Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Has anyone tried one of these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/181086642319?lpid=82

12V 100W water heater element.

I think I could build a 100 W PV system for a little more than $100.

IT takes a lot of energy to heat a system. It can be done but you must be prepared to pay the bill.

Rather than buying a whole stack of those heating elements and running them with PV you would be better served heating water directly through a solar heater.

Lots of threads that discuss this but the key is having your system inside some sort of structure where you can control the temperature.

My 2 barrel system is just coming together but I've built the GB over the FT (which is buried 2 feet deep) and plan to enclose it all in insulation. That only leaves the tops of the grow beds exposed. I was thinking about adding a hoop greenhouse on top of the grow beds but I have already acquired another barrel and a 50 gallon pond. Both donated by interested neighbors