Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I just built a RGGS and some home made growbags from surplus landscaping fabric. I plan on plumbing the RGGS to my AP pond setup in a fill only float switch arrangement (not flow thru). I wouldn't recommend flow thru as the water picks up a lot of colour debris in the gutter.
Flow thru might work better for the growbags as the bag would act as a bit of a filter. Some people using the growbags in kiddie pool system put goldfish in the pool to control bugs. You could probably just stick the growbags in your media bed if you want.

So far the growbags are performing the best for me. They seem to wick just the right amount of moisture and keep the roots at the right temp. I live in a cold climate with a short growing season. Traditional AP just doesn't have enough time to establish itself to work well for me.

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You are replacing some each year but at some point if your soiless mix is composed of organic matter it will break down and you will have to replace it. You can compost it or use it in the garden but it's probably not what you want in your containers. Of course if your only using 4 x 4 x 9 containers it may not matter that the mix is quite dense .

Using the half barrels as wicking tubs is a good idea but they are too heavy to move when full, buckets and bags aren't which was one of the good things about this system.



I'll leave you to plumb the depths of the Internet on your own for this one but I think it would help. I'm not sure if it would help enough to be worth the cost of the commercial version though?



I could see where this would be a problem for commercial growers. High labor cost is probably not an issue for most of us here but certainly you wouldn't want to add to the work load needlessly.

Re: the metal waste - bucket handles.

Glad to hear the bags are working for you Pseudoreality.



I can believe that . It would be a heck of a short season in the Northwest Territories .

Sorry to hear the flow through recommendation, I figured it would work with a low enough flow.

Cheers

What is meant by "soil-less" in context of a wicking grow bed? ... I guess talking about perlite, hydroton, gravel, vermiculite, coconut coir? Although... Quite odd though calling anything involving a biological system as "soil-less"... even inert, sterile sand becomes soil after the integration of microbrial activity, organic material, etc etc that transforms sterile particles into soil by definition.

I thought "soil-less" only applied to water culture (such as DWC) or wet/dry (such as NFT, towers, etc) grow beds.

Basically Soil-Less means, no dirt or garden soil, that way all the ingredients you will use are sterile, no weed seeds, etc.

My mix is a 3-1-1 ratio of Partially decomposed Pine Bark, Fafard #52 mix, Perlite. Total weight is approx. 35 lbs a c/f. I, have a growers liscene so can buy wholesale and it costs me almost $4.00 a c/f mixed.

But the other day at Lowes, I found the Pine Bark for cheaper than my wholesale costs. And a 3 c/f compressed bale of Peat Moss was $11.00, but using them would require mixing some dolomite to raise the PH of the mix, and adding some Epsom Salts.

Here's a idea for net pots, get some shredded foam, or Polyester batting. There was an article in a Growers Mag. a few years back. A hydroponic grower in Holland was using Polyester ribbon, it was approx. 1/4" thick x 2" wide, planted the seed in a needle punched hole, laid the ribbon in the NFT trays and shipped eeverything to the customer. The customer was shown how to keep the greens and herbs watered till they were used.

They are sold as scrap metal, no waste there.

Well that's not really true unless they are to be used as bucket handles again because as scrap metal they need to be made into something else and that uses energy. Seems odd to think of metals in a different way to plastics, although some plastics are not recycled.

Very interesting. Reminds me of the mixes my mom uses. Never thought of using this stuff for my wicking beds... good idea... although this seems to be pretty expensive stuff to use for a large vegetable garden.

From what I read on the internet... Fafard #52 mix is more of a one-season mix, but, from what I understood, the perlite and partially decomposed pine bark significantly adds to the mixes longevity. Very interesting idea.

Fafard is an interesting product line... wish I could get wholesale prices...


Well, again, "dirt" by definition is sterile. Dirt essentially becomes "soil" (or "garden soil" I suppose) once both moisture and organics are introduced and allowed to thrive.

Sorry, I do not mean to get into a game of semantics, but was initially confusing to me... No worries. I understand what you mean now...

Basically... "soil-less" means sterile. Thanks!


Very interesting.


Wouldn't the high volume of Peat Moss keep the wicking bed too saturated with moisture?

I don't know if you're aware of this crsublette but I think the terms sterile and sterilization are used differently in the context of soil preparation than how a microbiologist would use it. The heating process used would generally not kill all organisms so it would be more like pasteurization. The important thing is that any plant pathogens and weed seeds are killed.

Got ya.. Very good. Thanks!

Sorry but I gave you the wrong ratio, the one I gave you was for foliage crops.

For my wicking bed soil-less mix it's a 8-2.8-2

8 c/f Pine Bark
2.8 c/f Fafard #52
2 c/f Perlite

Since the biggest volume is the Pine Bark, you don't get a over saturated mix.

If you want a better water holding for the mix, subsitute the 2.8 c/f Fafard with the same amount of Coir or you can add it to the others.

In my WB designs the soil-less mix is between 4"-8" deep, that will handle almost 90% of all vegetables grown.

I, don't flood my soil-less mix, the water, or nutrient water is wicked into the soil-less mix by way of Micro-fiber polyester wicks. The soil-less mix is separated from the water reservoir by a 10mm signage material called Coroplast, only the wicks pass thru the Coroplast and the 3/4" PVC fill tube. Unless I use a Vertical Float valve then you have to use 3" PVC, or a Horizontal Float valve you need to go with 4" PVC.

My reservoir liner is a 8 mil PE, UV resistant, with a nylon scrim between the dbl. 4 mil PE sheets, that costs less the 20 cents a s/f, if bought in a full roll 20" x 100'.

I don't use any rocks, gravels, scoria, etc. in my reservoirs. A 2" deep reservoir this way holds more water than a 6" deep gravel, rock, etc. filled reservoir.

Though I say a 2" deep reservoir above, most reservoirs I, build into my systems are between 4"-6" deep, the reason why is when a customer comes to my shop and picks up a 4' x 8' WB, and they install it themselves, leveling it is not as critical, Just a 1/4" per ft out of level will insure them that the whole system will have enough water in the entire reservoir.

By the way a 4' x 8' WB can fit in the bed of a 1/2 ton truck, including all the soil-less mix. 4 healthy persons can easily handle, moving, filling, and planting in less than 4 hours.

For weights figure 3 lbs per inch depth per s/f for the soil-less mix, and 5.25 lbs per inch of depth per s/f for the water. As for the weight of the container, it depends on what it made of.

If you have any other questions just ask, but I won't be able to answer till after 8 Jul.

Thank you!! Quite interesting.

Love your resevoir idea and usage of microfibre wicks....

Would cut up pieces of microfibre cow udder cloth work like the wick you are talking about? Are there any antibacterial or nutrient interference cautions to be aware of when choosing a microfibre material for our wicking bed context?


I hope you have a great 4th of July holiday! Look forward to your response when you get back.

I've used the "Cow Udder cloths" before, but due to the size they come in, they don't work for me.

I, buy the Micro-fibre towels 27" x 54", and have a seamstress cut them into 3" wide x 54" strips, then roll them 2 turns and stich them together. That way the costs is kept low. also for my new design I'm using a 4" PVC pipe with the rolled towel wicks in a horizontal laid position every 6-12" o/c. The Pipe is kept full with a Vertical float valve.

I'm going to call it a "Pipe-Olla"

As for concerns about "antibacterial or nutrient interference", these terms are for New cleaning products, but with time and use they dissipate. The wick is just a straw for water with nutrients to be wicked from the reservoir to the soil-less mix.

I've used the "Cow Udder cloths" before, but due to the size they come in, they don't work for me.

I, buy the Micro-fibre towels 27" x 54", and have a seamstress cut them into 3" wide x 54" strips, then roll them 2 turns and stich them together. That way the costs is kept low. also for my new design I'm using a 4" PVC pipe with the rolled towel wicks in a horizontal laid position every 6-12" o/c. The Pipe is kept full with a Vertical float valve.

I'm going to call it a "Pipe-Olla"

As for concerns about "antibacterial or nutrient interference", these terms are for New cleaning products, but with time and use they dissipate. The wick is just a straw for water with nutrients to be wicked from the reservoir to the soil-less mix.

Thanks!! Very excellent idea about the mciro-fibre towels.