This page is to show the process involved in setting up the aquaculture portion of the greenhouse. Come and join me in the adventure of setting up this wonderful project.
Above you can see see the initial setup of the tanks and filtering system. The center picture shows the hole saw used to cut the center drains in the tanks.
Since we had an existing concrete slab burying the tanks was not an economical option. The pictures here show the cinder block rings that we made in order to raise the tanks off of the floor. The plywood ring will allow the weight of the water to create a funnel in the bottom of the tank to allow the nutrient rich water flow from the fish tanks to the filters. The setup on the right is for the LSB tanks.
Starting on the right you can see the six tanks up on the cinder block stands with the drain pipes coming out the middle. Each tank holds up to 1200 gallons of water and fish. The center picture shows all six tanks connected together. The last picture shows the LSB tank that feeds two fish tanks. There are three LSB tanks total.
The two big bags above are filled with the plastic beads in the middle picture. The water that comes back from the filters enters the LSB tanks and saturates the beads. These plastic beads will collect a bacteria and help create a bacteria that will benefit the fish. The right picture is the inlet filter of the LSB.
The two pumps above are used to pull the nutrient filled water from the fish tanks into the sump tank and then push the water into the bead filter. The bead filter has an automatic backwash feature that removes the solids from the system. After the water passes through the bead filter it enters the tube on the right and flows in around the UV light. This will ensure that any bacteria will be eliminated.
Air stones are needed to add oxygen to the system so the fish and plants can thrive. Each fish tank has ten (10) 6" air stones. Each LSB has six (6) 9" stones in the bottom that keep the beads moving. By doing this the dead bacteria is removed by the collision of the beads with each other. We decided to make floating air rings for the fish tanks instead of drilling holes into each tank. By floating the air ring we reduce the area where bacteria pockets can form.
Windows were added to three of the six fish tanks and to the purge system. With these windows we can watch the fish to observe any problems or concerns. The picture on the right is of the filter system for the purge tank.
Finally, the system is completed and the water has started filling. This is an exciting moment. From the left picture you can see that the water is flowing in from underneath. We started filling from the sump tank, which in turn fills the rest of the tanks. Notice in the middle picture the air ring laying in the tank, once the air is turned on the ring will float.