Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

This is the kind of stuff I use.. only from my pumps to the pipework...it doesn't kink either and doesn't degrade as quick in sunlight.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tetra-Pond-Corr ... 2c66e8f72c

Love the thread! Great work East, look forward to seeing it progress.

I must admit, from the title, I really thought I was in for something kinda over the top or ... Well hillbillyish... How wrong I was , awesome build, nice classy finish on the structure, well planned and built, will keep an eye on this one. (Prolly should have loaded all the pics on home wifi rather than mobile, but meh it was worth it)


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I dyed a few of my tubes with Rit Dye. Fish and plants did not seam to mind it, but nothing is growing in the tubes but the short tube between a T and a 90*

I used a aluminum roasting pan on a gas BBQ grill with water and dye in it. Once it was to temp, I left the short lengths of tube in it for 10-15 min or so.

Dying them seems like a bit of work when you could just paint it as well?

But if he didn't do that I still wouldn't know that I can dye clear plastic!

Thats pretty neat about dying the tube. Probably just end up trying to get something in black.

As far as adding worms to the system, should I go ahead and do it or wait for more root activity

Also some of the lettuce I planted in the slope tower is looking pretty rough.

Thinking the transition from soil to net cups could of shocked them.

Is it better to let them get started in grow beds then transfer?

Looking good. Great to see another deer hunter on here. I always loose a week or so transplanting. Your PH is up there also which which is hard for lettuce and strawberry's to uptake nutrients. I have high PH and have the same issues. With that Texas heat around the corner, I see a shade cloth project in the near future.

paint it !!!

Oh yea, luckily Lowes has some at decent prices, all windows will be open, and big temp controlled fan will be installed in East N corner of GH

I built it to were the only light front setting sun comes through the door

Ladybugs came in



Strawberrys will have to go without water tonight, had to add a piece cause water tension go to great and was spilling over one of the lips

Fixing to do a water test

I was wondering how your slope towers work since they are at such a steep angle. I imagine if your flow isn't very high then there would only be a thin layer of water inside the pipe since it is so steep? is that correct? If it is then you have to be sure that the lettuce roots are in contact with some water all the time, also because there isn't much water the temperature can vary greatly since the sun can heat the pipe up quite quickly without the larger water volume to cool it.. or perhaps I am not understanding the flow very well?
I have similar pipes in my system on one wall but they are constantly half flooded so I can plant lettuce from seed or very small seedlings... also if the flow from the pump is disrupted then the water in the pipe does not drain and gives the plant a little chance to survive without flow unlike in NFT (nutrient film technique) where the thin layer of water immediately stops when the pump stops and the plant roots immediately start to dry.

Awesome setup man, very nice

Mine have a constant flow, which stays around 1/4" - 1/2" deep or 1-2 cm right? lol dont do metric here

All the ones that looked rough today have sprung back to life and look great, even the tomatoes

The ladybugs are crazy, they took to the nectar immediately but I am sure once they find aphid eggs they will wipe them out



It's been two days, so I fed the fish. The water has cleared up so much recently its crazy. I will have to build a shade on the glass door, cause its the only light the system gets from the west and it beams directly on FT



Current readings tonight look good to me, but y'all are the experts

love the ladybug on your test chart....

you know, I don't have a mental image of the rednecks I know having the amount of creativity and ingenuity that you seem to. Sure, you hunt, but you also try to take care of an injurred hawk. and your aquaponics system is stellar.

hate to break it to you, but you aren't a redneck. a redneck system would employ alot more items found in junkyards...