Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey all,

Ok, since we went solar and converted to the low Ltr/hr low Amp pump, we have found that the reduce ltr/hr is playing havoc with our siphons.

They have worked so beautifully for three years with the 3500/hr pump because the GB's flood and drain so quickly. Now with the reduced flow, the siphons wont trip as faithfully.

So, it looks like i am going to convert the beds to constant flood ... No idea how yet, but so any advice is welcome.

What i am interested in knowing from all you CF fella's is what depth below the the top of media should i be aiming for maximum water height? Is there a general rule?

Thanks all.

take the siphon out and see where that leaves the water level... that ll i have done.

whats the power rating on the pump you are using on solar at the moment?

Low enough so the surface of the gravel isn't damp, but high enough that newly planted seedling roots can still get moisture, so about 20-30mm below the surface of the gravel.

If you've been running standard auto-siphons up until now, converting to CF should be as simple as removing the 65mm bell siphon leaving the 25mm standpipe as is

I never PVC glue the standpipe fittings, so I can easily adjust the water level as needed. This is particularly easy if you have installed the 25mm-40mm reducer on the top of the standpipe for the auto-siphon, as you can slide this up or down generally with about 20-30mm play which basically acts as a water level adjusting device

Hi Mate,

I had a look at that, and it would probably work, let it overflow through the same siphon hardware, but take the restrictors out, that would stop the siphon effect causing it to simply overflow.

The pump now is a 20watt/0.0083Amp Pondmate jobbie.



Hi Jono,
Yeah that would probably work, it would certainly give me that depth below the surface. The wouldn't be adjustable like yours, i would have to cut a new hole to adjust the height.


Cheers fella's

whats the L/Hr? the pumps i am using are pretty good

1000 Litres per Hour.

Which one are you using?

25W @ 2500l/hr

mine hasn't failed on me and its been running non stop for almost a year. i also run a 4100L/Hr with it (45W)

We have Baby Yabbies! they hatched last night!

I went out to take some infra-red footage and there they were!

They are 3-4mm long! Tiny!

They are everywhere INCLUDING being so small as to get across in with the other pregnant female, so some quick action saw her in a new tank of her own this morning. She still has her eggs so it looks like two tanks of tiny Yabbies soon enough!

Only problem is, is that i have 6-7 more females in with those monster blues...and no more fish tanks!



Other than that, we have been transferring all of the grow-beds across to constant flood the past week or so, and it is progressing very well.

One of the beds however, (for reference, it is the first tomato bed in the center row closest to the fish tank) when I took apart the siphon it was choc-a-block full of tomato roots!.

We knew that the roots were replacing the grow media and even growing up the water delivery pipe but this was just getting silly! Two feet into water return pipe they were growing!

Growth wise, the adverse warmth has seen huge growth in the tomatoes, they are starting to make their way into the kitchen which is great..

We are taking between 30-35 cherry tomatoes off per day now, which is really great, and they taste awesome.

All the leeks and broccoli are gone now, the celery is down to one bed and the herbs and beans are still a weekly staple.

It has been a very good growing season this time.

Very Happy.

Babies!!! bloody hard to photograph but fun enough!

Hi Guys,

A bit of a monthly update while i do some of my best procrastinating.

We are happy at the moment, the complete fish tank rebuild a couple of months ago has paid off.

The fish are happy and we now have two tanks of baby yabbies, the second lot hatched just a few days ago, so there are tiny critters everywhere!

Fresh off the success of planting the spring crop a month early last year, we planted our autumn/winter crops last weekend with our fingers crossed that we will gain the same yield.

In short, all is progressing well.

Regards,

a couple more...

a few more...

Everything is growing great Porter. Looks like you got a bumper crop of tomatoes with lots more getting ready to ripen. Keep up the good work

Great work as usual porter

Ok Insect experts.

This is the last thing i need in exam week, chasing bugs in the garden!

I hadn't been out there for 3-4days, but day before yesterday, i find a pile like the one in the photos in the sprouts bed. I have a look around, pinch out some caterpillars but nothing big enough to created this kind of damage. Same yesterday morning, and again this morning.

So the deal is "IT" chews through a 5-8mm thick sprouts leaf stem, leaf after leaf and drops them into the GB, then strips each leaf all the way to the stem at a rate of 5-6 stem/leaves per night.

I have scoured the bed, the stands, under the foliage, literally everywhere, even in the water delivery pipes. Nada.
Nothing. Its Just this ONE bed, not the broc's or the cauli's just the sprouts.

I had been blaming the possums for a bit of chaos a week or two ago, however the beds are netted every night for safety.

Am i looking at a giant slug? leaf eating stick insect? Mice?

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Regards,
Jeff