bcotton's ferrocement system

bcotton

I still havent had the opportunity to expand the outdoor system so I only have the one 8'x6'x1' (~350 gallon) grow bed to filter the 700 gallon fish tank so I am still conservatively stocking. The first cold front came through and dipped so i had to harvest the tilapia i had outdoors. I harvested 3 tilapia (1.5-2# each), Moved 1 other inside to use as a breeder next year because i liked his/her coloring and I went ahead and cleaned out the other big fish (4x 1# LMB and 1x 4.5# channel catfish)to make room for new fingerlings.

I placed back in a dozen of each channel cat, bluegill and red ear sunfish fingerlings along with about 6 HSB fingerlings.

pictures of the booty

TCLynx

bcotton wrote:

I just dont see why there is so much love for tilapia in aquaponics in non-tropical U.S.... When there are faster growing, better tasting, temperature tolerant native fish to chose from.

I agree with you there!

So how are things going now? Bump

bcotton

i have a few hundred 1" blugill, res and hopefully still crappie in there now, feed training and growing. Only assorted things growing in the 1 grow bed. I have a big expansion in progress that wont be ferro but i will continue to use the tank and the grow bed. They seem to be holding up good and i expect them to last a long time.

Punica

Hey there,

Nice idea for a tank!
I am also pondering with plastic alternatives and was thinking concrete/cement as well (allthough on a way smaller scale).
What about food safety? Are there specific formulas that we should gravitate to or avoid? Anything harmful leeching over time would be a nightmare...

thx!

bcotton

I am not a chemistry expert but from what i have read the regular Portland cement type I/II i used basically leeches lime which will raise and buffer your ph and after years will eventually stop. This is the main reason people put a coating on it. i used theroseal, i have seen other products used. But nothing leeching should be toxic.

also check out a thread by apocolypse , he does a similar build only better.

and stucco's thread which shows what you can do and how good ferro can look.

There was a thread on i believe koiphen about the chemical reaction of cement, how it cures, how long it take sto cure, what temperatures are required for strength etc.. it's a must read if you are an ametuer at this like i was/am but i cant seem to find it right now. i think it was authored by RichToyBox

Punica

Thx for the extensive reply!
I'm gonna try to find an expert to find out more about the content and possible leeching.
As I'm trying to avoid plastic as much as possible, I see cement as a possible material to build with - but without any liner...

Dad_Roman

bcotton wrote:

Today i took a road trip to a place i had never heard of called streetman, texas to picked up some "1/2 inch" expanded shale. This is the place where expanded shale is made

Can you give me the location of this plant? Im about 15 miles from there. I can also see this paying off for the North Dallas Meetups. Tks.

bcotton

http://www.trinityesc.com/

i fill out the contact form saying how much and what size i want. A sales guy usually contacts me by the next business day and coordinates my trip to the plant. The time window is flexible but It's not really a retail experience, it's a work site with a weigh station and an office.

There is a north dallas meetup now too?

I am aware of north texas and dallas area meetups

Dad_Roman

Thanks for the info. Picked up a yard yesterday. Nice shale. I would reiterate your words.... this is NOT a "RETAIL" experience, it's a (massive) work site with a weigh station and an office.

Very obnoxious and very dangerous so if you are uncomfortable dealing with something of this nature you might want to factor that into your decision making process. I also had to wait for an hour, right under the dust making apparatus, for a piece of equipment to break free and come over and load me.

I might have mis-spoken about the group. I meant DFW Aquaponics in particular or any other group that could benifit from access to this material.

Just getting my toes wet and discovering more groups, forums, and pages by the day!

Sminfiddle

Jislizard wrote:

Great to see some ferrocement going up.

I went out and bought a couple of books on ferrocement but they are aimed at boat builders and date back to the 80s. Full of good info though.

I reached out to Amazon and got this book. It is not about boats - in fact a lot of info about where reinforcement is needed, and not needed, is in there.
Tanks from 5 gallons on up to municipal ferrocement water tanks bigger than my house. And full discussions on drains, how to plan and stage your build with how much help needed, ideas on fun shapes... and how they do ferro' in Thailand and Mexico and places in between.

Come to think of it, if it's wet, I recommend looking to see if Art Ludwig has a book about it.

My Houston backyard system is due for an overhaul and expansion (it's 2010 vintage)... I am throwing around ideas of a ferro Fish Tank and lines of small-ish ferro growbeds resembling an egg crate, simple bottom-drains joining a long drain line. That egg shape is great for distributing stresses (as you'd imagine)!

http://smile.amazon.com/Water-Storage-Emergency-Use---Ferrocement/dp/0964343363/ref=la_B003AL0XGW_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1433528505&sr=1-2

Rick

Shelgeyr

bcotton wrote:

i have a few hundred 1" blugill, res and hopefully still crappie in there now, feed training and growing. Only assorted things growing in the 1 grow bed. I have a big expansion in progress that wont be ferro but i will continue to use the tank and the grow bed. They seem to be holding up good and i expect them to last a long time.

Gotta ask: Which species do you find works best in our area (Dallas)?

bcotton

i have worked with catfish, LMB, bluegill, redear, HSB and crappie and i think they all work great in our climate. I like growing all of them.

HSB and catfish would be the fastest growing and they are also the least hardy to poor water conditions. They are the most likely to die if the tank freezes over for longer than a couple of days.

APynckel

Hey Brian,

Fellow Texan here, just 250 miles (or by tx terms, 4 hours) south of ya. It is my long term goal to set up an AP system and use native Texas fish as well. Might have to use you for some fry when I get around to it. Until then, following your build with severe interest, and thanks for all the information you've shared!

bcotton

To anyone following this thread, i am retiring it. I am very close to being done with my 5000 + gallon backyard system

The ferro tank and grow bed are still functioning but will just be integrated with the bigger system which has a new/different thread

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=28493

thjakits

ALWAYS prowling!!
..but if you integrate into the new system thread - nothing lost over here!

thjakits

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