Hellbent's 300 Gallon Plywood for Aquaponics

[hellbent]

I've been lurking on these forums for a little while now. I found this place because I was researching how to make a 250 gallon fiberglass tank.
I started by googling 'dyi plywood tank' and with my contractor friend, we started a design that measures 4' x 5' x 30". We started framing the walls, then i found the GARF calculator and this website.

As the title suggests, this plywood tank will be used for aquaponics, which is using the fish effluent to fertilize the plants, which grows int he filter medium. the plants then clean the wastes and therby the water.

This is also why there is only a tiny window (13" x 28") instead of a giant pane like everyone else. I now wish that I had spent more on alarger pane, tho. I got the 1/2" plexiglass pane for $40, which seems like a steal, compared to the 2'x4' 3/4" glass that would have cost $390.

Will post more when I get home.

 

[Fly River]

good luck

 

[mr.reef24]

best of luck keep us posted

mr.reef24

 

[hellbent]

so we put it all together, working 1 or 2 days a week for a few hours.
i think you guys know the story. patch, sand, bolt, etc.

the top box is the growbox, it should be about 85 gallons, and will be filled with black cinder. a pump will pump up the fish water into that growbed, where plants and nitrifying bacteria will clean the water, then return to the fish tank via a autosiphon.

 

[hellbent]

fiberglass hawaii recommended an iso resin, since that is food safe and we will be growing tilapia inside of it. neither of us have ever worked with resin before, so it was an interesting experience.
btw, if you put in too much MEKP catalyst, you will get a paint tray too hot to touch, and it will start to smoke. instead of a 30 minute pot life, you get 10. then you get a nice blue brick.

 

[KMKN]

good work so far

 

[hellbent]

The resin is done. as you can see the growbed was also coated with resin, inside and on the bottom.
i painted the growbed green to encourage the plants. okay, not really but i thought it was appropiate at the time. now i wish i had gone with a darker tint.
the fishtank will be covered with a 1/8 sheet of mohagony plywood and stained when its done.

 

[hellbent]

that was 4 days ago. on the 2nd day i noticed some bad leaks. i could not tell exactly where it was coming from. so i had to drain it and am now in the process of patching and adding a few more coats.
i am told i should have used a layer of cloth. oh well.

 

[hellbent]

bulkheads on the sides of the growbed is for expansion. i might so a 10'x4' epdm lettuce run or some nft tubes.

- hellbent
www.aquaponicsinparadise.com

 

[Yanbbrox]

Nice progress, sorry to hear about the leaks