Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Dan,
Did you get any of the heavy rains like what hit Osawatomie or Coffeyville? My aunt near Dallas didn't have any of the problems that they did at Gainesville, and I am over at Warrensburg, so I have been flood free this year.
Check out the threads on the Hardware section regarding the Greenhouse Hoop bending tool. Could be a reasonable alternative for you. I am planning on buying one of the mid priced models later on. (I read an article in the paper this AM that said that Planning and Zoning past last year, but I thought it was only for the areas around the Air Force Base. If its countywide, I had better start building before they get thier restrictions in place.)
Neat little system! Looks like you might be eating more beans than you would have thought about. Are they green beans, or are they dried beans? How do you think bush varieties would do?
Thanks for the idea on the flood system! I had thought about using old toilet tank valves, but wasn't sure about how to make it work.
Kevin

Hey Kevin
no we did not receive the last big rain here but the county south of here all the way down to south Texas (around 740 miles) got hit with from 17-20 inches in a short duration and had lots of flooding. Topeka had some flooding in town about a month and a half before.
My brother Chris lives in Windsor, MO. works at the furniture store. His twin daughters are going to attend school @ cmsu next year. Go MULES

The beans I planted just as soon as I turned the pump on~ no bacteria really established at that point in time. I innoculated with 55 gallons of water from the state fishing lake but don't let fish and game know.

The beans are Kentucky Wonder pole beans, very large pods (9inches), thick, flat and fiberless. Just now starting to blossom after doping with some additional potassium.

Yes fellas~ potassium chloride 1/8th tsp which weighed 1/10 of an ounce approximate. 1/12th the usual application in soil for the sq ft. It was enough to break the beans to bloom and they are growing new runners and it really sped up the cucumber growth. Haven't noticed anything amiss so far but it has been only three days.

The cukes are Spacemaster Bush variety. I recommend it for great yield. Dark green smooth fruit about 7-8 inches long. With as many as are on these plants I will probably be making pickles of all sorts this year.

Didn't get started as soon as I would have liked this year but look forward to next season and an early start. I just added another growbed to get some bacteria established and will move it into the basement for a winter session.

You mentioned barrel prices in another post Kevin? I can get plastic white bung hole style barrels for 10$ sometimes he has some blue ones also. For 13$ he has some thick sided barrels with large screw on lids blue and black in color. He gets them from food processing plants they did contain cleaning fluids. At present he is on some waiting lists to get me a couple ibc's. I told him at the end of next summer (when I get canned at work) I would like to have around 40 of the black ones. Gonna use them for heat storage.
I know of another place way down south on hwy 71 there in misery is a guy that has hundreds of blue barrels for sale not sure what his prices are. Next time I head down to Table Rock Lake to visit dad I will be stopping in to check that out.

i cant find plastic barrels for any price around here. best i can find is plastic 65 gallon trash cans at wal mart for $ 45.

I can get em free, seems all day long. Have you any contacts in a food processing plant. Any place that would need to sanitize after their production process? Or a company that would need to treat their used water prior to letting it go back into the cities system?

cement works use them too

nope, ive been loking hard too. the only places ive found them sends them back to be refilled.

MC I would guess someone might have the market sewn up around there for used barrels. I have been told to talk to dock foreman at bottling plants. I tried sourcing some on my own and got nowhere. I believe the guy I am buying from has it all sewn up. He is a heavy recycler it is all that he does. He had 2 nice plastic trays about 3" deep by 4'x6' that I almost grabbed when I was last there. Those I could use for duckweed or strawberrys or something else short rooted I was thinking.

Heck you could grow lettuce all day long in those trays but your going to need more fishies.

yes John you are so right on needing more fish and I need some I can grow and eat~ not meaning to be knocking these hard working goldfish

i found something i could use for a growbed if i ever build a growbed type of system. they are spill containment pallets. i found ones like this for $75 locally.

Already divided in quadrants on top or just halved?
Dan, Have you sourced any edible fishies yet?

the one i saw was not divided, that is just a support for the grate, can be lifted out. the one in the pic may be differnt, i was just useing that as a example.

Ahh ok, Id like them grates for over my fish tank. Looks like it would work just fine for a grow bed.

yes I have John just no where to put them yet. Need more materials collected to build larger system. Doing this on the cheap as I am very poor...

$75

That is amazing value for money!

Check out the price of these ....

http://www.prattsafety.com.au/spill_con ... ll_pallets