With weather going from 115F in the Summer to 20F in the Winter I have been concerned about insulation and maintaining a consistent temperature. By insulating and placing a large portion of the tanks under ground I may be able to control the water temperature.
Below is a concept drawing of what that might look like. There would be a covered opening over the sump tank which would also provide access to plumbing.
Some of the features I like in this design are:
Some features I dont like are:
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Below is a concept drawing of what that might look like. There would be a covered opening over the sump tank which would also provide access to plumbing.
- The sump tank contains the pump which will operate 100% of the time without a timer.
- Water from the sump tank is poured into the fish tanks.
- Then into the settling tank using a bottom pickup tube not shown here
- As water is pumped into the fish tanks it seeks the level of the spill tube which runs to the grow bed.
- The water percolates through the grow media filling the grow bed
- When the water reaches the height of the siphon it is dumped into the sump tank as clean water.
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| An idea I have for a buried system |
Some of the features I like in this design are:
- Reduced exposure to UV will help prevent damage to the polyethylene IBCs
- One pump design with no chance of pumping the fish tanks dry
- Well insulated
- Looks very clean with most of the mechanical system hidden underground
- Easy to add additional grow beds
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| Shown from the back side |
Some features I dont like are:
- Plumbing is more difficult to access
- Grow beds are low to the ground
- Periodic cleaning of the bio filter may require significant effort
- The initial cost of digging the hole
- Possible problems from ground water (our water table can raise in the rainy season.)
From left to right PH=8.0, Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate=0, Phosphate=5
