Got my aquaponics project started

[Dee Jay]

now where's yours??

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Ordered arduino stuff too, for automation *rubbing hands with maniacal : lol :*

Check out these ULTIMATE BADASSES!

[Dee Jay]

Bell siphon worked great!

..did away with the white plastic liner, I just tried it so I wouldn't have to plug the planter's drain holes but the liner was too short and leaked, so I hot glued the holes and burned my finger in the process yowch! Man, once hot glue grabs onto your skin prepare for PAIN! I'm getting clumsier these days...

Your message contains too many smilies. The maximum number of smilies allowed is 8.

The planter was too big for the tank so I'll have to use reservoir drums tho not sure how that's gonna work with one pump, hmm....

[Glenn_M]

Here's mine

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and

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The mesh on top of the fish tank was hastily added after I found the dog *in* the tank trying to eat the fish.


Glenn

[NeilP]

Umm.. now..lettuce ? ..what are you really growing

[dogman]

Not what I used to grow. The greenhouse paid my colledge tuition back in the 70's. I was getting a horticulture degree.

I tried lots of things then, pumps and timers and pea gravel, etc etc. Eventually I settled on 5 gallon paint buckets filled with perlite. The buckets had drain holes 3 inches from the bottom of the bucket, so they held a bit of the water. I simply poured fertilizer water in once a day, and never had to sweat it if the timer didn't work.

[Glenn_M]

Umm.. now..lettuce ? ..what are you really growing

Vegetables and herbs of course

[Dee Jay]

Here's mine

IMG_2999 (Medium).JPG

and

IMG_2998 (Medium).JPG

The mesh on top of the fish tank was hastily added after I found the dog *in* the tank trying to eat the fish.


Glenn

hhmph...aussie,of course...



Only kidding... Welcome! Everyone with aquaponics, you are welcome to gloat Gloat GLOAT on this thread!

I have to admit, what you got looks pretty badass... but if you're the badass that you say you are you'd show us your tits! <--guts of your system... please share your innovations, share waddagot under the hood and what yer fave fish and veggies you got goin'

!

me thinks we're at peak exclamation mark i

[Dee Jay]

Umm.. now..lettuce ? ..what are you really growing

hey man, what's wrong with lettuce

[XLR8]

My son is right into aquaponics for the last couple of years. He is just starting to eat the sixty odd fish which are Jade Perch.

[The fingers]

Is it the same as in the 70's what we used to call hydroponics? (dumb question)

[Ykick]

I use those clay pellets in pots sitting half submerged in a tray of water/nutrients with an air bubbler from an Aquarium. No timer, just watch PH and change water every couple weeks. Emily's garden is a commercial version if you would like to see what I'm talking about.

Hydroponics, Aquaponics, water culture? Dunno the accurate definitions but as long as it doesn't involve dirt, Spider Mites don't seem to get as bad...

[oatnet]

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This is my 6th or 7th year using Hydroponics to grow Heirloom tomatoes (and none of that funny stuff not that there is anything wrong with it) on one of our decks. I put the seedlings into the hydroton on June 3rd, and here is their status as of this morning. I specialize in Green Zebra tomatoes, which have by far the best flavor I have found, but are so fragile they will burst if you look at them funny. These plants will get 10' high by october, and yield a stunning amount of tomatoes.

I use the General Hydroponics waterfarm 8 with the recirculating system. Instead of using a water pump whose filters can clog, uses an aquarium air pump to drive water up a column, and spray it down over the hydroton. It uses a similar column to drive the recirculating system, which is a must-have for the Waterfarm 8. In addition, I have found that a single reservoir is not enough for 8 buckets - the plants at the end of the loop don't get enough nutrients - so this year I installed (2) reservoirs, each of which feeds (4) buckets.

-JD

PS - here are pics from 2010 (dozens of Rosso Bruno's erupting on the vine) and 2011 (leaf as big as my hand from a green zebra)

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27921&start=75#p437304

[dogman]

I think I was missing something here. This is where the fish take a shit, then the water fertilizes the plants and cleans itself? I guess fish food is added to the system, but still a cool way to keep the fish pond clean.

I was just thinking it was another way to say hydroponics.

[oatnet]

I think I was missing something here. This is where the fish take a shit, then the water fertilizes the plants and cleans itself? I guess fish food is added to the system, but still a cool way to keep the fish pond clean.

I was just thinking it was another way to say hydroponics.

I misunderstood too. Cool concept, super sustainable, I need to do some research. The wife would LOVE a Koi pond.
Thanks for posting it!

-JD

[nechaus]

I had a great system running for close to 2 years,

I had to move house's and destroyed my colonies of bacterial so i didst bother setting it up since then..


The start of aquaponics can be a pain, but once 6 /8 months of the system cycling, its owns!!!
I used lots of lemons to adjust the PH level.
Im thinking of getting one of murry hallams systems

[Dee Jay]

IMG_5122_640.JPG

This is my 6th or 7th year using Hydroponics to grow Heirloom tomatoes (and none of that funny stuff not that there is anything wrong with it) on one of our decks. I put the seedlings into the hydroton on June 3rd, and here is their status as of this morning. I specialize in Green Zebra tomatoes, which have by far the best flavor I have found, but are so fragile they will burst if you look at them funny. These plants will get 10' high by october, and yield a stunning amount of tomatoes.

I use the General Hydroponics waterfarm 8 with the recirculating system. Instead of using a water pump whose filters can clog, uses an aquarium air pump to drive water up a column, and spray it down over the hydroton. It uses a similar column to drive the recirculating system, which is a must-have for the Waterfarm 8. In addition, I have found that a single reservoir is not enough for 8 buckets - the plants at the end of the loop don't get enough nutrients - so this year I installed (2) reservoirs, each of which feeds (4) buckets.

-JD

PS - here are pics from 2010 (dozens of Rosso Bruno's erupting on the vine) and 2011 (leaf as big as my hand from a green zebra)

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=27921&start=75#p437304

Good stuff Oatnet, as always!

Glad to see you guys are interested in aquaponics. I didn't wanna have to join an aquaponics forum, that would be preaching to the choir. Once I get my system going I'll promote aquaponics to our next door neighbors, to our town's daycare and elementary school, and eventually the whole of Japan.

I'm sure you EV peeps can rock a badass system so share your tips and tricks!

Im thinking of getting one of murry hallams systems

Yeah, Murry Hallam's the guru!

And Will Allen..he got $500,000 from The Macarthur Foundation just for doing what makes A LOT OF SENSE and they called him genius.



If exercising good judgement and common sense is genius, then the rest must've really de-evolved.

My system will attempt to imitate a rainforest by showering from the top down.

This will:

-cool off the water for the fish during summer

-kick off bugs on leaves, natural pest control

-and give the plants some exercise. <-- my very own original idea. Really. I think wind and rain drops stimulate plants, giving them a little workout thus thriving for more nutrients! Think about it.

[Dee Jay]

Fish has been off our menu since Tepco's crime against the Japanese people. Eating ocean fish these days is just too risky. So it makes a lot of sense to start farming our own fish.

The Achilles Heel of this system, as you know, is electricity. I can see hacking a generator to mechanically run the pumps while generating power for the computer, sensors and feeding machines. Automation and computer monitoring is nice but you have to mentally prepare for when those things goes down.. A small home system is not so bad if you get a black out, you can either fire up the back-up genie or manually dump water with a bucket. But a full-on production system?

The worst case scenario is all your fish and veggies die, in which case you can simply sell them out or just give them away, just learn from that experience, move on and start all over again.

But the risk is really worth it if you can yield high quality fish and veggies in half the time of traditional farming with soil.

I would be proud to farm and sell high quality fish and veggies at a farmer's market. There really is nothing like fresh fish. I had a friend who went fishing just out off Tokyo bay and he came back with a good sized dolphin fish, but he fishes only for sport so he gave it to me. I fried it up that evening and wow, I had never eaten a day's catch before. I couldn't believe how good fresh fish was!

Also, my inlaws grow veggies at home. They send us their excess and other veggies that they bartered with their neighbors. Again, high quality stuff! Supermarket produce just do not compare.

[Glenn_M]

Dee Jay - mine is a commercial system, didn't go the DIY route, although I plan to extend the system.
Presently the 1000L tank is stocked with rainbow trout. Grow about 25 at a time. From fingerlings to plate size in about 8-9months.
Feed them a fish food I get from my supplier.

Recirc comes from a 55w submerged pump in the tank. Runs 15min on / 30min off continually.
Grow medium is the expanded clay balls. Only one growbed at the moment although the tank/fish will support a second.

I swear you can almost see the vegies growing. Green leafy stuff, brocoli, peppers, tomatoes etc all successfully grown. Going to try watermelons next summer!

Cheers,
Glenn

[Dee Jay]

Dee Jay - mine is a commercial system, didn't go the DIY route, although I plan to extend the system.
Presently the 1000L tank is stocked with rainbow trout. Grow about 25 at a time. From fingerlings to plate size in about 8-9months.
Feed them a fish food I get from my supplier.

Recirc comes from a 55w submerged pump in the tank. Runs 15min on / 30min off continually.
Grow medium is the expanded clay balls. Only one growbed at the moment although the tank/fish will support a second.

I swear you can almost see the vegies growing. Green leafy stuff, brocoli, peppers, tomatoes etc all successfully grown. Going to try watermelons next summer!

Cheers,
Glenn

yeah I noticed, your grow bed, tank, and frame are all uniform. It looks really NICE! What brand is it?

do you have an auto feeder or any computer monitoring?

are the clay balls reusable or does it degrade?

The dog incident is pretty funny! Hey how about an automatic forced pooping system: feed them on the dot, then sic the dog on em to scare-the-shit-of-them! Or a solar powered toy shark. only kidding! It would prolly stress them out and die

The beauty of aquaponics is you can start very small till you get the hang of it. My aquarium is just a starter, as well as entertainment for the kiddies. When I do expand to your level, I'll build a wooden box tank with pond liner, but also with a glass window (somehow) so the kids can do some visual fishing just for kicks, Heck, I might even charge the neighborhood kids for some fun and fish!

BTW, tilapia is banned in Japan, can you believe that? aquaponic farmers should be permitted to farm tilapia since we don't deal with oceans and rivers!

[Glenn_M]

yeah I noticed, your grow bed, tank, and frame are all uniform. It looks really NICE! What brand is it?

do you have an auto feeder or any computer monitoring?

are the clay balls reusable or does it degrade?

Got it from http://www.growfresh-aquaponics.com.au/ how just heppens to be less than 1km from my place. Dean, the owner, is an awesome guy. He even came to feed my fish when we went away at Christmas!
No auto feeder yet - but I am in the process of making one (old 12V cordless drill, battery, DC timer and an auger). Got to get all working before this Christmas. Computer monitoring? Nah - sounds too complicated. I test the water chemistry every now and again. When I change the water or put in new fish I monitor daily until the chemistry is stable then she just chugs along.

The balls are resusable but the do degrade as well. They are actually quite brittle and break up when moved a little. Once a year the system gets a clean when a new batch of fish are added. The growbed is washed and then topped up with balls - usually only one 25L bag is needed.

The dog is mental. My kids like to fish in the pond too. But then they get bored when fishing in the river as they have to wait more than 10sec for a bite.

Cheers,
Glenn

[amberwolf]

I am tempted to start a project like this, because I could use the veggies. But I suspect I will have worse problems than Glenn's, as my dogs are big enough to do whatever the heck they feel like with the fish or the plants. I would have better luck just planting in soil in plastic or glass containers to keep the water in (rather than let it just soak away into the rest of the soil). Problme is finding a way to keep the dogs out of it, but still let sunlight and air in.

[Dee Jay]

I am tempted to start a project like this, because I could use the veggies. But I suspect I will have worse problems than Glenn's, as my dogs are big enough to do whatever the heck they feel like with the fish or the plants. I would have better luck just planting in soil in plastic or glass containers to keep the water in (rather than let it just soak away into the rest of the soil). Problme is finding a way to keep the dogs out of it, but still let sunlight and air in.

AW, just snarl at yer dogs and tell them "I'll get my nutrition one way or another, the choice is yours" RUFF!

back in 'nam all charlie needs is a cold rice ball and some dog meat and he is good to go...

seriously, I hope you figure it out!

[Dee Jay]

check it out!

this what I have in mind..

EDIT: just worked on the back up power system.

not yet perfect but the more I draw it out the easier it is to see the faults and easier to prioritize the parts I need to buy

I'll add a solar panel charger eventually

[Dee Jay]

my dogs are big enough to do whatever the heck they feel like with the fish or the plants.

AW, you don't need a glass aquarium (tho it would be nice and relaxing to watch your fish), a wood box with pond liner and lockable lid would do. Just make sure to pump air into it, throw in a couple fish toys, and entertainment like dvd player and LCD screen and fish will be fine

For your own entertainment, hook up USB cam and light and check out your fish.

As for plants, raise the grow beds out of dog's reach.

Sometimes, thinking yourself into a box and then breaking out of it is what we need to do! works for me...

[Thud]

Just piping in to say thanks for this thread!

The wife & I both enjoy gardening but its been a few years since we tilled & planted anything (we had a 90+% loss to deer in the last 2 years we did it ) I should take some pictures of the guy up the road with an acre garden, totaly fenced in with 10' high chain link complete with roof...looks like a prison LOL!

This year I really missed the activity....I may set up an experimental system in the basment this winter & see how far I will scale it up whe it moves outdoors. Imagine a nice gazeebo/koi pond sitting area with a greenhouse attached...perfect way to spend an evening. Maybe a great excuse to build the geodesic dome I fancy for no particular reason.