woolleybuggers system

woolleybugger

Charlie wrote:

BuiDoi, deeper beds benefit from a larger BSA and waste storage for mineralisation for a smaller foot print, but how deep is too deep Im not sure. Outbackozzies deep beds were very controversial and I believe he proved that they work and work well. The system is shut down now unfortunately so no more data can be taken from it. Those full IBC beds were on a flood and drain.

Minimum grow bed depths are a juggled between temp stability and root stability. Too shallow and there can be issues with freezing plants or cooking plants, depending on time of year. Also if too shallow there isn't enough for the plant roots to hold onto to stay upright. Obviously a shallow GB is reducing your BSA. Ive seen GB depths work well at 100-150mm like Freoboys below..

Attachment:

week%206.jpg

There are also studies done on the benefit of anaerobic zones within grow beds which produces other forms of beneficial bacteria which further maximises the ecology of a aquaponic system. Check out the RSG (really smart guy) thread, there is some interesting stuff there.

search.php?keywords=RSG&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=titleonly&sk=t&sd=d&sr=topics&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

I chose to use deeper growbeds as i can see it holding a more constant temp being out in the open air, more surface area for colonization of bacter, and simply more room to hold more water which comes back to the temp thing.

if that gb(freoboys) was in my yard, you wouldnt need to cook any vegetables after harvesting they'd aready be done !!

Charlie, the link to RSG is a worthy read, thank you for sharing it.

woolleybugger

Forgot to mention in my previous posts, i have salted the system to 1ppt, for general maitenance and to keep stress down in the fish whilst acclimatising to the new environment.

The silvers are currently feeding on worms very activly, i have just set up a maggot farm, so will hopefully se some action there soon, and have also been feeding native pellets once per day, but they dont show a lot of intrest in them.

I have some azzola (unsure on correct spelling) floating in the tank, which has yet to be touched, but they do seem to have a nibble on spinich leaves and lettuce leaves when i throw them in.

I also dosed Seasol into the system at around 1-2 capfuls when first fired up, and have also applied as a foliar spray. Will continue to do so weekly until system is cycled.

And lastly, i impregnated the system with bacteria from my inside native fish tanks by cleaning out the filters in said water, that should see the cycling period decrease significantly.

Jarrod.

woolleybugger

Whipped up a couple of worm traps, as seen on another post on this forum, cant remember the name of the inventor, but many thanks and all praise to him/her.
Hopefully this will make life a tad easier when it come to feeding a few worms to the silvers. Will use bread as a bait and post results.... stay tuned !!

BuiDoi

woolleybugger wrote:

......I was toying with the idea of using a plastic trellis or similar, but chemical leaching........ Just didnt cross my mind that gal would do the same :dontknow:

.

Not convinced that PLASTIC would be of concern--- the amount of leaching would have to be minimal, and especially if a Polyethylene material was used..

I wonder about "RUST" - adding iron is something we find ourselves having to do..

One thing that I have come to realise is that constant flood or Fill-n-SlowDrain, has one impediment..
the slow flow through the system..

I can now recognise that an Auto-Syphon will cause a good flush , to help move those solids that will collect..
( I just CAN'T use it because of the noise for the neighbours )
..
.

woolleybugger

BuiDoi wrote:

woolleybugger wrote:

......I was toying with the idea of using a plastic trellis or similar, but chemical leaching........ Just didnt cross my mind that gal would do the same :dontknow:

.

Not convinced that PLASTIC would be of concern--- the amount of leaching would have to be minimal, and especially if a Polyethylene material was used..

I wonder about "RUST" - adding iron is something we find ourselves having to do..

One thing that I have come to realise is that constant flood or Fill-n-SlowDrain, has one impediment..
the slow flow through the system..

I can now recognise that an Auto-Syphon will cause a good flush , to help move those solids that will collect..
( I just CAN'T use it because of the noise for the neighbours )
..
.

Wasnt sure about what type of plastic trellis would be made of

Good point about the rust, is anyone able to shed light on the wether rust falling into the system would assist in maintaining fe levels ?
I personally wouldnt think it to be any good just dropping into the system, but im no expert on the fact

I dont know about the slow drain thing, i pass 5000lph through my system consistantly. And yes that is a correct flow reading, i have measured flow.

Dont know a great deal about auto siphons ect, have done some reading on them, must read up some more..

woolleybugger

Here is a few pics of my maggot farm, charged with beef heart and liver, can see little wrigglers doing there thing already, i look foward to my first harvest.

woolleybugger

Outside view of the maggot farm

woolleybugger

The Azzola fern i am growing for the perch to graze on, they dont show a lot of intrest in it at the minute, more interested in a lettuce leaf or spinich.

BuiDoi

As far as the rust is concerned, I can only think about the amount of Iron-Oxide in the environment..
We don't see fush-die-outs, when it rains and washes soil into rivers...

How does the maggot farm work... ie the two containers..
..
.

woolleybugger

BuiDoi wrote:

How does the maggot farm work... ie the two containers..
..
.

Hopefully real well, will let you know in a day or so...
After 4 hrs today i popped the lid, couldn't help myself... and couldn't believe my eyes, tiny little white wrigglers on the surface of the beef heart.

The two containers design is one that i found many references to online, so i figured i would build this one as it looked to be the most talked of version that i could find.

As a basic run down, the big bucket holds the maggots, meat veg scraps ect, and then when ready to change life cycle they move to the edge of the bucket looking for an escape, and run into the hose, mosey on up it and fall into container 2, the "holding cell" of sorts, which contains flour to purge them of any nasty's prior to harvest.

On a separate note, i have managed a video of the perch in my ft, its my first attempt at a underwater video, so its lacking some of the "finesse" of the better film makers... :lol:

Heres the link..... [youtube]http://youtu.be/9_hESKUZD_s[/youtube]

jayendra

Just use the letters part at the end

Code:

[youtube]9_hESKUZD_s[/youtube]

skeggley

Hiya woolleybugger, nice system. No, rust (iron oxide) in ap isn't going to have the same results as iron chelates.
Great idea with the maggot farm. Only problem I can see would be the bacteria entering the system.

woolleybugger

jayendra wrote:

Just use the letters part at the end

Code:

[youtube]9_hESKUZD_s[/youtube]

Ah ha, thanks jayendra, couldnt nut out how to do that :dontknow:

woolleybugger

skeggley wrote:

Hiya woolleybugger, nice system. No, rust (iron oxide) in ap isn't going to have the same results as iron chelates.

Thanks for clearing that up, i had a suspicion that would be the case..

skeggley wrote:

Great idea with the maggot farm. Only problem I can see would be the bacteria entering the system

Thanks heaps, may i ask you to clarify about the bacteria please

Jarrod.

BuiDoi

woolleybugger wrote:

skeggley wrote:

Hiya woolleybugger, nice system. No, rust (iron oxide) in ap isn't going to have the same results as iron chelates.

Thanks for clearing that up, i had a suspicion that would be the case........

But that is NOT the point... the question is if FeO2 is detrimental to the system, and I would contend that answer is NO..
So indeed, you may still find a need for a more suitable supplement form...

The question remains... is there anything detrimental in rust in an AP setup.

Thanks for the description of the Maggot Factory's operation..
The concept might be disgusting to the bride... So I could hide it under the bed and just say... "...that was not me... it was the dog.." :naughty:

The only thing with providing that kind of food, is that I think I have read that it can turn the fush off the pellets, your likely MAIN food source..
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woolleybuggers system

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A place to discuss aquaponics