Freeland FP100 as Aquaponics Growbeds

I use Freeland FP100's for my growbeds.  I run deep grow beds.  That is, at least 12" grow depth for the plants.  This is not usual, but I found from my normal growing that plants do a lot better with deep roots.

I recommend the FP60 for those who are interested in this design. I just happen to get the FP100's at a good price.  As you see though, I effectively cut them down to FP60 size.

This is the starting point:

A nice unit.  Made in the USA. http://www.freelandind.com/fipolytanks.htm

Next I cut the top off using a sawsall.

Don't these look like very nice garden bed separators?  Good recycling use.  That's another post.

Note, the FP100 has a drain pre-plumbed.  This is re-usable, but the internal fitting is aluminum. This needs to be replaced with a 1" FT to 1" SLIP adaptor.  The FT portion just replaces the aluminum threaded fitting.  Put teflon tape on the plastic thread prior to putting the FP adaptor on to prevent slow drip leaks.

This is a picture of a completed grow bed.  It is filled with a hydroton mixture.  Due to the pre-fit drain, this setup is configured to drain from the bottom side.  Normally beds are made to drain down.  This works without tuning, but what happens is that the drain is not at a consistent speed. The drain starts quickly then slows down for the last third of the level.  It takes about 10 minutes to fully drain the bed.

You can see the overflow on the top left of this bed.  This is made with 1" hose and uniseal fittings. http://www.aussieglobe.com/uniseal3.htm
The small hose is for air being pumped into the bottom of the bed.

I will post the siphon design for this bed and also the media layers I use in future posts.

Cheers.