Looking for IBC's

[Finney64]

Good morning all, anyone out there know where I can source some used IBC's (Intermediate Bulk Containers) up here in Laos?
I bought a couple from a neighbour at 100 bucks a pop, but am looking for a few more.
Many thanks in advance.

[Necron99]

Fish?

[VocalNeal]

I'll ask my friend. If anything comes of it I'll send you a PM.

[Finney64]

Cheers VN, appreciate that.

@Necron - partly mate, got some aquaponics on the go.

[Necron99]

^ Thought so.
I was going to use those blue 2000 liter tanks laid horizontally, just cut an access port in the top.
And possibly the same halved as grow beds.

[Finney64]

^ That's an idea, what sort of money are they going for?

Also, what will you be using for your grow bed media?

I'm using river stones which are good & cheap but fukkin heavy, need a lot of support.

[Necron99]

Thousand liter tanks are about 3 or 4k. Not sure about 2k ones.
mix of gravel and vermiculite was the idea for media.
theres also something made from coconut husks or shells available.

[Zooheekock]

I'd vaguely thought at trying aquaponics but haven't got any further than watching a few videos and seeing what was available here in Thailand. I had a look for IBCs for sale online and there were a few available but, as I said, unfortunately that was in Thailand. They were around 2000-2500 baht.

[Necron99]

The problem I have with IBC's is in what they have been carrying, and not knowing if you have them completely clean, with no residue left in the plastic.
The blue tanks seemed an ideal substitute and just as easy to work with.

[Zooheekock]

^ Yes, I think that's probably a much better idea. The IBCs I saw online were all 'Grade A', 'Only used once', etc. but it's anyone's guess what was still in there.

[Finney64]

For sure it's unlikely that you'll know what they have been used for in the past.
I followed the advice I'd gleaned from the net and washed them thoroughly with detergent then left them out in the sun for a few days to let the UV rays kill whatever nasty residues still remained.
The first one has been up and running for 2 months now and I haven't experienced any problems so far - both plants & fish seem healthy enough.
Obviously I may have been fortunate, and the next ones I buy might turn out different.
What I really like about the IBC for aquaponics is how easy they are to make a system out of. I'm far from being a handyman but even I converted them without too much hassle.

[sunsetter]

can i have a pic of what your set up looks like please finney?

[Finney64]

There you go mate.

That's the grow bed, capsicums at the back, beef tomatoes at the front.
lollo rosso lettuce on the left ( a bit decimated as i pull a few leaves of every night for chow ) some more lettuce & herbs around there also

[Finney64]

This is the system with fish tank on the bottom.

Got the idea from an Aussie site: backyardaquaponics.com

There's an instructional video on there about how to chop up an IBC.

[hughesyourdaddy]

I was wondering if you ever found any IBCs for sale in Vientiane, because I'm on the look out for one myself to get started in aquaponics.