Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Well I have been working on my system, just been quite lacking on the postings here but have been lurking. I've added a 4 bulb T8 light I got from my brother-in-law and have changed the other grow lights over to an "adjustable height" system to bring them closer to my grow bed plants. Also changed out the small little fountain pump for a larger one that is running the system MUCH better. Had to split the output and recirculate some right back into the fish tank.

I have run into an issue I'm not sure about how to deal with, so my first thought was the forums on BYA site! Here are some updated pics as my system is now. The issue I am seeing is the seedlings that sprout nicely nearly always seem to wither and die out when they get to be about 2-3 inches tall. The seedlings in the pics are lettuce, mustard, and a few dill too. I have alot of a brown algae that has popped up in the system. Not sure if that is the culprit or something else is happening. My testing is all doing well, pH ~ 7.5, Amonia & Nitrites = 0, and Nitrates fluctuate between 20 and 60.

My mature plants are doing rather well as the peppers are enlarging, the spaghetti, butternut and zuchinni squash are all slowly growing and the climbing spinach has taken off and growing like a weed, as normal! It only seems to be the seedlings, either that sprout from within the grow bed or are transplanted from soil.

Any idea's would be more than welcome!!

Well, I'm sure the algae can't be helping, eating all the nutrients your plants should be enjoying. Maybe the little ones are just more suceptible to starvation. Can you block all your water from light?

Ain't I the idiot!!!! I'm trying to find the complicated answer and you give me a simple possibility. Just goes to show you, fresh eyes can do wonders!! (he says with egg on his face!! )

kthignight24, that does appear to be working! So far the squash plants that were starting out are still going pretty strong. Most of the mustard & kale are getting larger then the ones I've tried before. The lettuce & radish seeds are getting as big as they had been so the next week or so should tell.

Thanks for the slap upside the head!!! Seems to be just what I needed. Now I need to get a valve installed on my flood tank inlet to slow down the filling and lower the water level in the grow bed. As you can see by the pics, even with the flow cut in half the water level is still a bit too high.

I'm glad it seems to be working. I try to keep 1" of gravel dry in my growbeds and ensure that no water gets direct sunlight. Even with that, my IBCs are translucent, so I get algae growing on the sides. I can't really see your plumbing. It would be ideal to lower the level while maintaining as much water flow as possible.

Yeah, I had about 1" too before I replaced the pump. The new pump may be a bit more then what this little system can handle. I had to add the recirculation hose to keep the grow bed from overflowing.

Here's a pic of the plumbing. I've marked it with the blue arrows showing the recirculation hose, yellow from the pump, green to the flood tank and white is the drain from the grow bed. The recirculation hose includes the coil on the floor in the upper right of the pic. Both the recirculation hose and the GB drain feed into the PVC pipe for further aeration.

Is there a standpipe in the Growbed? Looks like a fun little set up!

Nope, simple 1/2" bulkhead with the tubing attached, under the white arrow in the pic. I studied the Barrelponics design and wanted to start a bit smaller to get my feet wet. Somewhat of a prelimenary system to help me understand the how to's and what for's.

Glad I did now, as I have just recently heard that one of the high schools close has decided to start using their greenhouse once again and is looking for volunteers and ideas!!

Nice. Go for it!

Oh, I see. So the water just comes straight out the bottom. I see now why your grow bed level is coupled so tightly w/ your flow. Any ideas yet for the greenhouse and/or your next system?

My next system I'm thinking will be along the lines of what Fuzzytubes has for his pictured in
http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=10495
Already have 3 of the barrells, with the growbeds and the sump tank cut, just waiting to cut the fish tank until I get the cinder blocks, pvc, and lumbar. I am thinking I want to change that system so I have a syphon type instead of a straight drain hose. I can see the benefits of them now!!!

As for the HS greenhouse, waiting to hear back from them about it. Will likely make my way up there early next week to see if I can chat with them without an appointment. I'll need to see what they are doing and what kind of space they may have available for an AP system.

I run Constant Flood w/ a standpipe in 2 of my beds and that works great, simple and gives a reliable water level.

Do you have any pics or a thread about your set up? I'm always getting great ideas, big & small, from the pics I see on BYA.

Took a deep breath and plunged in to changing my learning system over to a bell syphon system. Working great, with NO issues of overfilling!! Best move I've made since starting the system up!




You can see the entire album in proper percpective @ https://plus.google.com/photos/10683385 ... 3213924737