Help with new first system in Laos (CHOPS?)

[hopdafruLaos]

Hello Everybody,

I am new to this forum and have learned a lot so far by reading some of the posts and watching Murray's video's.

I live in a rural area of Laos (South East Asia, landlocked between China and Thailand) and am hoping to demonstrate the results of AP to my fellow neighbors and friends who currently grow crops but not as efficiently as AP. Cost is an evident issue as salaries are around 40-100$ per month and entire families typically live on 200-300$. Use of local skills and materials will help keep things simple if anyone is interested in starting their own for family consumption and/or selling at the local market.
As the saying goes... give a fish... teach to fish... My experience here though is more like what Mahatma Gandhi once said: “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he will sit in the boat and drink beer all day.”

So here it goes...keep in mind that simplicity and low cost are key!

I'm currently building a rectangular 1,400L fish tank (FT) out of concrete, setting up a double brick wall separated by 2cm foam with the hope that it will slow down temperature changes as I read Tilapia will suffer greatly / die from rapid temp changes (max 2C over 48 hours + temps here vary 10-15C daily with surrounding concrete absorbing then emitting heat for several hours). I'll coat the inside of the FT with big white bathroom tiles to protect the water from the cement's action on PH. (should cost me $30, not bad eh!)

Any thoughts re. temp issues and eventual toxicity of tile binding?)

The water will flow from the top of the tank (pickup at the bottom where the solids are) using gravity, and travel 7 meters to the grow bed(s) in the sunniest area of my 'yard', equipped with a siphon for the continuous drain cycle.

I'll use a slump/drain (What size should it be? I have no idea!) from witch I'll pump the water back to the FT. My pump is a submersible, chinese made $30 375 Watt 1500 L/hour (Note: the FT is 60cm above ground and 1+ meter high, any issue here? the water will be pumped 7 meters horizontally then approx. 2 meters high the pump says up to 16 meters is ok )

I'm not sure about the size of the GB yet, but I understand it should contain about the same volume as the FT, I'll be using 2cm gravel at 300mm height which is easy to get here ($20 for 4 cubic meter)

As for fish I'll be growing Tilapia, not sure how many but I read 3Kg of adult fish for 100 liter of GB. does this sound right?


so...a few more questions:

- do you see any big disadvantages in the water traveling to the GB'S 7 meters away?

- would using 'open air' Bamboo to carry the water from FT to GB over 7 meters add any benefit to the plants re water oxygenation?

-so far the bottom of the GB's will be at about the same height as the bottom of the FT. I'm not sure if this is ok as the slump/drain will be below the FT (the FT is built at 60cm from the ground)

- should I use multiple grow beds e.g. 4 half IBC's (not sure if available here and at what cost) or can I just make a big one (say about 4-5 sqm as to only use one siphon to save costs/work?)

- what crop should I start with when cycling, approx how much time or event before adding fish?

- what best crops to plant around august/september in Thailand/ Laos?

- I'll be using Tilapia, any other species you would recommend for our tropical area? (I'd love to use trout or something similar in the winter... 15-20C for 2-3 months)

- can the slump be used for something else such as shrimp?

Any input much appreciated! sorry for the long post :)

Chris

[Murray]

Hi
Loads of questions.
Just one answer at this time. There is no problem in sending the water 7 mtrs away.
Many of the questions you have are already dealt with in the forum and you will find lots of threads that have discussions on most of the questions you have.

[joeyd]

Hi

Building an aquaponics system in Asia where plastic tanks and even blue drums are expensive is not easy. Here is an example of a great looking good sized system in Thailand built from locally aquired materials.

Cheers

Joey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QNthN0ftVY

[Terra]

Hi Chris
I suggest you assemble your system so you can expand as you get time / money .

A 1400L fish tank will cope with 2800L of grow beds which will hold about a third of water two thirds gravel so around 900 to 1000L of water so you will need a sump about the same size as your fish tank so your sump doesnt run out of water if all your growbeds are full at the same time and you are at full capacity.

Just thinking if you have to build a sump , one large one is probably easier than two smaller sumps / multiple pumps , if you expand your grow beds later on .

Most commercial growbeds are around 500L capacity and they obviously work well .

Im interested to see how you go with Tiles im guessing you seal between them with aquarium safe silicone , ive seen commercial shallow abalone tanks assembled out of 1/2 inch thick black plastic , 1200mm wide and 4 metres long , tek screwed together and the joins sealed with a black silicone type product so you should be able to find a safe product might be your biggest cost , dont take shortcuts huge job to empty growbeds chasing leaks.

Your pump discription doesnt sound right 375watt / 1500L hour , my pump is a mid range quality 45w 2000Lph . Pump size needs to turn over your water volume every hour , prefer a bit more , so for a 1400L fish tank plus your sump capacity adjust for your loss of flow pumping to the head ( height you pump water up from bottom of sump to top of fish tank) .

Do a test with your pump set it up to pump to the height required and measure flow , dont believe the graphs my pump is supposed to pump 1500L at 1 meter head it actually pumps 890L with no bends or joins in supply line .

Bamboo would certainly look Fantastic you must take photos , i wish i had bamboo I played around with some giant bamboo in Darwin years ago , maybe you could cut out the top and fit sections back in with cable tie hinges to reduce evaporation , you will get solids building up on the internal sections so will need to be able to slide a brush through now and then , small price to pay though has to be better than plastic .

Ok for the future scrap the pump build a water wheel in your sump and drive that with a motor and run the water back with bamboo as well and take photos.

Plant leafy greens for a start they will grow , once you get nutrient buildup in your growbeds you can grow mostly anything .

Forums are full of stories me included of early fish losses due to nitrites they seem to turn up quickly so be on watch , my understanding is once your growbeds mature they can cope with the ups and downs , for the first 6 mths dont think about pushing your fish to get big enough to eat , have only a few and just get your growbeds matured .

good luck
regards Rob

[safetyfish]

Great youtube vid