Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

And some other pictures

For those who are interested in how that first trial bunk bed is doing so far


And I said I planted seedlings. Not sure if you can even really see them in the picture.


And I have a Meyer Lemon tree blooming in one of the old 100 gallon stock tank beds.

I got the indexing valves installed yesterday and even managed to find a working actuator so the plumbing on the expansion is basically done (haven't glued everything but it's running.)

Kinda wore myself out yesterday, it has gotten hard to get down/up and I'm waddling a bit slower and slower and of course there are the constant potty breaks.

Time to find some one who can haul about 6 tons of media to finish filling those beds now.

looking good

Ya like the truck topper hanging from the tree in the background? That was the Cooks method of making it possible to take the topper off and put it back on the truck as needed without needing to get a crew to help (preggers wife can't lift he side at this point and it really is way too heavy for just two people anyway.)

Diversion valve installed horizontally, hoping this will reduce or eliminate the problems I've been having with the seals failing and allowing water to flow into the actuator, I've had 3 actuators fail due to water damage from the back. I have not been able to find a good enough O ring for the Pentair Valves to keep them from leaking after only a few weeks.

I do have a Hayward Goldline combo that has never leaked or failed but since setting up at the new farm it has been installed horizontally. Of course it only gets gravity pressure of about 3 feet of water column. The primary failure valve has been installed just above a 2400 gph pump vertically and apparently ground up snail shells are pretty abrasive.

We will see if having the pentair valve mounted horizontally above an 1800 gph pump lasts any better. I mount the valves over the tanks because of the leaking problem.

I still haven't gotten a good turn key controller option

so I'm still using my home made pic axe doorbell transformer contraption.

If anyone has made a controller specifically for doing a repeat cycle operation on such 24 VAC valve actuators, please let me know, I would love to sell them as part of a controller package for such valves to go with the indexing valves. Even with the little pumps, I don't like turning them on/off all the time because having the impeller assembly start to wear out after only a year is just not good enough in my book and for any of the non gravity modified valves, the impellers in the pumps I've been using don't even last 4-6 months.

TC , Have you tried the agricultural timers. I know when we used to have the nursery, we had one for the mist house, and you could set it as often as you like. It was for a 24 V solenoid valve. Can't remember the brand, but we had it for years and no problem. It ran sunup-sundown every 10 minutes, but you could adjust all options.

Hum, hadn't really checked into those. I've had lots of people tell me to use a sprinkler timer but so far of the ones I've found, they can only do 4-6 programs per valve (4-6) per day so that is only like 36 on/off cycles per day but spread over 6 valves. But for the Actuator I would need two valves worth of synchronized programs since it is a 3 wire actuator. Send current down one side to go one way and then send current down the other side to go the other way. the Actuator has limit switches in it provided you don't fill the poor thing with water some how.
Now just having a controller that can turn a solenoid on/off as a repeat cycle timer is one thing, you can do that by simply plugging in the AC adapter for a sprinkler timer into a repeat cycle timer and that will cost you less than $100 bucks. Unfortunately, controlling the motorized actuators is not a simple on/off program like with a solenoid. To make a simple on/off controller operate the actuator you need a repeat cycle timer of sorts plus a power supply to plug into it to control a DPDT relay. Then you also need a 24VAC power supply to plug into a separate source of power since it will need power when the timer is on and when the timer is off, and that is what will supply the power to the actuator and the relay controls which wires are hot depending on when the timer is on or off.

Unfortunately, having to add the extra power supply and relay wiring kinda makes hooking such things up a little more complex than the average person buying a turn key system wants to see.

I know there are people out there who have been working on aquaponics controllers that could do what I'm looking for any actually way too much more. I'm not really interested in wiring up water sensors to all my grow beds and then wiring the whole thing to the internet but people have built such controllers.

I see what you mean now. The one we had wouldn't work for that purpose. Just sending out 24 volts and you could adjust the duration and frequency. I do know that a good step down xfmr will hold at least 2-3 valves open at a time. These are irrigation transformers that we use, and are cheap...$25-30.00. But not sure of the frequency and timer options you would need.Maybe you could just add a relay to 1 circuit of the timer and then run the timer with the other. All powered off 1 xfmr? Wiring is not my strength. I can add a circuit or breaker, wire up a switch or receptacle, and chase down shorts in cars/trucks, but not too good with circuit-boards and the like. Same with wood...I can frame with the best of them, but need 20 feet of trim to make a picture frame.lol Thankfully, I know a very good trim man.

I can cobble together my one little timers easily enough but I don't feel confident in producing them for others like a mass produced box. I would at least need some one who could help me get the custom circuit boards made and get a good price on the components because it is not cost effective for me to have to run all over buying all the components retail and then soldering them onto a radio shack project circuit board, I wind up having to charge WAY too much for the controller and NOT making any money for my time to boot.

For those who are good at doing their own electronics projects, I will sell my circuit diagram and even provide the pic Axe program but I hate that I recommend using these actuators but I don't have a nice "turnkey" controller to at least recommend for them. So far in my trying to research them, the swimming pool/spa controllers that are often used with such valve actuators are usually thermostat controlled but generally they are starting around $400 for the controller and not necessarily designed to do any sort of repeat cycle. I'm not up to spending Thousands of dollars to buy controllers to see if any of them will work and most of the web sites I've tried to check out don't give much information beyond price on said controllers.

I found some one to haul rocks for me! Might be getting the Stalite to fill the other 10 beds as soon as Friday maybe!!!!

Need to get some time lapse video of filling the beds. Hum, maybe this weekend we need to have a media washing workshop!!!!

Got the Stalite purchase and delivery arranged for Tomorrow Morning!!!!! Woo Hooo. (ok I'm sure that isn't what the cook is saying seeing as I'm not the one who will be doing most of the rock moving this time round.)

Got some produce to harvest/deliver tomorrow. Some one coming for Fish on Sat.

And the Baby Shower was Today.

Sometime this weekend we need to also Go Shopping for the baby stuff that we NEED but Didn't Get. Primarily the CAR SEAT! Apparently they don't let you leave the hospital without it (hum, I wonder what happens to mom's and babies that don't have cars?)

Nice growbeds and frames

What machine do you use to bend the tube like that? or do you get them fabricated somewhere

The bunks come prefabricated.

Hi TC, over here the new born seats are called carrycots, they're not too expensive but once you have one of those they then have to graduate to a baby seat and then a booster seat when they're older. The seat they belong in actually operates by weight and not age.

With the twins we had to double on everything which was fun.

I hope the baby shower was fun. I find that people are very generous when it comes to babies which was very much appreciated by us.

The Bunk feeders are pre assembled, got them at Tractor Supply.

Yea, I had originally pointed out a "travel" system that came with an infant car seat/baby carrier that could snap into a base in the car or onto the stroller but yes they are only good up to 20 lb and then you have to buy a new car seat.

I think we are actually going to get a convertible car seat that can go from rear facing from 5 lb to 45 lb. Front facing from 20-80 lb then be used as a booster seat/seat belt positioner all the way up to 120 lb or 57" tall which ever comes first. Not that I really feel a nearly 5 foot tall 120 lb person really needs a car seat but who knows how the laws will go around here. (Come on I know adults who drive and are smaller than that!!!!)

And then a separate stroller.

Mom and Aunt are going to get the crib