Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

No Prob.

Well as far as the termites go it depends on which species. Though that kinda goes without saying. But insofar as using wood in aquaponics in the yard I'd definitely have to paint/treat the wood. And I'm still not convinced it's worth it. Especially as it could attract them to the house again if I put the system nearby.

Zwiebel,

Just to let you know Coach is a good resource when it comes to your average critters. Since he has been in landscaping and pest mitigation for years. As long as there is a liner there is nothing wrong with metal, or even concrete. It just usually cost more. Which means it will take longer to get your ROI.

Yeah subs they are. You need to treat with Termidor or Taurus as a trench & drench method. perimeter of house, next to foundation.

You can use metal, masonry, fiberglass, plastic, or anything that would hold the shape. Wood is easy, cheap, and most people are familiar with working with it. Colum has made some nice welded beds.

As far as bringing them to your house...yes and no. Termites are there, as long as the house is protected, it doesn't matter too much. But, if the house or structure isn't protected, then you could be taking a chance the colony could move into your structure as another food source. If you eliminate moisture sources, they can't survive. The amount of moisture varies by species. All they need is 1 source of water- say a A/C drain, and they can sustain the entire colony off of that.

The treatment is rated for 10 years, locks into the top layer of soil, and is a non repellant type product. It will work for at least 10 years if applied per label(perimeter with no gaps) and is both a preventive and curative. Since it doesn't mitigate up or down the soil profile, I wouldn't think there would be any problem with putting it under a grow bed or DWC system? Probably get some flack on the last one, but I'm a realist and know that there are risks and benefits in everything. For me, it would be worth it and I would worry about something going through a 20 mil liner that is designed to be non permeable. The active ingredient is what is used in Frontline flea & tick products that millions of people use on their pets. Directly on them. One could certainly use metal or block(UVI), but best to make use of the easiest and most cost effective material. If it's a very small system, it's negligible, if it's larger, it could mean hundreds of dollars more. In a commercial system it could mean thousands of dollars more, and like FF said, that would impact your R.O.I.

lol. Well they did the perimeter treatment last time (drilled thru the back porch concrete). And yeah. The A/C drain. Last time I pointed out the condensation dripping out there and all I got was non-committal shrugs. Not sure if there's really anything that could be done about it. If they don't get water there it will be from the drip system for the trees.

I'm not doing a commercial system and while I certainly want to be cost conscious I'm all to aware that sometimes you get what you pay for - a potential headache. I'll pay a little extra not to have to go around and inspect any supporting wood for signs of termites. Rather spend my time inspecting my plants/fish than rooting around underneath it. /Shrug.

Plastic is fairly expensive from what I've seen. At least the 4' x 8' panels go for almost $100. A bed out of masonry is a possibility but might be a pain when it comes to plumbing maint? I mean the actual bed not just the supports underneath it. Dunno I haven't seen any builds like that. And yeah I've seen Colums beds. Good stuff but as I've said before welding is something I'd like to avoid if possible as I don't have the tools or the experience.

Look, I appreciate the offer of advice, but I feel like we're going around in circles here. I get that you guys think I'm being overly cautious or that I should be more frugal. The thing is I'm not even sure I *can* build a system here yet. So, while I have been looking at my options, I haven't even started to design or do a complete cost analysis (as opposed to some quick and dirty estimates). Until I get the green light I'm not going to spend the time and energy to do so. Frankly it'd just be a bigger let down.

We're certainly off topic. lol.

Zwiebel,

I ran across these the other day. They could be just what you were looking for. In terms of maint/money/ease.

http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/52 ... s-grow-bed

Truck shipping...add another 200-250.00. Those are neat looking though.

Coach,

It is a move in the right direction a year ago all you could find is hydro trays that were too shallow for us. Hopefully the rest of the industry will jump on board the Aquaponics train too.

FF- agreed. At least we have some poly options. Still not as many as they have in Oz, but all it takes is some folks to buy the ones they're making, and they'll all start popping out new molds. Yeah!

Those tanks are not new molds, they are spill containment trays. Maybe a little thicker, but I suspect it's not. I think, it's polypropylene, and the otherwise identical tray is hdpe. About 35% cheaper, though. I wonder how much it'd cost to ship a stack of them? Might be worth it for a bunch of trays for a bigger setup.

Hydroponic reservoirs are more the right depth but it's justifying the cost for what you get that's difficult, at least for me . Maybe they aren't so bad if you calculate it out.

300 Gallon Spill Containment Tray
86x53x18.25 or 210x135x45cm,
$239
This actually starts to sound pretty reasonable to me, given the size and price. Not sure what the difference is between this one and the one sold as GB? I am guesing the material, but I am not certain.

Not reasonable if you will need 11 of them.. Lol

I don't think it is reasonable for even one. I keep reading how China can produce and ship incredible quantities of products around the world. Maybe we need to let them know they're missing a market.

China can do that because their labor laws, conditions, and pay are atrocious. The more crap that we buy just because it is cheaper. Instead of paying the extra for quality. The less people in this country get to go to work tomorrow. Nobody here could survive making right around 7USD a day. And since the cost of labor is generally the largest expense for a company. We simply can not compete. Unless we went almost completely robotic. Which still puts people out of work. If people can't work the economy crashes. That's my take on it.

Copied from Coach Chris's thread so I could find it easier in the future.

joblow wrote:

Andy (dasboot) thanks for the heads up on the Wood Vinegar I've just purchased a litre and will give it a try.

http://www.woodvinegar.com.au/buy/

Quote:

Benefits on crops
Stimulates vegetable growth
Strengthens roots and leaves
Enriches soil fertility
Reduce odor
Works as flavor enhancer for agricultural end products
Inhibits virus and soil disease when mixed in high concentration
Increases the quantity of useful microbes
Repels insects on plants
Prevents diseases caused by bacteria
Improves fruit quality and increases sugar content in fruit
Nourishes seeds for germination
Nourishes seeds for germination
Facilitates composting

Advantage:
Increase crop resistance to adverse condition
Repel pests ,Prevent plant infection from fungal, bacterial and virus-like disease
Improve flavor, color, firmness and preservation of fruit
Strengthen the photosynthesis; Increase the content of chlorophyll of the plants
Improve absorption through the roots

Application:
Soil Application: 6-10 L / Ha / time, 2-3 times during seedling stage and growth stage.
Foliar Application: 3-5L / Ha / time, 2-3 times during seedling stage and growth stage.

I had this on my computer so i posted it, another one of the benefits of wood vinegar is its collapses water molecules by two thirds, so in foliar applications its an option to reduce the mixing rate of your fertilizer by 50% as the stomata on the leaves are more able to take up the nutrients.
Do you know what sometimes it even sounds like i know what i am talking about....