Just a quick note to everyone to remind you all that I’m here testing out ideas (not all of them turn out to be good ideas so you might want to leave some of them run with me for a while so I can report back) so I can share the results with the world.
One Idea I started this past summer was the kiddie pools for the duck-a-ponics.
One reason I decided to test this one out (aside from the fact that my duck system needed help quick and I didn’t want to spend much on it) was I saw a video of someone recommending that people build their aquaponics systems using these cheap little kiddie pools and putting one of them up on top of two barrels on a pallet. Ok, so I set my kiddie pools up on some blocks on pallets. I can say, the pallets don’t last and have been sagging and allowing the kiddie pool to overflow out the sagging side which is causing the pallets to rot faster and make the whole thing worse. The kiddie pools also need really good support if you are going to ask them to support anything more than just water. I don’t really expect them to survive a full year with the gravel in them and I’m starting to plan the replacement beds for the duck system.
So there is one more BAD IDEA I’ve tested out for you and I’m sharing the results with the world.
Lets see, I’ve also had another experiment running for a while which while it hasn’t failed yet, the 1/16″ HDPE plastic and fence panel and fence rail bed has some problems. The plastic where it was bent over the rail has cracked so I can’t really recommend this method to anyone.
Next I’ve used some of the fence rails to make a frame and I’m going to experiment with liner. See I like liner but one of my first big mistakes was putting liner against wood in termite country. So now Liner only next to metal for me.
Hello,
In my system I’m using two platic pools of 4x2x0.80 meters and a total of 10.000 liters. Each one cost 150 Euro plus the costs of a good filter (can be DIY), three good pumps (one in the filter and one each tank) and a air blower.
Luca
Let us know how it goes with those. The Key to aquaponics is to have enough filtration for your fish load and fish tank size. Having huge fish tanks is sometimes more trouble, it is sometimes better to have a fish tank of the “right size” for your system.