Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

(I just need more time....and money....and good looks....and brains....)

greenedo...hope you do not wait for all that .

hey Janet check this out http://www.goestores.com/catalog.aspx?s ... 0&detail=1

That's cool CG!

I like it CG. No rust and easy storage.

That's a very clever way to get my money. I'm trying out some new tomato supports in the garden this year, but I hadn't seen that style.

I posted these pics on the 'Medium system' Thread, but figured they belonged here, too.

System Update:
I'm again struggling with a trace of nitrites and high nitrates. I tossed a piece of water hyacinth into the main tank (in a cage) to see if I can use up more nitrates until i get better plant mass in the grow beds. I tore out a section of the plantings and haven't recovered my nitrate-processing capability yet. All told, I really think I'm slightly over-stocked with 55 fish. 40-45 would be better. I'm thinking maybe I should either eat or cull a few, but haven't figured out where to purge them. (Not the bathtub, thanks!) The fish are a bit small for eating, but I would really like to get nitrites and nitrates down. On the plus side, the fish are still voracious, making the water boil any time I come near the tank. So from their perspective, everything is fine.

My eggplants are growing like trees! They are supposed to be miniatures, but you can't tell that by looking. Tommies have the first few marble-sized fruit, and we got two meals of bok choy out of one plant. Cukes have set a lot of fruit, but pollination was obviously not sufficient. Lousy bees--oh wait, that's my job. We also had some delicious beet greens. I enjoyed them so much that I planted more beets even though the roots are not growing that well for me. I like beet greens better than Swiss Chard (silverbeet to the Aussies).

I've been following your progress with great interest and I reckon the results are spectacular! Neat, contained indoor production, entertainment and food all in one. Is AP the best hobby in the world or what? Fantastic work Janet

The colours go together well too

Hi Janet,

I like your indoor setup.

I have a novice question for you: Why do your (brown) hoses loop up like that? Does that stop your GBs from draining fully?

Scott.

Scott, they're auto-siphons..... Auto-siphon Thread

The top of the hose loop is set to the maximum water level your want your growbed to be flooded to.... when the water gets to this level it forces the air out of the tubing and the water in the growbed is sucked (siphoned) out quickly.... gives you the drain component of the "flood and drain" cycle...

When the water level drops below the level of the siphon, air enters the tubing, replacing the water and stops the siphon effect... until the next "flood" cycle raises the level to the top of the tubing.... etc etc..

Work like a charm and have become an almost universal approach on small growbeds and systems

Larger growbeds sometimes employ standpipes instead... use the search function and read on.... lots of info

Hi RupertofOZ,



Oh wow! That's clever.

Thx,

Scott.

Thanks All, for the kind words.

The autosiphons are really handy, although I wonder what the maximum diameter of hose is that can be used for them. The surface tension of the water seems to help start the siphon, and it seems that there ought to be an upper limit. I think mine are 3/4 inch internal diameter (19mm), and that's the largest that I'm aware is being used. It's a standard garden hose size, although using the clear hose instead of opaque hose helped me diagnose problems in the beginning. It also helps me see when I need to clean out the biofilm to keep the siphons at top efficiency.

I have visions (delusions?) of a larger (greenhouse-sized) system someday, and I think I would used the standpipe-style autosiphons to get a higher drain rate.

we often use 32mm hose to siphon out our deminraliser and carbon vessels at work, works fine, infact it sucks up the resin and the carbons really well

so i doubt there is a limit to size when it comes to creating a siphon

Hi Delgrade,
Good to know. Actually, I think I didn't express myself clearly. The rate that the water rises in my growbed is a facter in getting the autosiphon to start, too. If my water level is rising too slowly in proportion to the diameter of the autosiphon, the autosiphon will just trickle rather than starting. At the same time, I don't want my growbeds to fill too quickly--the plants need to have a chance at the water. So there's a balance to be had in applying siphons to AP.

correct JP! Les has gone to an awful lot of trouble in documenting the flow rate versus diameters for us.