Aquaponics build

[MitchM]

This weekend I built this stand for upper media beds and lower sumps.
Our pond and gardening season is so short here that I thought this could be something that could extend both. Perhaps the koi and goldfish can reside here during the winter months.
I have a 200g+ aquarium that I'm cleaning up for the fish. What fish I keep will be determined by what temperature I can reasonably keep the aquarium at.



My main concerns going forward are aquarium water temperature and pest control during the winter when natural pest controls are harder to come by.

 

[Catfishnut]

Mitch,

Is this an outdoor or a semi-outdoor facility? If it gets bitterly cold, do you plan on "heating" the water in some fashion?
I am contemplating a nearly totally outdoor "fishing bait" live tank/pond that I would like to keep operational in all seasons.
I intend to incorporate a biological (bacteria) ammonia/nitrite filtration or conversion tank as one part of the system and
would like to maintain the water temperature so that at least the bacteria does not fully die off during winter. Basically,
preserving a modest bacteria colony during the coldest months of winter so that they are ready to "go to work" in the early
spring.

My basic ideas are to:
1] Keep a continuous water flow through every vessel and pipe.
2] Insulate the sides and bottoms of all the vessels with 4" styrofoam panels.
3] Wrap the interconnecting water pipe with heat tape and cover with insulation.
4] Use a GAST rotary vane air pump during the winter months for aeration, which generates heat as it produces the air
and can transfer that heat to the water as it does its job of aerating the water.

Then, if necessary, construct a "green house" over the bait tank itself to capture solar heat during the day and store it in a
buried poly drum with a very coarse rock bed inside for overnight retrieval akin almost to a heat pump type of system, acquiring
heat not only from the rocks in the drum but from the ground water temperature (here that would be about 54°F).

Any of these ideas spark any thoughts for your setup?

Catfishnut

 

[HTH]

I like what you are doing Mitch. Please keep us posted on how this proceeds.

Catfishnut I have a GAST regenerative pump which may be what you are talking about Catfishnut. It does heat the air but I do not think there is enough 'heat mass' and the transfer of heat from air to water may not be very good. (could be wrong on all counts) You might do better by wrapping a coil of pipe around the motor.

My GHAST.

 

[MitchM]

Catfishnut,

The greenhouse is attached to our workshop, on the south side:



I tried to build it as energy efficient as I could, for a greenhouse. I have a 7' deep foundation built with ICF's, in-floor radiant heating, wood burning high efficiency fireplace and I still need to supplement the heat during some cold nights with a forced air hot water heater.
During the summer I have beefed up the shade cloth covering and installed a high pressure misting system, which works great, in concert with intake vents and an exhaust fan.
Sometimes the greenhouse can still reach 37C/99F. I'll probably try cooling the aquarium with fans and see how effective that is.
During the winter I can keep the greenhouse at a minimum of 13C/55F without a lot of energy used.

If I wind up keeping tropical fish in the aquarium, I'll probably run a coil of PEX in the aquarium with a hot water recirculating pump on a controller. That would be a lot cheaper than using an electric aquarium heater.

 

[MitchM]

I've not heard of those GHAST pumps before.

 

[capewind]

If I wind up keeping tropical fish in the aquarium, I'll probably run a coil of PEX in the aquarium with a hot water recirculating pump on a controller. That would be a lot cheaper than using an electric aquarium heater.

Hubby was talking of doing something similar when he gets around to redoing our greenhouse. Not sure if he plans on using half inch pex (have on hand), or 1" irrigation pipe (reference to it being black, and also on hand) ...

 

[MitchM]

The reason I like the PEX is because it's already coiled up fairly tight and I think the 1" irrigation pipe would kink pretty easily. Depends on how much room you have for the coils.

 

[capewind]

I get mixed up between the different piping we have here ... I am positive on the irrigation line (that one is a no brainer for me), but with the Pex. he has at least 4 types downstairs...three were used in the plumbing of the house instead of using all copper (red one, blue one, and a white-ish one) ... then there's another white-ish one that we used for the radiant heating system ... I THINK that is pex too, not sure .. I vaguely remember something about wall thickness of the pipe for the heat transfer ... This is the original pipe he was talking of using, and I was complaining about the price LOL ... I know both this piping and the irrigation pipe can kink, and the irrigation pipe cant bend as tight a radius as what is in the floors of the house (our raidiant heat is the between the joist style) ... I think he was planning on running LONG lines, same style as the radiant heat lines in the joists. His interests are more plant related (hydroponics) ... He was looking at the set up at a local fish wholesaler (mostly koi, imported from Malaysia) with giant vats for the fish (30-40' long) that fed into a seperate hydroponic area .. instead of pesticides, also used insects. He isnt that interested in the fish end of the project, even though they are a huge benefit. He has a list of plants/shrubs he wants to grow, as well as veggies to shut me up LOL. (That ANGLE where a hubby shows the wife there is something in it for her too, she is more apt to be agreeable LOL)

 

[Catfishnut]

I like what you are doing Mitch. Please keep us posted on how this proceeds.

Catfishnut I have a GAST regenerative pump which may be what you are talking about Catfishnut. It does heat the air but I do not think there is enough 'heat mass' and the transfer of heat from air to water may not be very good. (could be wrong on all counts) You might do better by wrapping a coil of pipe around the motor.

My GHAST.

Howard,

The above model GAST pump is a little different from the type that I am referring to. It has a rotating disc with many blades that scoop the air in one port and out the other, but the blades don't contact the outer housing, it is more of a "turbine" type setup.

The type I have and was referring to has four carbon fiber blades that ride in slots cut into a hub which revolves within an offset concentric housing. The blades "fly out" under centrifugal force and "scrape" the outer surface of the housing to scoop the air in and push it out in the same way. However, since these four carbon fiber blades actually contact the outer housing, they generate heat from friction. They get REALLY HOT! So hot that you do not want to touch the metal housing with bare hands. The output air, even though not extremely hot to the feel, will warm up water quickly when bubbled into it.

In summer, I run the output air through a coil of copper tubing to dissapate the heat before it goes into the pond or tanks. I figured that in winter, I could put that coil of copper tubing in the water and warm the water.

I get these pumps for a $2 salvage fee from work. I have to buy two, three or four bad ones (and cannibalize them to make one functional pump), but it's a heck of a deal to me for $2 each.

Catfishnut

 

[MitchM]

Capewind, there are so many types of flexible line these days, I've lost track.
It started out with "poly B", grey, which was banned, thank goodness. Then came PEX and there have been many improved designs since then. I have the all white style, used for potable water. On my solar/in-floor heating/heat dump system we've used a red with a white lining that has glycol running through it.
I don't think heat transfer should be a big deal, I've seen one setup that used a modest amount that would fit in a 180g aquarium and it turned out to be overkill. The aquarium heats up in no time using the hot water recirc method.

 

[capewind]

The aquarium heats up in no time using the hot water recirc method.

I think this is the same style on the house. It's a closed system, with manifolds, pumps and termostats for each zone. Our greenhouse is old and not energy effecient at all (gravel floor and opens to a nonheated building), but dont think it will take much to heat the water this way. Cant wait to watch your project progress.

 

[MitchM]

I got the aquarium in place today.I was using this aquarium to hold some extra live rock from my reef tank, so it's pretty dirty right now. I've got some cleaning ahead of me.
I use an engine hoist to do my inside heavy lifting:



and here it is in place. The tank is a reef ready version, which means that it has built in overflows and holes for bulkheads on the back. The water will drain out of the aquarium and drain into the first lower sump tank.



What I haven't figured out yet is how I'm going to control the water level from evaporation. The media beds will be draining with Bell Siphons, which means that they'll each be draining at different times.
Here's an animation of a bell siphon from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?annota...re=iv&src_vid=BmqOD4jphCc&v=ZHaiVhVZ3kM#t=10s

 

[HTH]

MirxhM Ghast is a brand name. We are talking about 2 types of compressor from that company: rotary vane and regenerative blowers.

Howard,

The above model GAST pump is a little different from the type that I am referring to. It has a rotating disc with many blades that scoop the air in one port and out the other, but the blades don't contact the outer housing, it is more of a "turbine" type setup.

The type I have and was referring to has four carbon fiber blades that ride in slots cut into a hub which revolves within an offset concentric housing. The blades "fly out" under centrifugal force and "scrape" the outer surface of the housing to scoop the air in and push it out in the same way. However, since these four carbon fiber blades actually contact the outer housing, they generate heat from friction. They get REALLY HOT! So hot that you do not want to touch the metal housing with bare hands. The output air, even though not extremely hot to the feel, will warm up water quickly when bubbled into it.

In summer, I run the output air through a coil of copper tubing to dissapate the heat before it goes into the pond or tanks. I figured that in winter, I could put that coil of copper tubing in the water and warm the water.

I get these pumps for a $2 salvage fee from work. I have to buy two, three or four bad ones (and cannibalize them to make one functional pump), but it's a heck of a deal to me for $2 each.

Catfishnut

The one I have is a regenerative pump. I did not recognize the type of your pump and assumed wrongly that it is the same. My bad. Your pump sounds like the sort used on automotive smog pumps and I think cabin pressurization for small aircraft.

I used to use used auto smog pumps prior to obtaining the regenerative blower. They lasted a year or two of continuous operation. Ones purchased from auto parts stores did not generate enough pressure. I assume the ghast rotary vane is both more durable and rebuildable. Between the used smog pumps and found motors failing I went to quick and dirty mountings. The unit pictured below was suspended by a tarp strap for sound deadening. There was also a bit of chain to support the unit should the tarp strap fail.

I really want to make a gas powered backup pump. Thinking a lawnmower engine with a rotary vane pump. Do you mind if I PM you as we are stomping on this thread.

 

[Waterbug]

What I haven't figured out yet is how I'm going to control the water level from evaporation. The media beds will be draining with Bell Siphons, which means that they'll each be draining at different times.

All evaporation will show up in the lowest tank, where the pump is. The water level will obviously change as the siphons cycle but there will be some max low point the a float can be set to. The float will go on and off as the siphons cycle until that max low point is restored but that's OK.

Whenever I use a auto fill I like the water supply to also be on a sprinkler type timer to limit the max amount of water the float can add. Floats get stuck. Saved me more than a few times.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Wow Mitch, that looks to be complex, but I would still agree that evaporation would show up at the lowest level pond. You will have to keep us informed on this complex project, should be very interesting for lots of readers!