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Jumat, 01 Juli 2016

Connecting the Tanks Pictures from 29 April

Piping connecting the fish tank to the sump

To achieve a "constant height of pond" (CHOP) in my bigger tank, I needed to install pipes to let water flow down to the sump.

I used 3/4" pipes to plumb through the tank walls, because that way I could get away with using the 1" drill bit. I drilled two holes near the top of the tank, in the recessed ribs so the piping wouldnt stick out as far. If I was doing this a second time, I would locate the holes a couple of inches lower, but this works.

Once the two pipes coming from the fish tank join, I transition to 1" piping, to make sure flow out of the fish tank isnt restricted by the plumbing joining the tanks.

[After I already had the fish in the tank, I realized I would have to turn the tank so the side with the ribs close together faced the sump. Not sure the fishes liked having the water drained down to almost empty, but I was glad to be able to move the tank without having to net everyone out.]

The fish tank, with pipes to suck water up from the bottom

The 3/4" pipes in the fish tank extend down to the bottom, forcing water from the bottom of the tank to flow out of the tank when the grow beds drain into the fish tank. I drilled a pattern of 13 holes in each end-cap and cut small slices at the very end of the pipe with my miter saw. This allows enough flow through the bottom of the pipe so water drains well (else the fish tank could overflow). The reason to use two pipes is so drainage can still happen even if one pipe gets blocked.

This picture was taken before I actually plumbed the two tanks together, so the 1000 gph pump is still in the fish tank. I used regular 5/8 hose and a garden hose splitter. Turns out 5/8" no-kink garden hose and regular splitters work fine - they are inexpensive and come with built in ball valves. After these pictures were taken, I replaced the green hose with white hose that is lead-free and certified safe to use with drinking water.

Goldfish in the sump

Once I get to the sump, I transition back to 3/4" pipes, again so I could get away with my 1" drill bit. You can see the 45 degree joint that lets the water from the grow beds and fish tank flow into the sump with minimum noise.

Ive been running the system for almost a week since these pictures were taking, and it works just fine.

Grow bed 1 of 4 (lots of different plants)

For the record, heres what the grow beds looked like when I plumbed the tanks together.

Grow bed 2 of 4 (lots of basil)

Grow bed 3 of 4

I ended up adding hydroton to all my beds when I couldnt coordinate getting the expanded shale delivered before my fish had to be bought. Too much travel, between spring break vacation and work trips.

Even though I would have preferred the expanded shale, a nice thing about the hydroton is it is distinctly different in color and shape from couple inches of gravel from my original system in the bottom of each grow-bed.

Grow bed 4 of 4 (check out the banana plant)

In the week since these pictures were taken, Ive shifted the pump to the sump, invented a way to keep the water topped up, and built kiddie covers for the tanks. But Ill cover those items in future posts.

Gnight!

Kamis, 30 Juni 2016

Pictures!

This is the state of things a week or so ago - prior to me discovering that I had utility cables running only a few inches below the surface and wouldnt be able to dig down.

My mustard plant, while it was still planted inside.

The current state of the greenhouse. I made it short because the townhome covenants say structures have to be no higher than the brick wall at the end of the property. FWIW, my next door neighbor is going to have to remove the fancy storage shed you see in the pics - not a happy thing to learn after youve spent time and $$ putting something in...

The grow bed that is up and running. I used hydroton because I needed to get one bed working to host plants that were inside, since I moved my indoor growbed outside. So nice not having to deal with gravel on the planting layer!

A bed prepped with gravel in the bottom. Theory is this will help anchor plants that would tend to fall over in hydroton or shale aggregate. Besides, it displaces $$$ of the more expensive lighter stuff, and it is already pregnant with the happy bacteria that transform ammonia to nitrate.

Im waiting to get expanded shale aggregate for the final beds - having a local business special order it from Bigelow Brook Farm and TheAquaponicSource.com.

A shot of my bell siphon, showing the 45 degree bend and my new sliced drain tube. I have a small hole at the base of my standpipe so any extra water can drain out when power goes out (like at night if I turn off the pump). The good thing is I wont have plants drowning in standing water. The bad thing is I always have a small dribble. This sliced drain tube takes the trickle down to the water surface (no noise) and still lets the siphon break. It ingests air into the flow, but keeps the noise of the full siphon action pretty low.

Heres a detail of the construction. Because my townhome covenants require me to keep this thing really short, the PVC sleeves allow me to temporarily raise the roof an additional 24 inches. Its also more forgiving than EMT couplers would be. I drilled through the PVC and EMT and connected them using a toggle bolt - looks kind of spiffy, I think. I should have painted the PVC to extend the life of these legs, but it wont be too hard to replace them. Lets pretend I am leaving them unpainted on purpose, to see how long it takes for them to become so brittle they dont work anymore... Since the PVC sleeves arent load-bearing, I should be good for a long time.

I used 10 foot wide sheeting, so had to join the roof sheeting with a 5 foot wide side piece. I did this by connecting the two sheets and rolling them around EMT conduit, then screwing the conduit to the frame with 2-hole straps using self-tapping screws.

The 2-hole EMT straps can also be bent so they serve as clips - useful for fastening the plastic until I have my end walls built.

Finally, a shot of my rain barrel. We made this at a county workshop using 65 gallon pickle barrels. It would be relatively simple to update the greenhouse design to include rain gutters if the greenhouse wasnt close to another water source. I dont have solar panels (yet) but the pump and bubblers draw in the neighborhood of 120 watts. Seems it would be perfectly possible to power a system like Ive got here off solar, particularly if you shut the pump off at night.

So, those are the pics. Enjoy!

Sabtu, 25 Juni 2016

The Fish are Trained

The main purpose of an aquaponics system is growing plants.

The fun part of aquaponics is feeding the fish.

When I first got my fish, they ignored chow time. Id toss pellets in the tank, and thered be no sign anyone was in there.

Now that Ive got a cover on the tank, I only ever lift the cover when Im about to feed the fish. When I lift up the lid, I find them waiting for me near the surface. Once the pellets hit the water, the water comes alive. In seconds, the fish have snatched all the pellets from the waters surface.

Sweet!

Jumat, 10 Juni 2016

Some Pictures

Senin, 23 Mei 2016

Yeahhh Spring is Sprung

And straight away the chill went out of the air.

So its time to string up those young tomato plants

Generally decide what can be done now rather that later when it gets really busy and things start getting on top of you/me/us.

Oh yes, I have Soldier Flies in our Biopod again so its time to keep it included in my daily routine.

OK, lets have a look at my jottings again...

First up an update from Afnans Blog/site

Next, Why did Aquaponics take off like a rocket in Australia, and here is the answer One Video on TV

Chris Newman has taken empty greenhouse nurseries and used them for aquaponics

Aquaponics Exploration Tour

Aquaponics: The First 12 Months

WARNING, WARNING AquaBundance Year Round Aquaponics Gardening System

Our journey to sustainability

Manoaponics Aquaponics System

Thats all for the moment. Back Soon....

Ozzie

Jumat, 20 Mei 2016

like youd know dude

Starting with today...my teacher for Psych 305 was talking about how men were the leaders of the house so they were used in commercials to promote sort of a..."Im telling you to do this cause Im a man" sort of thing even on a tampon commercial. Well she was like "cause youd know dude."

XD

And last night my Anthro teacher was talking about how a science person would view a philosopher. Its like they cant feel or see their theory. "Its like imagining pleasure...like mental masturbation."

XDD

Ugh I was walking home and it was lonely and cold. My fingers were freezing and I think I started having a panic attack. I hurried home but...i didnt want to really be there. Id rather be going to Adams bed...warm and cozy.

on my way home from the dark bus stop I walked alone. A man jumped out of the bush. He grabbed me and tried to rip off my shirt. I tackled him to the ground and tied him to a pole. I found a large knife in his pocket. I smiled and slipped off his pants. I shoved his pants in his mouth so he wouldnt scream. I wandered around the avenue and found a branch and placed it in between his legs. I picked up his testicle and slowly cut his skin. I pushed his testicle to the ground and gave it a quick whack with the blade. He tried to scream. I closed up his scrotum and did the same on the other side. WHACK. I pulled out my stapler and stapled his scrotum closed. I put his pants back on and walked away.

This is why I shouldnt walk home alone. I get crazy thoughts like this.

=]

Kamis, 21 April 2016

Another Email This Time from Slywoman Thanks Sylvia

Interview with Dr James Rakocy, Father of Aquaponics – Part 2

Couldnt help posting this straight away.

Enjoy

Ozzie

Rabu, 13 April 2016

Pump plumbing Topping Up and Kiddie Covers

Using garden hose to carry water from the sump

I was stymied about how I was going to carry the water from my 1000 gph pump back to my four growbeds. Id looked into 1" no-kink pond tubing and associated fittings/valves, but the tally was getting pretty pricey.

When I was first plumbing the 1000 gph pump in for just 2 growbeds, I figured garden hose might work - and if I was wrong, I would only be out the price of a single length of hose and a single splitter (with built-in ball valves). Garden hose ended up working fine for just two growbeds.

I still wasnt sure garden hose would work for the full-up system, particularly with the long (23) lengths needed to reach each of the two growbeds on the opposite side of the greenhouse from the sump. But I was willing to try. Turns out garden hose works like a charm. I even have to throttle the flow just a tad.

Youll want to get hose that is safe to use for drinking water, because regular hose can leach lead into the water. This set-up requires 60 feet of hose, so you could either get a single 75-foot hose (~$40 via Home Depot, search "lead-free hose") or two 50-foot hoses (~$23 each via Home Depot, search "neverkink boat hose"). You can get free shipping if your total order is over $50, assuming your local store doesnt have these hoses in stock.

Auto Top Up - Think Water Cooler

In watching Murray Hallams "Aquaponics: The First 12 Months," I saw his contraption for automatically adding water when the tank gets low - like the ballcock older toilets use to shut off flow into the bowl when its full of water after a flush. He had his hooked to the home-owners water spigot. My only trouble was I couldnt find the exact configuration at my local hardware store, and googling ballcock with my computers kid-friendly browser settings made finding anything online even harder.

Since I currently have goldfish in the sump, and plan to use the sump for small fish, I dont want my sump to run dry. Even if I couldnt find the exact contraption Murray uses.

I came up with the idea of a water reservoir, like a water cooler. I use the standard 5-gallon bottles to do this. I cut the neck off the bottom bottle and drilled 1" holes into the sides to allow tank water in.

Next I add 1/2 teaspoon of Amquel to an empty 5-gallon bottle, then fill with tap water. The Amquel removes chlorine and other nasty stuff from the tap water.

Finally I invert the regular 5-gallon bottle and rest it in the top in the modified bottle.

As the water in the system evaporates, the water in the 5-gallon reservoir glugs out, bit by bit. I anticipate this will make adding water a weekly chore and eliminate risk that my sump runs dry without me noticing.

Construction of a Kiddie Cover

I dont have kids that could/would drown in 20" of water, but Kiddie Covers make the fish happier. Bluegill, at least, dont like to be without cover (fear of predators that might scoop them out). Plus bluegill are known for jumping out of the tank (lost one myself that way).

I just used cheap 1x3 for the covers, supported by frames made of inexpensive 2x3. This picture showed in this post has a close up of the more complicated sump tank lide, which has a cut-out for the 5-gallon reservoir.

Finally, below is a link to some video footage I shot today. The first video is really long (over 12 minutes) showing how the kiddie covers work, feeding fish, how the CHOP plumbing works, the final bell siphon design, and the top-up tank.

The second video is 3 minutes long and explains how I plumb the water to the growbeds on the opposite side of the greenhose (and talks about my solar oven).

Sabtu, 09 April 2016

Earthan Beds

Over the past 21 months I have experimented with variations and combinations of Aquaponics, (vertical towers, wicking pots, deep water culture, and media beds), plus several other gardening methods such as Bio-Ponics, Wicking Beds, Hugelkultur, Two forms of Hydroponics (Dutch Bucket Hydroponics, and Kratky Method), and Dirt.

What I discovered worked best for me was all of the ponic methods -Aquaponics, Hydroponics, and Bio-Ponics The Kratky Method (a form of Hydroponics) also worked well, but the Kratky Method is limited to quick crops of leafy greens.

Wicking beds or Wicked Beds as the Aussies like to say, provide uniform moist soil, even when I forget to water, and they conserve water due to the bottom up watering method.

The Ponics which are not normally soil based, provide nutrient rich water on a regular basis.

I am now ready to combine the techniques that I found worked best for me. I was working toward this conclusion when I saw this link to the Earthen Group. The details of this solution were instantly clear to me. Paul Van der Werf appears to have worked out all the kinks, and has detailed the construction of his system in the link above.

http://youtu.be/lkSMkTpdt7U
http://www.earthangroup.com.au/earthan-beds-how-they-go-together/

Since I built my Wicking Beds as conventional raised beds, and used sand in the reservoir I will have to replace that sand with 1-1/2" drainage rock in order to facilitate the faster movement of water from the Bio-Ponic or Aquaponic system. Im leaning towards Bio-Ponics because Im not into eating fish, and it comes with less overhead. Either way the nutrients will flow below the soil in the Wicking Beds.

This should create a very large area for nitrification, and be very good for the fish if I choose that path.

I considered utilizing one bed for the soul purpose of vermicomposting Eisenia Hortensis (European nightcrawler) or more likely Eisenia Foetida (the red wiggler, Californian red worm). But the leachate from a worm bin would not be beneficial to an aquaponic or even a bio-ponic system.

Converse wrote a very good description of the risks involved. [LINK]

To be clear- keeping red wigglers in all of your grow beds is a good idea, but the leachate created in composting worm bins is better suited for a Bokashi Compost than used directly in the garden, or introduced to aquaculture, so even though it may sound like it would increase the micro-nutrients in the soil, it is not recommended.

Since I first made this post I have converted two of my wicking beds to Earthan Beds. They are working very well.