Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Obviously some down our way don't have the same qualms about that as you do Janet





Due to possible legal ramifications, content has been removed from this post.

Do people really spend that much for so little? I built my whole latest system for less than $500.

Including fish and tank.

If they don't know what they are doing, or aren't very handy, they probably do spend that kind of money.

...but let's not go there, folks.

I bet the kitchen kit includes an oven/hob to cook the fish and veg after harvesting

Thought I should convert the measurements to metric for those not used to the old imperial measures:

1) place wet sand in base of pipe to a depth of 50mm
2) mix 20 heaped tblspns of wet sand to 10 level tablspns of activated charcoal...(that is 2 heaped of wet sand to 1 level of charcoal)
3) place mix in on top of previously added wet sand and tamp lightly
4) place 5 heaped tblspns of wet sand in mixing bowl and shake, making sure that any charcoal residue is picked up...this is the icing so to speak
5) fill pipe to within 25mm of top and tamp lightly

Please note....as water is added continuously, the ingredients will pack down slightly...just add wet sand to keep level at approx 25mm

TOE

JAM

Looks good. Now let's see how it does!

Quick update.

Anthony the RSG came over last night, and wanted to see the system after he and I worked on a presentation for tonight. He couldn't believe how suddenly the nitrates dropped after I got the pH corrected, but after I described the whole sequence to him, and the fact that the pH was lower than 6.6 but I can't measure lower, he decided it all fit. He was quite tickled to learn that Les is testing out an RSG filter, and is eager to hear the results. Les, you'll have to outline your test case--are you just going to run water with nitrates but no plants, and see if the nitrates start disappearing?

The hour was late, but he also went off on a big discourse on all the fungi and other micro-organisms that work as symbiotic partners with plant roots, exchanging nutrients that each lifeform can capture or generate for what is needed. Without being aware of the AP research that other scientists are doing (Savidov, for example), he categorically stated that plant growth would be better in an established AP system rather than a hydroponics system. I outlined the Savidov research that proved exactly that, and he was delighted.

He was also quite interested in the test kits I had, and what units of measure they used. He is accustomed to something more scientific than ppm. I think he said something about 'molar'. I'm sure that has something to do with molar weights of things, but I work in the units that my test kit does, so ppm for me. He was quite impressed with the idea of diluting a water sample with distilled water to get readings that would normally be too high for my test kit to read. He claims I'm turning into a geo-chemist. Quite a complement, since that is what he is--with a PhD, too.

He was delighted by the idea of twisting the water distribution pipes to increase/decrease the water flow to the RSG filters.

He blinked a bit when I said I was using Calcium hydroxide to help raise the pH, but liked the potassium bicarbonate better. (So do I, in fact. Less chance to mess up since it's a pH 8 instead of 12, and it doesn't make fine dust clouds.) He started to ask why not use sodium bicarbonate, but immediately saw that the plants would like the potassium bicarb better. Where on earth was I getting potassium bicarb he wondered, and then had to laugh when I told him that wine hobbyists use it as a buffer. I think he's so used to getting stuff from a Scientific supply house that perhaps he doesn't realize that some of this stuff is used for common purposes, too.

This morning when I checked the system, I found that when we spooked the fish by waking them up last night, they knocked my underwater valve out of place. The water flow to my beds was low all night, but no big problem. The slight ammonia spike that caused will be gone tonight, so the fishies can have some dinner.

nice bit of networking there JP

Neat stuff, JP. I guess I could stop by the local winery to ask them for the hookup?

I ordered my potassium bicarb thru eBay. I'm sure there would be a local wine hobby store that could hook you up, too. Local winery might be able to help, but might not be interested in going to the trouble unless you were a regular.

btw, I'm using 1-2 tablespoons potassium bicarb per day right now, although earlier I was up to 3 tablespoons per day. Maybe just establishing my buffering capacity? Dunno, but based on the pH tests, the system wanted it.

I just found this thread. AWSOME!
I love to soak up info and apply it like this.

I have been thinking about adding a tub filled 4" with sand (to make a deep sand bed), and growing duckweed on top to reduce my nitrates.

Now, looking at my existing grow beds, why not try this:
My beds are little 25 gallon rectangular tubs, with a loop siphon at the bottom. I did not clean my gravel because it was frozen, so there is a little bit of sand or silt at the bottom that you can see. Why not rework the bed so that it is half filled with sand, and put the loop siphon outlet midway down instead of at the bottom. The top half would still be filled with gravel, but since there is a volume of sand at the bottom that doesn't get drained then it would encourage anaerobic goodness, yes? The water would still be circulating past the sand so that nitrates could diffuse down to the proper zone. If necessary you could reduce the flow to make it a slower water movement.