Setting Up Tanks

Tanks and materials for the 365 Aquaponics System The first thing you need to have in an aquaponics system is a way to hold water. In order to achieve system stability and grow an interesting quantity of food and fish, you’ll want to shoot for a water volume of 250 gallons. That’s a lot of water. There are a lot of options. Concrete ponds, International Bulk Container (IBC) totes, 55-gallon drums, wood structures lined with plastic. For the 365 Aquaponics system, I chose stock tanks. Here are my reasons for using stock tanks. They are an existing and proven product. Stock tanks were designed to hold water for cattle, sheep, and other large livestock. They were designed to withstand day to day abuse from such livestock and the elements in which the livestock lives. Because plastic stock tanks are rugged, large capacity, and constructed from food grade plastic, they are often used by restaurants for food storage and preparation. Perhaps most important, they should be locally available. When you’re buying something this big and having it delivered to your home, you’ll pay a hundred dollars or more just for shipping. If you can get it in stock from a local agriculture store, the shipping to the store has already been covered by the store as part of the cost of doing business. They require little modification, if any. Grow beds in the 365 Aquaponics System have a single easy to drill hole (1” if using ‘English’ units, 25 mm if using metric). Beyond stacking some cinder blocks and planks, I don’t need to build support structures. So here’s a video clip showing me preparing the stock tanks for the 365 Aquaponics System.

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Tanks and Grow Media

If I only knew then what I know now...

I like these troughs I found at Tractor Supply.  They are a bit shallow, but I think they will do very well.

Heres an update to my expansion using bunk feeders.

Im seriously considering this long one (approximately 10"Dx24"Wx108"L) for a grow bed.  $154.00

These would make a nice fish tank.  The big one is about 300 gallons. 5Dx3H  $250.00

After building my own tanks from both 45mil EPDM and the pond liner they sell at Home Depot I would lean toward these heavy duty Rubbermaid Structural Foam Stock Tanks, because they are less likely to leak, easy to clean, easy to insert bulkheads into

I have also built an IBC system.  But polyethylene is not UV proof.  This round tank appeals to me because it would be less difficult to manage than a 4 deep IBC fish tank.   

My relentless quest for a reasonably priced media has finally turned up Pumice.

UPDATE 12/3/2012
Pumice has turned out to be a great media for net pots, but it packs, and I believe it would tend to clog if used in an aquaponic media bed where the purpose of a media bed is to filter the solids.  It might be acceptable in a hydroponic or bioponic system where solids are not an issue.

The pumice I bought looks exactly as in the picture.

The size ranges from about  3-8 mm.
The pieces are very hard and do not easily crush.

I crushed a piece with a pair of pliers.  Then I rubbed it between my hands.  Some particles first appeared to be long and pointed, but the rubbing caused them all to break down into irregular grit.  There were no sharp shards left in my hands afterward, and nothing that looked sharp remained.  It tends to form roundish particles.

Its extremely easy on the hands.  Its soft on the skin and nails; not at all like feather rocks or lava rock.  There are no shape shards, and if it brakes I doubt that it would create sharp shards. When it was dry it felt like placing my hands in puffed rice.
The best description I can think of is like heavy Perlite

After soaking for approximately 20 hours about 2/3 sank and the other 1/3 remained floating.  It was easy to separate the sinkers from the floaters.
After two days 95% had sunk and eventually all of it sank.
I would suggest rinsing well as the water was a bit cloudy.

When I rinsed it, the first water changed from pH from 8 to 6.6, but after several rinses the pH did not change.  
The cost was $28 per 1/2 yard.

I would assume that it is available at many garden nursery suppliers so availability is less of a problem than expanded shale, and yet the price is well below clay medias.

Overall I think it would be a very good media for ebb and flow if some protection were put in place to screen the very small particles.
The material could be separated according to size with a screen, but it packs well enough that it does not fall through the cracks of a net pot like the clay balls, and yet continues to drain well allowing for plenty of air.


Im very impressed by it, and look forward to replacing all of my other medias including Hydroton.  Considering the price it is well worth taking a look at.

  

The pumice worked in a net pot.  Fewer grains fell through the pot than if I had used Hydroton.

 

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Building Plywood Tanks

I get these 40"x47"x36" plywood boxes from a juice factory for $5.00 each.  I cut the shipping boxes into thirds or in half, and add bottoms to the sections as needed.  I look for discounted irregular plywood to save money (generally 1/2 price).

To build the basic plywood box would cost about $60 if you used 3/4" plywood at about $25 per sheet.  These come banded with heavy metal corners.on a pallet.  Its hard to beat these juice boxes built with high grade 3/4" - 5 ply plywood. It takes about 2300 ml of resin per tank at $50/3.5 liters

Fiberglass makes these tanks durable and clean.  Cost was about $60 per 40"x47" tank.

Im filling this tank with water to test for leaks

The deeper tanks on top will be wicking beds.  The shallow 12" tanks underneath will be bioponic grow beds. 

Im not concerned about toxins from the fiberglass resin.  If you are then use LG-730 Mono Epoxy Pool Paint or Pond Shield. for the finish coat  It will add $10-$20 per tank

These same tanks would cost only  $20.00 each if pond liner were used.
Box        - 5/2    =   2.50
Liner     - 100/9 = 11.00
Bottom - 12/2   =   6.00


After one year of use I found that the bulkheads needed to be tightened.  I expect the wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity which eventually caused them to loosen.

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Below Grade Tanks

An in ground tank has several advantages.

• The ground will tend to stabilize the temperature, 
• The system can be built lower and still rely on gravity
• Less exposure to sun

There are many ways to build an in ground tank.  Each method comes with its own pros and cons.
Here is the list of cons
 
     1.  Set a molded tank into the earth.
           a.   Cost per gallon is high
           b.   Shape and size is limited
           c.   Susceptible to buoyancy if the tank is drained.
     2.   Build a concrete or block tank below grade.
           a.   Very costly
     3.  Build a wood box with a liner and set it into the earth
           a.   Costly in both time and materials.
           b.   Wood will eventually fail to insects and rot
           c.   Attention must be paid to the inward forces of the water table and or the earth.
     4.  Set an IBC into the earth
           a.   Prone to UV deterioration
           b.   Attention must be paid to the inward forces of the water table and or the earth.
           c.   Susceptible to buoyancy if the tank is drained. 
     5.  Dig a hole and line it with pond liner.
           a.    Uneven sides
           b.   Attention must be paid to the inward forces of the water table and or the earth. 
           c.   Susceptible to buoyancy if the tank is drained. 

Building a concrete tank is costly and labor intense, but the longevity is unparalleled. If you are dealing with a high water table it may be your best choice. Here is a link to a discussion I was recently involved in which addresses water proofing concrete tanks.

A molded tank set into the earth has the greatest appeal to many.   It is by far the easiest method and molded tanks can be found at reasonable prices.  An old hot tub can be used if you are feeling thrifty.

My least favorite is #3 because wood to earth contact is never a good idea.
I can not think of any advantage that would compel me to choose this method.  

Setting an IBC into the earth will provide a uniform smooth non toxic tank.  Protecting it from UV is important, but manageable.   To provide side support and prevent caving when the tank is empty, the back fill must be tamped down and compacted or cement should be added to the back fill to ensure stability.

Using a pond liner in a carefully excavated hole has some interesting advantages.   Pond liner is not susceptible to UV and it can be made any shape and size you wish.   This is the method I would like to describe here.

For the cost of the liner, some concrete and the form boards this method is simple and affordable.

Dig the hole to your specifications.
Drop the liner in and fill with water.  
Let the excess liner lay on top of the earth.
Then build a form around the edge and on top the the excess liner.  Include any conduit and rebar you wish and pour a high strength concrete into the form. 
Next day remove the forms and enjoy.

If you are pouring a low edge of 6" or less, the forms can be built very simply by drilling holes through the wood and connecting them with a piece of baling wire inserted inside of a spacing tube as shown above.  The wire can be tied off with a nail.  The spacer will remain inside the concrete after the forms are removed. Other materials such as a piece of paving block or even small piece of wood can be laid at the bottom. 
Lay a piece of rebar on the wires and secure the top with a piece of wood.   Be gentle but work the air bubbles out by running a rod up and down along the inside of the form.  Knock on the form with a hammer to settle the mix.  If this is not done there will be voids along the edges.

The concrete edge can be made any height, color and width.   You can make it  a work of art or as simple as you wish.

Here is a link to concrete information.

The simple rule is
1 part Portland cement
2 parts water
3 parts clean sand
4 parts gravel

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Connecting the Tanks Pictures from 29 April

Piping connecting the fish tank to the sump

To achieve a "constant height of pond" (CHOP) in my bigger tank, I needed to install pipes to let water flow down to the sump.

I used 3/4" pipes to plumb through the tank walls, because that way I could get away with using the 1" drill bit. I drilled two holes near the top of the tank, in the recessed ribs so the piping wouldnt stick out as far. If I was doing this a second time, I would locate the holes a couple of inches lower, but this works.

Once the two pipes coming from the fish tank join, I transition to 1" piping, to make sure flow out of the fish tank isnt restricted by the plumbing joining the tanks.

[After I already had the fish in the tank, I realized I would have to turn the tank so the side with the ribs close together faced the sump. Not sure the fishes liked having the water drained down to almost empty, but I was glad to be able to move the tank without having to net everyone out.]

The fish tank, with pipes to suck water up from the bottom

The 3/4" pipes in the fish tank extend down to the bottom, forcing water from the bottom of the tank to flow out of the tank when the grow beds drain into the fish tank. I drilled a pattern of 13 holes in each end-cap and cut small slices at the very end of the pipe with my miter saw. This allows enough flow through the bottom of the pipe so water drains well (else the fish tank could overflow). The reason to use two pipes is so drainage can still happen even if one pipe gets blocked.

This picture was taken before I actually plumbed the two tanks together, so the 1000 gph pump is still in the fish tank. I used regular 5/8 hose and a garden hose splitter. Turns out 5/8" no-kink garden hose and regular splitters work fine - they are inexpensive and come with built in ball valves. After these pictures were taken, I replaced the green hose with white hose that is lead-free and certified safe to use with drinking water.

Goldfish in the sump

Once I get to the sump, I transition back to 3/4" pipes, again so I could get away with my 1" drill bit. You can see the 45 degree joint that lets the water from the grow beds and fish tank flow into the sump with minimum noise.

Ive been running the system for almost a week since these pictures were taking, and it works just fine.

Grow bed 1 of 4 (lots of different plants)

For the record, heres what the grow beds looked like when I plumbed the tanks together.

Grow bed 2 of 4 (lots of basil)

Grow bed 3 of 4

I ended up adding hydroton to all my beds when I couldnt coordinate getting the expanded shale delivered before my fish had to be bought. Too much travel, between spring break vacation and work trips.

Even though I would have preferred the expanded shale, a nice thing about the hydroton is it is distinctly different in color and shape from couple inches of gravel from my original system in the bottom of each grow-bed.

Grow bed 4 of 4 (check out the banana plant)

In the week since these pictures were taken, Ive shifted the pump to the sump, invented a way to keep the water topped up, and built kiddie covers for the tanks. But Ill cover those items in future posts.

Gnight!

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