Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

how do you manage the anaerobic areas in yours? I'm thinking i'd either need to pump the water out, or stick an air stone down into the water? Mine definitive smelt anaerobic when I first put it in, though smells like a good compost smell now. How long would the effects of the system going anaerobic last for? Sounds like yours corrected quite quickly...

All of my beds drain into a common sump so i just drained it out and flushed the bed through into the sump you could see the difference in the lettuce with in a few days a week at the most
As you say drop an air stone in the water reservoir would defiantly help

thanks - I think I'll rebuild mine with a flexible hose attached to the drain hole - that way I can control the height of water that is in it and drain it completely if need be.

I have 3 4 x 8 wicking beds that have been up for 3-4 months now.....

1 grows really well and the other two grow extremely slow...

I get rain about every 2-3 weeks so the water in the beds are on the acidic side, so I use
some calcium carbonate (oyster shells) down in the reservior ......

I have used some bone meal and mushroom compost as fertilizer and have compost
working for the next one.....

you think my water level may be to high in the beds?

I have 12 inches (30.5cm) of dirt mixture and 11 inches (28 cm) of sand

dividing the two layers is a layer of landscaping cloth...


thanks
JT

JT wicking beds work best with an air void under the soil [see my thread]
they would also benefit if during rain you could dump all the water right out [after a while the water gets to consecrated ]
My son built 2 beds after seeing mine [same design] but he only top waters and only keeps a max 1 in water in the pipe he wont listen to the old man
But i must admit his beds are going as well and in some cases better than mine [smart little bas';=d]

How have you been getting an air void in your WB's F&F? Are you using some material to wick from the water level; up to the soil level? I tried to find your WB construction post, though got lost in the 150 odd pages!! Any chance of a link?

Hi read from here
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=663&start=2205
sorry from here
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=663&start=2160

thanks F&F - great use for crates - How high do you fill up? 10cm max? I guess the idea is to have an air passage down the pipe to the air above the water to allow the Oxygen transfer at the surface?

Water level varies as long as it doesent reach the top

my first go hope its ok

filled to the first 10cm with blue metal, overflow pipe, then weedmat and filled with potting mix

you need a bigger air void in there also your overflow hole needs to be just under the top of your air space

If you can get it, LLama or Alpaca manure is outstanding, does not need to be aged.

I use it in my dirt garden, dig a whole fill it with manure, top of with water and than stuff the plant into it, grows like weeds no burning.
One van make liquid vertilizer out of it, too, like a tee.

Have a read here, i believe this bloke developed the method http://www.waterright.com.au/wicking_bed_technology.pdf

Made my first ones out of plastic tubs in 2006 and they are still going in the greenhouse.

Are you joking?