose.

This is exactly how I build ponds.  It's worked for me for many years.

Thank you!  I knew I wasn't totally lost on this.  If our goldfish make it through the crash tests we would like to actually build a koi/goldfish pond.  I really do appreciate all this information!

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