New Grow Bed - Putting it all together

With all the components ready, I assembled the new grow bed today. I'm too tired to type now, so I'll just present some pictures along with some descriptive text on the construction process.

I begin by positioning the grow bed at the desired position.

Positioning the grow bed

 Next, I fixed the strainer pipe at the bottom of the tank

A 25 mm hole drilled at the center

Fixed a bulk head fitting together with the strainer holder

Strainer pipe held securely by the strainer holder

I then filled the bottom 3 inches of the grow bed with river pebbles. This is to provide extra drainage at the bottom to minimize anaerobic zones.

The gap in between the strainer pipe and the tank floor is narrow enough to not let any pebbles through.

I used water as a guide to help me level the pebbles.

 Next was the washing of 3 bags of new expanded clay balls. Bought them for RM70 per bag.

I learned a convenient way to wash them from the Backyard Aquaponics forum. Just fill the bag with water until full. Shake it. Then poke some holes to drain the water out.

Make a hole at one corner and insert a hose into the bag. Start filling it with water.

Poke several small holes at the bottom to release the dirty water.

 Once cleaning is complete, I poured them into the new grow bed.
Aaah~~! A new grow bed filled with fresh growing media!

Virgin Grow Bed!

 I then thought about utilizing that empty space underneath the new grow bed. It's a nice shady place protected from falling tree debris from above. The guppies would love it there.

A new location for my guppy tank.

Guppies now enjoy clean water directly from the grow bed. Excess water is drained back into the tilapia tank.

A Tee-connector divides the water flow in to both beds.

Thanks for reading!