Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

thanks TCLynx

that’s a great idea to germinate seeds I will have to try it, but i was looking for a way of reducing the weight of the grow beds and maybe eliminating the medium altogether

Aero is probably the most complicated way to acheive it but still worth a go for the fun value.
NFT is a low media method, another one good for small plants is Mat Hydroponics, it uses a roll of cheap jute cloth (hessian) in a long shallow tray/trough with a steady drip feeding one end. Capillary action distributes the water along the jute to the roots.

VB, the disc is surplus one from a CDA ultra low volume sprayer, its about 90mm dia and has hundreds of teeth. It originally used a 12v dc motor and batteries but the motor lifespan was short with 10k rpm bursts so i`ve decided to mod it with a beefier 240v ac motor and pulleys.
The firms tech guy recommended the speed and flow for 50um average droplet size. At 10k rpm with 60ml/min flowrate the mist is invisible until it hits you

I enquired about their large spinning disc greenhouse humidifier (pricey at £250+ and very noisy), but it would need a speed controller as the standard droplet range is too small (5-20um). I scrapped the idea as the disc and fan were driven by the same motor so you couldn`t control the disc speed independantly.

Gravel beds with FD are a lot less hassle

Trying to eliminate the media due to weight...... So what sort of bio filter are you using to take the place of the media? And What sort of solids filtration are you using?

The wick idea could probably also work without media but the plants would probably tend to flop over. Just run your wicks though your cover so that the wicks hang into the water and the top end is where you want your seed and start the seeds on the wicks. Then you don't really need to worry about mist to moisten the seeds but you still want some sort of aeration for the water since many plant diseases thrive in non aerated water.

I actually have some plants growing in some filter material that is simply laid on top of the "cage" over one of my fish tanks. There is some splashing right near there from an inlet to the fish tank and the plants too root into the filter material pretty quickly. It was an easy way to make use of the otherwise wasted splashing along with providing a little more shade to the tank and creating some extra plat area.

[quote="TCLynx"]Trying to eliminate the media due to weight...... So what sort of bio filter are you using to take the place of the media? And What sort of solids filtration are you using?



I was only thinking of growing soft herbs to start, chives and basil. i am looking at the roots of the plants acting as the 'bio filter' by having them suspended above the water and the splashing will add the nutrient factor for the plants to grow, very experimental

i will probably add a wick to a couple of the seed pouches and do a comparison as i like that idea

TCLynx can you please post pic of the plants & wicks that you have above your tank.

Well, here are a couple of pics of the wicks installed in yogurt cups. The pics are from back in my hydroponic days but the method is about the same.


These are just pulled from my old hydroponics web page
http://www.hydroponics.tclynx.com/

Important things about the wicks. I initially tried this using cotton mop string and it did not work. The cotton just did not wick very well and definitely not more than an inch or two above the water surface. The bright white rayon mop strings wick much better but they are still only likely to lift the water 4-5 inches above the surface.

It is raining at the moment so I don't really want to take the camera out and try to get pictures by the system, that will have to wait.

Good luck with your experiment.

thanks for the pic TCLynx a very simple idear its great.


also there was a lot of great info on the hyro link, you have been very busy.

regards

thanks for the pic TCLynx a very simple idear its great.


also there was a lot of great info on the hyro link, you have been very busy.

regards

opps