Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

After many dramas drilling the holes, we finally have our strawberry extension up and running. There are already things I wish we had done differently. We filled the pipes with expanded clay, where I wish we had just put the strawberries in net pots filled with clay. The pump is working pretty hard to get water that high. I think maybe a slightly higher powered pump will be a good idea. It will be interesting to see what it will do to our water temp in summer.
From what I gather, they will need potassium and potash. We will see how we go.

Ive got a 2000L/H pump pumping up to 6' high with no problems

Looks good

Why would you change to net pots instead of the clay balls in the pipe?

>> I've got a 2000L/H pump pumping up to 6' high with no problems

It would depend on brand and type. Ideally you need to check the pumps rate vs head chart.
many pond pumps drop off pretty quickly.

plus you have losses through the pipes - Guadalupe says "We filled the pipes with expanded clay".
suspect that is adding to the flow loss (basically equivalent to an extra increase in head).

Will be interesting to see what happens when the roots start clogging up a bit.
Usually this creates a bit of backup in an NFT tube - media could be issue here as well.

>> I wish we had just put the strawberries in net pots filled with clay. The pump is working pretty hard...

yep. Most go with this approach.

Will be interesting to see your results. I played with 6" pipe and strawberries once. Pipes filled with pea stone. Bacterial mat blocked the flow within a week. They were shorter pipes, so less media. rooting for ya!

I'm getting a bit worried about clogging. Should I maybe clear the pipes from expanded clay already and get some net pots? Where does one buy net pots??

I'm a bit concerned about your method of suspension. There's a fair bit of weight in those pipes, held up by synthetic rope that falls apart after a few months in the sun. You need to get some solid supports under it, or hang it from fencing wire or some other material that doesnt degrade under UV light, before a disastrous collapse happens. You may need more supports if there is any sagging too, otherwise there'll be overflows where you dont want them.

sory just to clarify our strawbs are in net pots, bought from garage sale.

My 2 cents worth
Most points before are good concerns, weight, blockage etc
Id go with net pots and media only in those, might mean you have to level out and maintain some depth of water
In which case id look to run water to far end and have each pipe draining into FT
BUT a key problem will be disease. AP water is great home for pythium which busts strawberries. Salt levels and High N also dont help.

After several attempts my similar setup is separate to AP and runs full hydro nutrient.

>> Where does one buy net pots??

try eBay or most online hydroponic stores.
I got mine from a seller on eBay Aust.

There are also a couple of specialist pot manufacturers in NSW-VIC - usually same as the guys that do tree seedling pots etc. Cant think of name off hand.


[edit] others on forum have used alternatives like plastic cups etc.

Thank you. We've been kicking around a few ideas for solid supports. We started with wire but had issues with it stretching.
I'm of two minds as to wether I should pull it apart now and switch to net pots or wait until I need new plants and do it then.

I agree with net pots I brought some normal pots an drilled plenty of holes to add strawberrys
Pipes will block an your pump will struggle to push water through it

Ok so we've made some alterations. I got a heap more star posts for support, and I emptied the pipes of hydroton and got some net pots. I killed a heap of plants not realising that my pots were not deep enough, and the roots were not in contact with the water. I've attached a chux wick to the base of each pot now, so the chux is in contact with the water, and then in contact with the roots.
I was drifting off to sleep, when I had a thought: the whole concept of air pruning is that the roots die back when they are in contact with the air, isn't it? Does that mean that my set up isn't going to work? Do the roots need to be completely submerged?? Please someone come up with a solution for me. I can't sleep for obsessing over how to make it work.

How far down in the pipe do the net pots reach? Can you control the water height?