Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

How do you do that? Run off battery with a constant charger?

With mine the 240v keeps the changeover open, power loss automatically closes it. So the inverter is the likely point of failure.

"nearly never" is still too often when you have $1000's of dollars of fish.

Correct Novaris 5.5A @12v current draw, have around 6.5A going into the battery with two seperate chargers, from different power points.

I agree, Ozzie
That is why I suggested to put two of them in parallel for nearly 100% security, say 99.9999...%
it is like putting two engines in your car in case one runs down: not really necessary, but if you need security, That can be a solution.
I would not leave my car in the garage for fear of the near impossibility that the second engine breaks down at the exact same moment as the first

a changeover switch is cheap enough to put two in parallel for 99.9999...% security

What has happened to you is bad luck, Novaris

As far as I can see on your drawing you have CHIFT PIST
so I imagine the fish had enough water but not enough oxygen
what was the trouts' density in the tank?
was the pump shut off by a level switch? or did it run dry too long?
I would add a light and sound alarm to this switch.

Personally I plan to have a simple flow switch on the return gutter just before the inflow of the pump into the fish tank.
This switch when tripped will cut off the pump and serve as level protection switch but also if for any reason the pump is partially or completely blocked even if there is enough water in the sump
the flow switch when tripped will also action a small 12 V submerged pump in the tank that pumps straight into the return gutter just before the flow switch
this switch will have to be time delayed

I earlier suggested to put an overflow on the sequencer box directly to the sump and not use siphons but fast fill/slow drain: recirculation to the fish tank stays guaranteed, draining stays guaranteed and your valves allow you to decide the individual timing and frequency of each grow bed's flood and drain.

this setup will also allow me to switch on/off the sump pump at will when no growbed needs filling as then the small 12V pump will automatically take over

I plan to use the 12V version of the Siemens Logo! for programming as each exit is a relay with it's own in and out, so each exit can either switch 12V or 220 V as needed

my two cents

Frank

Not so much bad luck as unfinished design and testing. I have been testing for a while now and am still not getting 100% results that I want. It seems the system is being triggered by emf spikes I was out there the other day and we had a thunder storm and the system switched with a lightning strike. I also found one of the mercury switches seems to be sticking, I have replaced it with a micro switch. So far the problems have not been in the actuator or flap systems.

Its amazing how a little warmth makes a big difference, growth has really moved and it is overtaking the dirt garden now:)

wow, well done

I pulled my first carrot from the original temporary bed it was meant to be a ball carrot, funny nobody told it, it was almost 15cm. It was in scoria so it looks like they can grow without forking. Problem was too much water caused splitting. I am not sure if the others are the same.

I have started a test on a potting system for my hothouse nursery (when it gets built). The pots are made from wood fiber and coconut coir. The pot is very porous and water fills the pot and drains at the same rate as the growbed. The idea is I will have 30" deep beds for the filtration but the pots will sit on the top and flood and drain like normal.

The pots use air root pruning, i.e. when the root tries to grow through it encounters air and stops. A new node then starts inside the pot when the pot is planted the stopped root starts to grow as per normal. This should help prevent transplant shock. However, I am not sure if the flood and drain will allow the roots to keep growing nor if the pot will remain intact long enough. They breakdown completely within 12 months of planting in soil.

Hi Novaris,
Have been busy and have not kept up with your efforts but read through tonight.
Well done, do not forget to call in when you come up this way.
As this was your short pants stamping ground a visit should stir up some memories.
Alex

Sorry about the lose of the fish. I was worried about use of a mercury tilt switch though. Mercury is not a good idea anywhere in a food production process. If it ever leaked for any reason, the whole batch would need to be thrown away. You might look at using a tilt switch with a weighted ball inside or a capacitive prox sensor. I'll try to remember to look one up for you.

PROX switch
http://web5.automationdirect.com/adc/Sh ... CT1_Series)/CT1-A
A prox will read through the plastic pipe or tank wall.


Automation Direct now offers a small PLC called the Click, with FREE programming software for those that don't want to learn how to use a 555 timer. And it runs on 24VDC, so two automotive type batteries can be used as a backup power supply.
http://web5.automationdirect.com/adc/Ov ... icro_Brick)
They have a sales office in Australia so I will guess the products are available there too.

Actually if it leaked it could be anywhere in the system i.e removing the fish is not really enough, Though with the current setup I am not greatly worried about leaks. I am however seriously considering using a water level sensor in the auto-siphon/standpipe and timing the switch-over. After using it the mercury switch is not what I would recommend.

Ok it's time for a system update. It's the middle of the worst heatwave in a hundred years yesterdays temp over 44c, tank reached 26c, trout not showing any problem but I am not feeding yesterday or today. Today is expected to be 44c again and the following week well over 30c.
Following is the steps I have taken to date and plans for the future, the next few days will tell if I can keep the trout all year.

I have shaded most of the GB and tank walls, I never did get to try the insulating paint.

I have 6, 3 liter milk containers frozen with water and have been cycling one about every 1.5 hrs. Yesterday I started with 25c water and added 14kg of ice in two 7kg batches plus 3 milk bottles into the evening.

My system has about 1800L split between tank and sump, for air and cooling I currently run main pump at about 1800L p/h, a 3000L p/h wave pump to cause significant surface ripple and tank circulation, and a 30L p/m air pump in main tank.

Planned for addition today is a 1000L underground tank (UGT). Late yesterday this tank was at 21.5c and it is not yet fully underground. The idea is that I will pump from the UGT during the warmest part of the day. I will post details of the UGT setup soon.

Current tank temp 25c at 9am

After a couple of attempts to seal the cap of the underground tank I think its ready to bury completely. The tank sits at about 22c and can drop the system 1 to 2 degrees so it seems likely to achieve what I want. In addition I suspect I will be able to use it in the winter evenings to limit temperature drops which should help keep the Bacteria happy.

The tank sits about 1.2m down the hole is filled with sand for about the first third then with scoria to about 20cm above the tank.

I have had good success with the carrot experiment, carrots grew well, good shape, no splitting. The only problem is I think they need more watering than the once a day I was using, they reached the flood level so did not suffer for water but grew slower than I expected. I have now had good results with parsnips and carrots. I will be working on the root bed extension soon (after the heat is over) and am confident I will be able to grow most root or tuber vegies

Tomatoes are going great now heaps of fruit set so I think the ox hearts need more warmth, I will only grow them in the warm fish system in future.

Good efforts novaris.
Sounds like your having a little more fun

Yeah it's all good