Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

The graphs are for the actual kWh usage for the heater and the projected cost of the energy. The info is independent of any net metering. Normally at the end of the year I have surplus generation and I do not pay for electricity.

Transitioning from winter to spring, maybe. I moved the asparagus from a growbed to a wicking bed about a month ago. They are pretty invasive so I had to dig them out to move them. And behold, I'm already getting sprouts


I've been through one round of broccoli and cauliflower, but I planted another set last month. I got rid of the duckweed and made a 2nd raft bed to plant more lettuce. Otherwise I'm planting tomatoes, carrots and some herbs - hoping I can manage any frost that comes over the next couple months.

Today's project, closed loop propane heater to supplement or replace my 1500 watt electric heater. The electric heater needs a dedicated circuit and a beefy extension cord to feed it. I'm on solar so I haven't felt the cost, but it is definitely an energy hog. So, I bought a propane camp water heater, used a submersible pump that I already had, bought 100 feet of 3/4" (.700") irrigation tubing and added some fittings and a thermostat I had lying around.





So far it's working very well. 110°F output at heater and 70°F return temp. Raised 250 gallons 2.5° in about a half hour. The burner is like a small BBQ grill burner so I don't think it uses much fuel. I'll calculate the usage and cost compared to electricity and see if it is worth it, or maybe just a backup in very cold weather.

The heater was $100 on Amazon, the thermostat about 40, the tubing 10. I don't remember what I paid for the pump almost 3 years ago. I think it was the very first one I bought when I started my first AP system.

Todays project is a bell siphon upgrade. The trouble is, grow bed bottoms are not always flat. This can be troublesome when using Hydroton as it has a way of invading the media guard at the bottom, especially when you rotate the guard to clear any roots. I also had only a 3" media guard which made it impossible to get my hand inside and do any meaningful cleaning or adjustments.

So, I want to share yesterdays project where I had to dig out a problematic bed and make improvements. Once I removed the Hydroton, getting a dry work zone was the biggest challenge. A shop vac and several towels were helpful with that. I built a dam using a towel to protect the area after most of the water trickle subsided.

In the photo below you can see a 4" drainage coupling that I cut in half, then notched to more closely fit the bottom contour. I dried the area well and used 100% silicone to affix the coupling in place. I left gaps to allow water to seep through. I let this dry for several hours.


This gives a great interface with the 4" media guard, allows it to rotated and is forgiving if you accidentally lift it slightly while rotating to clear the roots. It's worked very well in my other beds, though I still have a few to upgrade.

You can also see the standpipe construction I use. There is a bleed hole at the bottom, but round holes are easily clogged with round pebbles. So I recommend a slot or elongated hole. But two other problems are controlling the drain rate, and the height of the standpipe. To address that I use a notched coupling and a separate standpipe. In the photos you can see the coupling can be used to cover the hole completely, or not at all, or anywhere in between. In addition it is easy to change the standpipe and control the height.


Lastly, for finer height adjustment and better siphon performance I use a flare coupling (two pieces glued together, then machined to a flare, and a slip fit over the pipe). This coupling can be raised or lowered for the finer control of water level - higher for sprouting seeds, lower for normal operation, or switching between siphon and constant flood, timed flood and drain, etc. One photo shows the flare in the down position, the other with it up.



I'll include a photo of the media guard and bell later as they're a little different too, but I don't have the photos now.

Anyhow, 10 beds down, 3 to go. I guess I better get them done before I start my spring planting.

So in the USA we have "public access" radio and TV, creatively called Public Broadcast System, or PBS. Well it looks like my backyard AP system might be on a future show. I believe they filmed a commercial system, and maybe two others so there could be a total of four different systems featured.

A local gardening "celebrity" by the name of Nan Sterman found me through social media. Two visits and many reschedules later, she came to my house with a crew and filmed for 5 hours+. It looks like I might be part of an episode of A Growing Passion focusing on Aquaponics. A Growing Passion has 6 episodes per season and will air season 5(?) this year. The Aquaponics episode is set to air May 11th on our local KPBS station. So, I'm looking forward to seeing if my AP system shows well and how goofy I look on camera. I also hope we get some good PR and public dissemination on this amazing hobby / crowd sourced food production method.

We also have a Facebook group in our area called San Diego Backyard Fruit Exchange. People with extra produce and organic or home made foods post in this group looking to trade for produce related things they need. There are also regular (weekly and monthly) swaps in different areas for an easier trading forum. It's a great idea. If you don't have something similar in your area you should consider starting one. Just credit Knikki Royster and her group for the great idea.

My first trade last year was 5 heads of lettuce for 1.5 lbs. of Yellowfin tuna. I've traded for amazing home baked bread, eggs, beer, honey, plants, fruits, veggies, chocolates, soaps, etc. - All home grown or homemade items. It's a great idea and has grown to 2,800 members over the last year.

Just a public service announcement with mild self-serving benefits.

- David

Awesome and congrats. I'm sharing you idea on the fruit exchange if that's okay?

Thanks and absolutely, that's why I shared, but I can't take credit for the idea. Good luck!!

David,

That's great on the show doing a clip on your system. Your pictures show it to be one of the most attractive aquaponics setup I have seen- a good choice as an example and to drive interest. I don't recall seeing A Growing Passion on our local PBS so I will have to try to catch the show off of their website.

The fruit exchange is another fantastic tip though I haven't been able to find one locally yet.

Keep those PSA's coming

This is an awesome set up. Thanks for sharing.

Need to think expansion myself.

Update: The RFFs work really well. I open the valve every week or two and take about a gallon out. But, this only gets a small portion of the solids. So once a month(ish) I open the valve and take the usual poo shot. Then, I let the clear water drain into a barrel. Sometimes I use a transfer pump to speed things up.

Then I hose down the inside until I have a few gallons of yuck. Transfer pump into a 5 gal bucket and use in the yard / wicking beds. Once the RFF is nice and clean, I transfer the clear water back into the system.

I like to think my system is mature, meaning somewhat stable with no more Holy Shit! moments (HSM). Unfortunately that's not the case. I came home from a 4 day getaway at 10pm last Sunday. Thankfully I thought, "I better just take a look at the fish before I go to bed."

When I peeked under the cover, all the little ones (150+ "kitten fish") were at the surface piping for air. The big ones were lethargic and almost white instead of near black. HSM, the pump is not running! I have battery backup aeration in the form of power heads. They work very well to keep water circulating and aerated. Unfortunately they are attached by suction cup inside the FT, and occasionally the fish will bump them and reposition them or knock them off. Sure enough, BOTH power heads were laying on the bottom.

I restored the power heads and threw in a spare pump to make a "fountain" and get the water aerated in a hurry. I've had similar situation in the past where I though I saved the fish, but over the next several days the died en masse. This time, thankfully, there are no losses after 5 days. It looks like the pump was off for about 20 hours due to a computer glitch, probably related to an automatic reboot from updates.

My lettuce still looks pretty good too!

Yes that lettuce does look good, super envy here

So it looks like it will happen this week. My garden will be on TV in a public broadcast series. The write up for episode 504 makes it sound like I am first in the lineup. Here is the link to the specific episode. As I understand it, as soon as it airs it will be available online, so anyone interested can view it even if they're not in the broadcast area.

http://agrowingpassion.com/episode-504-aquaponics-fish-poop-plant-roots/

For any locals, this is a PBS show and will air this Thursday 5/11 at 8:30pm Pacific time and repeats on Saturday at 3:30pm. I hope this brings good PR for AP.

Ooh, congratulations!

I wish I could have seen the video. Did they make it available online?