Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi everyone.

I've been puttering about on this forum for a few days now checking out what others have done, observing what works and what doesn't, so on and so forth and thought it might be about time that I introduced myself and what I'm hoping to achieve with my system.

As you may have guessed my name is Alex and I'm designing a bench top prototype. Progress is slow going however as I am between jobs and therefore cannot really afford to move forward. What I have achieved thus far has mostly been cobbled together from bits and pieces of old projects and whatever I may have happened to have lying around at the time. I am by no means even close to finished but this project is simply a proof of concept before I go onto Kickstarter and seek funding for a much larger and grander project.

I'm happy to listen to any questions and I will answer as many as I can.

Welcome to BYAP

Wow, looks technical! Mine is a pond and a box essentially...

Welcome Alex

The eventual goal is to have a stack of containers above the switch rack each filled with various vegetables being grown by LED with a range of sensors monitoring the status of each container plus a tank mounted below the rack. The data from all the sensors will then be displayed on the LCD screen to the right.

Hi Alex.

Welcome to the forum.

I think you'll find that the LED's you've got aren't going to be enough light for growth. Look for leggy plants to confirm it.

What sensors are you plugging into the arduino?

Hi Colum, thanks for the advice about leggy plants. I looked it up and I'm concerned you may be right. If that's the case I've got more LED strips I can utilise at this point to provide more light, a combination of straight red and straight blue to provide a stronger 'pink' light than the current RGB strips provide.

I'm planning on using various sensors to measure the moisture, pH, DO, light and the temp/humidity in each tub. I will also be monitoring the same things in the tank as well.

Can you suggest anything else that would be good to measure/monitor with the arduino?

I'm thinking you'll find that the PH & DO sensors are quite pricey. More expensive than the project is worth.
http://www.amazon.com/Vernier-Software- ... B001F06WA6
http://www.amazon.com/DISSOLVED-OXYGEN- ... B005GRGPH4

Your call with those though.

The easier and cheaper ones are a ultrasonic ping sensor you can use for water level, waterproof one wire temp sensor, and if you really want you can use flow sensors, humidity sensors.

I think unless you buy the expensive LED's made for grow lights, you'll have some issues with it. But trial what you've got/can afford.

If you're planning on stacking them on top of each other like that, you'll also need some sort of ventilation, or you'll get mold/fungal problems.

EDIT.

And be careful with the electronics/computer so close. Water will find a way.

Yeah I've seen a few prices and frankly they scare me, but anything I buy for this prototype I'm hoping to be able to reuse for my next, larger system.




Yeah that was a huge concern, hence elevating the arduino and display in the rack. I've also isolated everything by running it off a 12V battery. That way if something goes wrong I won't have it throwing the circuit breakers and killing the whole house.

How come your bothering with doing it all inside?

Sunlight is free, and it'll make it all far easier. Inside growing is possible, but the wattage needed to run the lights is going to cost more than any produce you'll get from the system.

I'll point you to this post by Mr Damage, he's probably our resident expert on indoor lighting, he sells it for a living.
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=22714&p=471465&hilit=shop+600w#p471351

I used to live a few hours from you, and apart from a few frosts in the middle of winter, the weather would have been perfect to grow outdoors, and we're past the worst of it now. Why don't you grab an IBC, follow the instructions in the IBC of Aquaponics at the top of the page, and start growing that way?

http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/pheasant ... 1045718535

It's a little bit of a drive from you, but I'm sure there are some closer if you hunted or asked around. You'll find getting the smaller system to work well will be hard.

The small system is more to prove a point and win a bet against a couple of family members who are convinced that the only way to grow healthy plants of any kind is the old fashioned dirt trenches in the ground. I have access to a 5acre block of land just outside of Young that I could design a large system on but first I need to prove that the concept works. Unfortunately the family members that don't think aquaponics will work don't believe in the internet so I can't just send them here to look at other people's projects.

The main reason though for building an indoor system is because of the ongoing design of the electronics. I'm designing and testing most of it as I go so being able to keep it in the office with my computer has been really handy. Plus it makes modifying it easier as I have the soldering station right next to it.

I'd love to be able to build an IBC system in my backyard but unfortunately the little rental I'm living in doesn't have the space.

I used to live in the country, I know the attitude.

I'm afraid they might win the arguement if the lighting isn't enough

Well I'm hoping that the LED's will be enough, but if not I'll work something out. I used to work in the electronic components industry so I can source some loose LEDs and build my own arrays if need be. 2 bags of LEDs is cheaper than a single pre-built array.

Even with better lights, you'll probably need to line the grow boxes with reflective material as well. ALL hydroponics grow tents I've seen for sale, are lined with reflective material.

Yeah I'd been thinking about that and was planning to try al-foil around the insides of the tubs.

Bump. What ever became of the test system and kick starter goal?