Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Tom,

Thanks for your feedback. Your whole setup looks great.

My first ripe strawberry in AP... they are doing pretty well so far... may need more nutrients though. Also I have switched the pump to the strawberry towers from constant to 30min on and 30min off.

strawberries are looking great tom!
I have just put some alpine strawberries in next to my normal strawberries hoping to see some good results. I have also planted Peruvian groundcherries aka cape gooseberry, so far so good already flowering and going to fruit after only a month or so, fingers crossed soon I will have plenty of sweet things to pick on while im working on my system

Thanks Rob,

We also have gooseberries but they are in the ground not the AP, big problem is that some insect burrows into them and eats the berry! oh well

So I have a question...

I need a float switch for my 2 pumps since in case my sump starts to lose water the pumps won't run dry.
Now I could buy a float switch with a piggy back plug... but it would cost around $50-60... or I could do what I did and buy a bare wired float switch and a piggy back extension cord and splice them together... Now I am no electrician and after looking at the wires on each (they are different colours) I was wondering if anyone else has done this. I have searched the net and it seems people have done it in different ways, some use relays as they say 240v is too much for the float switch.. but mine said it was rated for 240v so I figure it should be ''ok'
Any advice?
This is the float switch I bought http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/150999072404?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Sounds dodgy.

get an electrician to do the wiring.

hehe yeah... but there is only 3 wires... I mean it can be that difficult right?
I'm the reason safety switches in houses are necessary

Hey Tom,

First of all have enjoyed reading your tale tonight, lot of ideas going on and i agree with your mother about the pizza oven. It just looks so much more unique. Um just wondering if you have tried using an aquarium gravel siphon you can cut them to a shorter size to get under those GB. Just a thought mate, keep up the great work.

Tom

These Ebay "specials" can be used with 240V but you need to know what you are doing.

One of the wires will be a "common".
One of the other wires will form a normally close (NC) pathway and the other wire a NO (normally open) pathway with the "common" wire.

You may need an Ohm meter connected between any two wires, whilst you invert the switch, to determine which pathway is NO and which is NC.


I suggest you talk to a sparky. You can get yourself killed if you wire this incorrectly

Gabe

Thanks, good to hear you enjoyed the read
I do have one of those siphons for our little 30L aquarium.. the one I have would move too little a volume and may not pick up some of the left over dolomite and larger particles in the sump... a larger version would possible work, it would not be difficult to make one from say a 2 litre softdrink bottle and some 22 mm irrigiation hose.. but I may try using my spare 6500L pump as a vacuum first... i tried it before but i think some air was getting in which was preventing it from working properly... this time I will leave it submerged.. thanks for the suggestion though

Hi Gabe,

Thanks for the response and yeah I think I will ask one of my neighbours who is a sparky, since my usual approach of trial and error is not really appropriate in this case

Update!

Well here are some pictures of the growth lately, it has been going quite well. I have noticed a mouse has been eating some of my strawberries and young tomatoes... so traps have been placed!

Also I have bought 2x200L blue barrels for the top off water, i just need to build a stand for it to gravity feed the sumps.
Also I have now added 50g of the new EDDHA Iron which has turned my water blood red... the fish don't seem to care, not that I can see them anymore!

System is powering mate!

How much chelated iron did you add? We must be using very different products, mine definitely isnt a red colour...

Thanks,

I added 50g of EDDHA Iron which is about half of the amount I was going to add for my 3000L. For some reason this iron is like a red die, even a small amount would colour the water.
The EDHA Iron I had before left no colouring.
What type of iron do you use? EDHA, DTPA or EDDHA?