Pete's IBC 2nd System

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My second system presently under construction will comprise of 6 IBC bases as 350 high GB's sitting on steel framing and two inverted IBC tops 400 high ST's sitting on packing sand beneath and cross ways to the GB's. The media will be washed scoria and will use the flood and drain technique with a timer.
The 1000 lt IBC FT2 is already in place full and plumbed in. (See "Pete's First system") I'll be using a float in the ST2 to keep up with water loss.
This 2nd system will also have four inverted IBC tops 400 mm high sitting on steel frames as wicking beds. The water will be provided by the FT and its level maintained by an external float. The plumbing and power to this point is underground already.
Both the GB's and WB's will have PE canopies over them although I prefer the roll up access to be on both sides. This also has the benefit of catching low PH and chemical free water for the FT's.

Having cut and bracketed two of the WB's during the week, this weekend I fitted the foundations for the GB's.

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The day after I poured the foundations while it was still hot I found myself digging the bases for the for the sump tanks. I'm getting another 3 IBC's tomorrow which will be enough to complete this project.

I filled this sump tank with pond water to help settle the base then the next two days it rained and in the mean time I've been making the steel frame to support the GB's. I'll be cutting the plastic down to 25 mm above the frame. I need to join the two tanks together with elbowed poly fittings underneath and a T in between for the external pump entry.
In the one present I'll install the plastic float.

Pete.

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This weekend I fitted and plumbed the sump tanks with a float and pump plumbing, fitted & leveled the steel supports and rails, cut and fitted the new IBC bases. I filled the sump tanks with town water. I'll be cutting the ends of the rails off once the 6 GB's are in place.

I'm happy with the progress and feel confident that its all going to work as I've done it before, although doing it with recycled IBC's presents new challenges.

Pete.

roddo

Its starting to take shape nicely. Looks like its going to be a very neat and tidy area.

Petesake

Thanks Roddo, I originally made some lift up doors for Sys 1 but now I'm thinking I'll use them for a gabled roof to join up with the Sy1 roof. This will cover both of the systems but I still want roll up sides on the north face.

Pete.

dlf_perth

I'm liking that big fish pond to the left (in last pic) more and more Pete......

seasonal trout and silver perch over summer.....
IBC's for fingerling raising - mate you would be made..

copper pipe shouldn't be an issue but keep in mind that mains rely on water being regularly used.
may have been worth going plastic/poly.

single biggest you may have with a lot of plumbing and a big system is that a small leak will use *a lot* of water.
You want to keep an eye on use if relying on scheme water.

Petesake

dlf_perth wrote:

I'm liking that big fish pond to the left (in last pic) more and more Pete......

seasonal trout and silver perch over summer.....
IBC's for fingerling raising - mate you would be made..

Can't say I haven't been thinking the same thing.
It's got tapered thin concrete sides to a 1 x 2 m flatish base 1.6 m deep. Wifey wants to keep it for the non-existent grand kids.
So you can see a solution may not be as simple, it might mean reinstating the trampoline legs as well as relocating it. Then build a concrete fire bunker that just so happens (double as) to have it's own sub terranean FT.

Pete

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Over the last few days I've cut down 2 more IBC's, fitted their drains and plumbed them together on the rails. The sump tanks are full as a goog now. I also finished the plumbing for both ST floats.
This evening I tested for leaks then started the big job of washing and loading the scoria.

Pete.

dlf_perth

DIY greenhouse like Mels over the area including the trampoline....
trampoline pit converted to fish pond...
plan looks really good Pete...

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System 2 is progressing, I got a cubic meter of scoria ($60) which filled GB 2 & 3 which took me about an 2 hrs to process.

GB 1 was filled with left over material from Sy1 but I found it was full of slugs, I gave them all a good wash and that made them easier to find, some of the big ones were the size of my thumb. I'll need to flood this one to bring any I missed to the surface.

I've been sowing seeds for sy2 while I'm building it and now put them in the wicking bed between the carrots & sb because I lost a whole stack of seedlings due to not being there to remove the seedling tray roof when a hot snap arrived.

Pete.

dstjohn99

What a great looking system Pete! Very clean. I like the mounting rails. Can you include a photo of on of your drains please? I see that large pipe underneath but clearly you are not using uniseals; bulkhead fitting or sink drain? Will these be CF or flood and drain? I'd like to see how you are set up for standpipes or siphons.

By the way, if you put a liner in the tramp pit, put the legs into some PVC tubes with a cap on the bottom, you could have fish and a trampoline. No one would notice until they started jumping. It would make a big splash!

dlf_perth

Quote:

GB 1 was filled with left over material from Sy1 but I found it was full of slugs, I gave them all a good wash and that made them easier to find, some of the big ones were the size of my thumb. I'll need to flood this one to bring any I missed to the surface.

might have to get some chooks - maybe bantams if you dont want full sized ones and can handle little eggs.

looking pretty bad for this summer Pete - might need that fire bunker sooner rather than later....
good slope just behind in previous photo to dig it into.

my old grandmother in UK still had her WW2 bomb shelter in back of her garden, was fascinated when I was a little tacker and we flew back to visit. made a great garden shed and quite cool etc as it was dug into a sloping site. Curved corrugated roof covered in dirt.

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Hi stjohn I used these screw together bulkhead fittings with teflon tape on both contact surfaces.
On sy1 I used them the other way around where the male was on top and the moving female part was screwed up from beneath and teflon was on the male flange only - that worked better. Of course the push in end of the fittings were the other way around as well.

In these stand pipes I've drilled a 5 mm hole 75 mm up from the base as the overall depth is 380 mm and the top is 50 mm short of the surface of the scoria. I prefer the flood and drain with timer method.

Yeah Darren our 4 chooks love these slugs. When I first considered working from home I thought about digging a 120 sqm underground factory in that spot. It's a lot easier and cheaper to build stuff above ground. I know what you mean about the bunker.....

Pete.

dlf_perth

Quote:

I know what you mean about the bunker.....

have spent quite a bit of time in your neck of the woods. Was there in Feb 2009 in the Beechworth-Myrtleford and Mansfield areas variously over that week/weekend. Given the number of places that are up small access roads and/or have one entry and exit point it is astounding how little effort has been put into on-site and community scale refuges.

It is a widespread issue but Victorians (and NSW with them) have taken the tree change to heart in some of the most flammable bushland in Australia and thick dry pasture grasses to go with it. We have pockets in SA and WA and they have the same issue...but no-where has the population impact level of VIC.

Petesake

In my 4wd driving days we'd occassionally come across concrete fire bunkers buried in the bush land, problem was they had no door and they were very hard to find in the daylight without a map. Since the recent bout of fires there are regulations regarding the construction of fire bunkers which could potentially be a death trap them selves.

Pete.

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