Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Tim,

For the record i was a BIG cont. flow advocate.

I started off with a tub the same size as yours, running cont. flow. Great results.

Then i moved onto a bath tub...........not so good. I found it near impossible to get anywhere near 100% water coverage, and have desperatly been trying to cnvert mine to F&D since

I noticed that the plants that were planted near enough to some water flow established roots quickly and thrived, and the ones planted in the "drier patches" grew woefully until their roots found water.

Heres a picture of the lettuces..... again the one on the left is f&d and the one on the right is continuous flow.

Agreed flood and drain is what I am working towards.For node 2..
C1

I am converting to F&D too - cont flow works well in small tubs but bath tubs and bigger seem to need the F&D - which is why I am working on auto siphons - that way you can still use small pumps

nice work tim,

good to see the 2 different methods being used side by side.

are those pumps running off those solar panels?

cheers

I notice the continuous flow lettuce a little larger and thicker than the F&D bed unless I am seeing it worng.

Nice one Tim. So your continuous flow stays fairly full of water does it? I'm looking forward to seeing how the experiment goes between the different growth rates..

BF - Unfortunately I have been too crook to get the solar panels up yet. My shed goes in in about a month, so I will need them up soon.

MF - Yes the continuous flow lettuces are a lot taller and do seem to be growing better. It was a bit surprising but it sort of makes sense now I think about it.

EB - Yes the continuous flow container has water all the way up to about a half inch below the gravel surface. Growth is pretty much constant across the top.

Unfortunately the position is not ideal for both growbeds. There is not as much sun as I would like and they are prone to the strong easterlies. Once this batch are grown and harvested I am going to move them around so they should get more light. I will probably have to empty them first though. Either that or a big mirror...

whats your thinking on this? nutrients available more readiely? more air to roots?

have you had any issues with clogging pipes?

I am not entirely sure... I suppose because the roots are submerged all the time they would be able to extract more nutrients.

I have a cage around both the smaller and the bigger pumps in the pond. I just clean them out once and a while. Other than that no. The fill pipe for the f&d is 1" same withe the auto-siphon. The continuous flow uses 19mm garden pipe and 1 1/4" PVC for the drain.

Your pond system sounds much like mine. I have been running one or another incarnation of the thing for many years. Take a look here...

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=734

Maybe I should draw a nice diagram. The water flows into the bottom of the filtration basin and up though lava rocks. Water hyacinth float in the top of the basin, and the water exits over a spillway. It has been a very successful design for me.

--Janet.

Before the AP system went in I had no biological filter in the pond. I relied on a coarse filter and a 1200 LPH pond pump. One trick I picked up was to have coarse river sand on the bottom of the pond. The bacteria apparently colonize in there. I don't know how effective it is but it seems to work. The top pond was not running because the clear polypipe clogged up. Now the return from the cont. flow GB flows into the top pond and over a water fall.

EDIT: Speaking of frogs in your posts Janet... Here is the 'inspector general' who has been checking out my new AP system lately. I have about 8 or 9 of them around pond and the fern garden. Unfortunately they start breeding soon..... no sleep for me... the top pond was black with tadpoles last year.

Here is my control for my little experiment. Conventionally grown lettuces planted the same day as my aquaponic ones. The difference is that they get full sun for most of the day. I have almost reached the conclusion that there is inadequate sun to warrant comparison between the two AP setups. I will give them a few more weeks. I need to either move the growbeds and repeat the experiment or find a big mirror... which is not as far fetched as you may think... and see if growth changes.

just make sure you dopn't use fish water to water the "dirt lettuce", or it will be a bad control

My silverbeet that have gone to seed now stand 1.5 meters tall i water them with fish water

I have just finished relocating my mini system to a spot where it will get adequate sun. The two growbeds so far will be my experimental 'continuous overflow' or whatever it was called design... I am using a 4500L pump which is split between two growbeds. The three tanks are connected together but the fish will be isolated. My plan is to use a rapid breeding fish and use the majority of the offspring as live food for my Bream. I also want to get hold of some marron for the centre tank.

The PVC pluming is a bit over the top but it is only meant to be temporary. The pump will be connected to Solar power as soon as I relocate the batteries down into the new workshop/shed.

The system has taken so long to relocate mainly because there was a cocas palm in the way... not anymore... Does anybody know if you can you mulch the logs?