Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone, well after a long - very long - time off the forum, I am back! We have been super busy in the last 18 or so months. We have moved house (sad to leave the AP system at the old house, but it was time to expand and conquer), had our third baby - Ava-Li, she has just turned 1 in April - started a little market garden and business, moved from teacher/counsellor to teacher/Head of Dept/Resource Manager at work, expanding the business, became a "tiny farmer", and am finally starting to design and build my next AP system, Quachy's AP 3.0 Greenhouse System.

The plan is to run a smallish 2000lt system in a greenhouse that is completely off grid. Solar panels and chargers are becoming more affordable and I am pretty sure that I can get a 2000lt AP system up and running using the sun and a battery bank without a problem. The plan is to KISS, in the design. As much as I love CHIFT PIST, I am going to go to a more simplified, pump in tank, pump to GBs and drain back to tank set-up. Will also have a constant water height in the grow beds to allow for FTs to remain constant height. Pumps to switch off at night, and if my math is correct, I should be able to run a small aerator for the fish during the night. I ran a constant water height in my previous system without any plant issues, so will do the same this time. Ahh the AP bug has bit me again!

Also getting an AP system cranking at work. Got approval and a budget to work with, so just waiting on the last couple of quotes before I go full steam ahead. The school has just got possession of some more land, effectively doubling our land area. I have been put in charge of "Resource Management" ie. plan, design and implement sustainable technologies as well as indigenous planting at the school! Freaken awesome! I have a "tiny farm" style market garden going up, 1 acre set aside for an orchard, a big arse greenhouse, native gardens going in, 4 micro climates to establish, with each being local to the region, an indigenous nature walk in the planning and soooooo much more! Basically I can do anything I want, and use any farming method I want, but the line was drawn at burying a cow horn stuffed with cow poo! Lucky as I rather the permaculture style of farming and this is exactly what I am implementing at the school, both physically as well as in the curriculum!

Farming at home and farming at work, damn this is good!

Anyway, will put up progress of the 3.0 system as I go.

For a run down (very detailed run down) of what we have been up to, go to my blog!

http://quachclan.wordpress.com/

Quachy out.

I'm glad that you haven't just been twiddling your thumbs after going AWOL Quachy

Not sure how to shut my brain off.... twidling thumbs just isn't a Quach genetic trait...

Sounds awesome :) look forward to seeing progress of 3.0

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I finished reading through your last thread not too long ago and have been eagerly awaiting progress reports on AP MKIII.

Good on you quach "Nam " Jim and me went to visit him a few weeks ago and the energy this blokes got is incredible [making babys digging the 1/2 acre garden building sheds while we were there he was killing cooks and that was only probley 1/2 a days work ]
all the things he has done
All i can say is go Quach

Just read your blog....great effort!

You had me thinking about the solar pump and constant flood. If you turn off your pump at night, how will you ensure the DO of the growbeds is maintained to a level that the worms will like?

Good to see you back on the horse Quachy Looking forward to seeing your new system coming together

Yeah when I did this with my second system, I had no issues with DO both in the tank and GBs, the water seemed to have enough DO in it to cope for both plants and worms. Admittedly, the gbs will have the top 1-2" dry, so not completely flooded.

Will see how things go and then may adjust to 1/2 - 3/4 drain... Gotta get the thing running first... a few more daylight hours at this point would be good!

Thanks Milne, great to see you and Jim the other day/month! Still need to checkout Jim's system...

Cheers Mantis, good to be back. Wish there was more time in the day though! Ahhhhh, no need to rush anything. Slow and steady!

Mate good to hear from ya again. Was wondering how long it would be before you did something ap with that land of yours.

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I was going to ask him if I can come visit - my GH is being delivered some time in the next week or so & I'd love to see the early stages of a set up before I begin, but there's a problem - I'm a halfway decent preparer of food and the activity (in large) mentioned has me worried.

Hmmm, well fatal error #21 - Putting up a greenhouse by yourself in the rain and wind…. won’t be doing that again in a hurry.

Damn thing was flattened in the morning...

Anyway a little bending and tapping and all good...well kinda good...

A more detailed report is in my blog:

http://quachclan.wordpress.com/

Nice