Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Have been adding fish 5 at a time, because the system was started up frm scratch and needed to cycle. Ammonia and nitriete peaks can be softened by adding fish gradually.

In total i have 5 goldies and 35 jade perch in there at the moment only plants are 3 silver beets, so i think that as soon as the nitrite drops and is being fully converted to nitrate ( i recon about another week max) i should see some nice growth

I think we should have a nitrite race.

Steve
Yes the wind moved my seedling greenhouse a few metres..ripped the holding cords off the sides...

My growth seems to be moving skyward now...had a rocket that shot up a flower in a day and the lettuces and womboks are growing more leaves..had to raise the greenhouse up on bricks to accomodate cos lettuce in top bed..With more sunlight and less cloudy conditions i think I will have to start harvesting...

Checked water again after dave put out the nitrite challenge

Temp: 19C
PH : 7.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites........................................: 0!

so i should start seeing the plants take off soon, just wish the water temp was a bit higher so they had more of an appetite.

See how the PH was originally around the 8 mark, and as the nitrification starts to take hold it brings it down. A gradual decrease in ph in a new system is a good sign of thigs working.

Oh, i got a quote for the steel for my green house...................$600. I might need to scale it down a tad for now i can always extend it......

Hey Steve,
What was the time from initial water to full cycle?

Dave from memory its about 30 days under ideal conditions. upto 90 days with very low temp. I think LB noticed a speed up when he raised his tank temp.

Visit the useful information section and read up on nitrifying bacteria facts if you have not already done so, it gives you the indeal PH and temps for bacteria growth.

Steve

Yep sure did...maintained about 20C at the moment..notice the difference in a few weeks..

Steve - what is the wall thickness of the 25 x 25 RHS that you intend to use? Are u using blue painted or gal? How far apart were you going to put each post/arch? I wonder if you can get away with putting them further apart. I am no engineer so would like to know the maximum distance apart so as to save on metal - which is friggin expensive. I had over $500 worth deliverred today, which will make my first 2 grow-bed stands as well as a rack for my trailer to transport my bass catcher type canoe. Bought 36m of 50 x 50 x 5 angle, 16m 40 x 40 x 3 RHS and 8m 50 x 50 x 3 RHS. The angle and 50 X 50 rhs is for the grow-beds. They are going to be sturdy buggers (subject to my welds) and they need to be if they are to hold 500 litres of gravel as well as a couple of hundred litres of water in the floood cycle .

Would love to see a plan of your greenhouse Steve ( think you promised it a while ago .

Would be interested in hearing from you and AA as to why you are favouring the type of design you are (the single sloping roof type - can't rembember what it is called) as opposed to gable or high tunnel. I am not set as to which I will go for - though no access to a roll bender will most likely rule out the high tunnell.

VB,

Size was 25 x 25 x 1.6 BLUE

I was going to put each vertical post approx 1.2m (or what ever the standard sheet size was for the plastic or polycarbonate was)

I'm no engineer, so i rely on dads 35 years of experience as a fitter & turner and let him judge it. He usually over "engineers" anyway.

I was quoted $4 per meter for the quantity i needed, somehow i think i was being ripped off, so i will get some more quotes when i have a chance. Either that or i 'll down size for now. I just really need to get something up as i'm itching to plant out in larger growbeds, and my system is ready to rock and roll as far as the water chemistry goes

Decided against the poly tunnel for looks. Its by far the cheapest and easiest (easier to double skin too), but i wanted something that didn
t look out of place, if you know what i mean.

I chose sloping roof due to the stupid location i put my tank in the ground. the sloping roof will give me great sunlight through the roof during winter and should be easy to shade durning the summer. Gable would not give me as much sun during winter for the location i chose.

Attached is a very rough design i had in mind.

Actually, as i look at it i am deciding more and more not to do it. the only ground level sun i will have during winter will be the far south 1m, at chest height i'll have sun at about the south 2m. hhhhmmmmmmmmm i hate choices!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The ideal place for it wiould be on the opposide fence line as this gets FULL sun during winter. What on earth was i thinking?

I'm not too good at drawing, if anyone wants to convert that scrappy pic into that sketch up program then go for it I can see how powerful and easy the program is but i have been scarred regarding graphics and art from high school. Teachers have a huge responsibility on them, and some simply shouldn't have the job.

VB, i think that your stands could probably hold 5x their design weight easy

just think about how many Kgs can go on those crappy pine pallets.

Where will your stands be? if they are on grass then you may have a problem. From memory there were no "plates" under the legs. You may find that with the load on it the stand will simply sink into the dirt!

if it is on the grass or soil, then i'd weld 30cm square plates to the legs.

Steve

Sounds to me like you need to move your tank Steve. For all the money you are going to end up committing to this thing, why not get a dingo for the weekend to dig yourself a new hole nice and easy, or even get a bobcat, with driver, in for an hour or 2. You will be suprised how cheap it will turn out.

Reason I asked about the design is that I read that gable and high tunnel are the most efficient. Of course , the situation has to be considerred (as in your case).

I would be happy enough to go for a high tunnel, i do not live in suburbia, so it would not look out of place. I am just not keen on paying for some mob to bend the pipe (and then get it to my place). I like to do these things as much as possible myself (not that I am overly capable). This is why gable is reasonably attractive to me (I can cut and weld the RHS myself). This will be much more expensive than a tunnel made from gal pipe though. I guess I should get some quotes for bending for a tunnel design . I am thinking straight pipe with an arch welded to the top. That would save costs on bending and transport and will give me the high dome shape I am after.

This is where I was looking at the different designs

Greenhouse designs

Hey all,
My greenhouse is going to end up half way between a flat arch and a raised dome (on that link). I got the pipe back from the benders and the arch has a diameter of about 4 metres and a height of about 1.8. I had to cut the arches in half to transport them, but it didn't matter as something had to be cut to end up with a frame that is flush.
I am going to concrete in posts about 3 or 4 feet high with a rail around the top and base of the posts for strength, and to stop end to end movement/swaying and weld the arches to the posts, so I will have flat sides about 4 feet then the 4 mtr wide arches on top. Saturday is my start day, got the helpers organised so we should have the posts in by the end of the day hopefully.

Steve, I reckon VB is right, get a guy with a backhoe to dig you a new tank hole in a better spot. The short term financial pain will be long forgotten and replaced by long term growing gain

Monya

Steve - there will be angle around the top, with lip facing upwards. As well as the side pieces, there will be three extra pieces of angle going from side to side to provide extra support for the bottom of the grow-bed. Those will of course face downwards. The four legs will be either 50 x 50 or 40 x 40 RHS. On the bottom, I will have angle welded all around to stop the sinking effect, provide extra support and make sure there is no chance of topple over. Do you get what I mean, or do I need to do a drawing.

Monya, does that mean that at the highest point in the dome it will be 10 feet off the ground? Could put some tall towers in that bugger. I'm freakin jealous. Rmind me how much the bending cost you and how far appart the arches are from each other.

What are the posts going to be made out of Stuart. Gal pipe or RHS?

Here you go. Obviously the best orientation is to have the long wall facing north for the winter sun, which is a pitty, as the back fence has a lot of space i could use, but then again thats over the easement.............see what i mean? I might still go the polly tunnel............who knows anymore.

LB, i envy your small system