Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I was thinking of adding this to my new system design as the sump.



picture a floating table that will rise when there is more than one GB dumping into the sump at the same time, and is limited by the height of its legs when the water level gets lower. This would allow some air to the roots from time to time.

How much and how often the roots are exposed would be set with the length of the legs.

I was thinking about using it as a melon/pumkin patch with the plant overflowing to the surrounding ground.

Obviously some accommodation would need to be made for pump tubes etc

Has anyone tried this?

Comments or suggestions???

sorry if someone else has had this idea before me, but I couldn't see it anywhere.

-craig

I don't know of anyone doing quite this sort of set up. I will warn to plan out how the grow beds will drain into the sump without splashing all over the top of your raft as this could pose a problem especially when plants are small.

Also, pumpkins and melons of at least some varieties can have really extensive root systems. You might want to sort out some way to protect your pump from being overgrown in roots and getting clogged up.

I guess I could make the siphons drain directly into the sump below the level of the plants...The general idea was that the grow bed should float on the rising tide at all times.

The plan was that the GB would float above the pump by 300 to 500 mm will the roots reach that far?

perhaps this is an ill conceived idea

I was just trying to make use of all available space

-craig

It isn't a bad idea, just might need some adjustments to avoid problems.

See I had a raft of plants floating in my sump tank but if they floated around to near where one of the growbeds drained into the sump, there was a good chance it would get splashed on. See my sump is not perfectly regular enough to be certain that a raft will remain in the exact position I might want and as splashing comes from different directions the raft tends to float to a different position. When I added another bunch of grow beds and a new drain, I found the raft getting splashed on enough that gravel was coming out of the cups.

As to the roots, well it will depend on the plants. I've heard of some one trying to grow giant pumpkins on hydroponics and their roots took over the containers like no one would believe.

I like to have at least a net cover over my sump tank to keep leaves out of the pump but when the water level fluctuates too much (like a heavy rain) suddenly my plants were jammed up against the netting and getting smashed. I may still try to grow lettuce in the sump but not till I work out a few more things. Provided none of the grow beds drains onto the top of the raft, I think it makes a great place to start seedlings in cups to have ready for the nft pipes or other transplanting.

You may need some fish or yabbies to trim the roots a bit. How you control the "bit" would come down to the number of fish and what damage they do.

The GB water returning to the sump would provide some o2 to the water, where as to deliver it below the surface would minimize this.

I would think vines would keep the table from going up and down - maybe use more compact plants?

good points, I think I need to reconsider this

crazy rooted plants, oxygen staved water and a levitating table - that's not going to work


thanks