Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Per Ryan's suggestion (in my thread asking about reef propeller circulation pumps) about making the air stones into air lifts (ducted airstones basically), I used some 4" pipe that I've had for awhile but wasn't using for anything, drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom of it, and put a 3/4" pipe filled with gravel through the holes to hold it down (the big pipe floats well). Then I used Bullwinkle's tip about cutting air line with a taper to thread it through a small hole at the top of the pipe. Within ten seconds of putting these in, specks of crud from the bottom were being circulated to the surface, so I think this is a good thing to do to maximize the efficiency of your existing air stones.

Here is the charcoal filter. For the Winter I moved it into the FT so it will not be exposed. I've been adding more charcoal as it gets saturated and sinks down over time, and break it up into smaller pieces for fun when I'm there.

This is the lettuce raft, which will have to be moved because the water doesn't go through the flood tray and sump anymore. The plants are water logged. I plan to add another board with holes drilled to this pattern and float the pots higher out of the water, which I expect would help the plants.

Here is a green bean in the front row sprawling over to the middle, a tomato, a different kind of tomato, and a cantalope plant. They are in the bigger net pots to allow them to get big. I think I'll put broccoli in the other two square pots which are not planted yet. I didn't plant up the rails totally while I still wasn't getting good growth. Now I will fill them in with cold weather plants.

I'm working on making the whole system/area prettier, I think it's looked messy and crappy for too long this Summer.

Here you can see the trash can filter is now in the FT.

Tidied up the outside system, put down landscape fabric around the pond and covered with gravel from the front sidewalk. The neighbors will probably appreciate this. I can finally walk around the FT without feeling like I'm falling in.

Here's the Rendezvous system lately. Who says AP systems are ugly?

Only two plants are big enough to use up nitrates out of this system. I need to plant out all the little pots I haven't used yet and get them rotating in this system. Been focused on the outdoor setup though. It's a really great system for house plants.

Put up wire mesh yesterday to support the plants with hurricane Irene going through yesterday. Trimmed the tomato vine and supported it and the other larger plants with twine. As of yesterday the two green bean plants are producing beans, which is so exciting!!! As of today though, the green bean plant that was in the front row on the bottom got bent over backward by the wind which snapped the stem from the roots. Here you can see our new Thai exchange student who likes plants showing the green bean plant's roots. We planted up all the remaining empty pots with seeds today.

I am taking some time off this week and hope to work on a frame for a greenhouse around the perimeter of the pond.

Also got my Maxicrop with iron off of Amazon this week, so the net pots with PlantTone are now planted with seeds.

This system is finally in the boring feed and forget stage, where you get to tend to the plants. I hope to leave it alone for the most part until October when things should get under shelter.

I like that "the.boring feed and forget stage.". Not hard to tell that you have been doing this a while now?

Haha yep.

Looked at the wicking bed and the one potato vine was all brown and shriveled up. Dug around and got three full grown potatoes!!!!!! I've never grown them before, the wicking bed worked great. I think I'll put carrots in it next.

Cool

Hello DD, about your air lifts why do you need the 4" guard?

Wouldnt the 3/4 gravel filled pipe with the air hose connected be enough?

Hey Zman:
The bubbles pull water along as they rise, the big pipe makes sure you get as much water flowing from the bottom to the top as possible. Water from the bottom is sucked in the holes at the bottom of the pipe. I want to turn over the bottom water to the surface to get oxygen in it. A circulation pump like for reefs can do the same thing, but I already had the air stones and large pipe. The small bottom pipe is just to weigh the big pipe down because it floats.

So your "bladder beds" (sorry not sure what you're calling them) are holding up ok are they DD? Do they get hot in the sun?

Hi EB:
Rails or troughs, UTU rail if you want to describe the cross section. Yes they are holding up just fine. They are full of water so I suppose this is a DWC trough. The standpipe can be removed to make them NFT if you'd like. The plants are doing great despite the flow of water in and out of the beds being very little. There is no supplemental aeration in the troughs either.

I will try to get more flow and maybe supplemental aeration in the next ones I build. Next time I go to Lowe's I want to add up the costs for a two rail setup. If I had a pump that could go to a higher head height I would have three rails on it.

Also I want to use a strip of wood to clamp the liner on the edge. Multiple uses, to clamp the liner well, and to have a surface to staple clear plastic or shade cloth to, draped under the trough. In the Winter the clear plastic would insulate and make the entire trough into a solar collector since the liner is black. I haven't shaded it for the hot weather but the pond water didn't get out of control. Would help though. I also am thinking about running strings from the trough edge above to the plants below, in addition to the mesh between the rails to support the plants. Multiple functions going on with these.

The plywood on the bottom rail drooped immediately. It's too late now but just adding some braces across the top face would have controlled that. It's still working though.

I also might try putting water in one end of one trough half, coupling the two trough halves together at the other end, then draining from the opposite end of the second trough half. Right now I split the flow between the two trough halves and there are two inlets and two outlets. That would make the flow more through them and have only one inlet and one outlet (and a coupler between the trough halves). Also troughs above can drain into the troughs below although I am not currently doing that.

I had worried about mold forming on the underside of the wood but it doesn't seem to be happening.

Also there are small minnows (and snails) living in the troughs. They got pumped in there as teeny babies!

Oh wait so the air line doesnt go into the 3/4 pipe? Its just a air stone on the bottom with a media guard? Maybe im confused lol