August Update - Baby Oh! Baby! more Fish Tanks

It's August and it's very hot outside, we are having 100+ degree days with little humidity, so I am having to add water every other day to both systems in the greenhouse. The only positive of the heat has been an increase in broods from the breeding colonies that are in place. This being said, I have had to install two new fish tanks. I fashioned these out of two 55 gallon blue plastic drums. I go over this in the embedded video.  More updates to come soon.

DWC Raft Construction Update #2

OK...so I have finished hooking all the components up for the new DWC rafts in system 2. All is working according to plan. The only adjustment I had to make was to the riser tube coming off the bottom of the FT's. I had to shorten it by 1" as I was having an overflow problem in one of the FT as the ebb/flow grow bed were draining. Easy fix, with a hacksaw and 2" coupling. I have also built a weather protective box for the pumps and air blower. I still need to paint it to match the greenhouse...shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to paint.

I have included a video overview of the system so far....

  I purchased 4  - 4' x 8' extruded polystyrene 1" foam sheets from Home Depot for use as my rafts. I then cut these into 4' sections and drilled 3" holes, using a hole saw, in each to accommodate 3" net cups.

 I have 5 rafts that each have 36 holes on 8" centers and I have 3 rafts that have 16 holes on 12" centers. This gives me a total of  228 holes for plants in both rafts combined.  The 8" center hole rafts will be used for leafy vegetables such as lettuce, Kale, Greens, and Herbs, while the 12" center rafts will house tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli.   I had to paint the tops with a latex based paint to provide some protection from the UV rays of the sun.

All painted up and installed in the rafts.

I also drilled 1" holes about every 2' for air stones coming off the 1" PVC airline running down the middle of the rafts. As you can see from the photo, there are plenty of bubbles coming up against the rafts.

After completing all of this work, I noticed that the top layer of weed block was breaking fairly rapidly in the sun, so I decided to lay down UV resistant tarps over the weed block, hopefully I will get a couple of years use out the tarps before they need to be replaced.

 Ultimately, I will be placing pea gravel down over the weed block, but no time for that now...I'm off to get some Mozambique Tilapia at Overton Fish Farms....

Next up ....the Tilapia.

Time to plant for seedlings

OK...so I'm a little late on planting my seedlings due to other domestic obligations ...anyway, I have picked up some seedling trays from Amazon that are being used to start my seedlings. I tried using white grow cubes on my bell peppers in the past, which sprouted fine, but did not allow for enough oxygen to the roots and too much water causing rot. This time around I'm using peat moss. I have to pack each seed cell in the tray with peat moss, which should provide a good foundation for the roots. I am using a combination of rain water and FT water to sprout the seeds.  Hopefully, the greenhouse will provide enough light for stronger growing plants. I am growing two varieties of cucumbers, three different types of tomatoes, some heirloom, along with kale, lettuce, squash, etc. etc. etc. Once the sprouts are large enough, tomatoes will be placed in the media grow beds, along with the cucumbers while most of the rest will go into the DWC rafts once completed.

Insulation for the Fish Tanks

Sorry everyone for not posting lately, too many projects going on and with the daily grind of  "normal life" I haven't had much time to pursue my Aquaponics dream. Anyway, I decided to insulate the tops and bottoms of the fish tanks with 1" extruded polystyrene foam board that I picked up from Home Depot. I purchased four 4' x 8' sheets along with a couple of cans of 3M Super 77 spray adhesive to glue all the foam board up with. It was a challenge since I had to piece everything together on the top of the tanks due to the fact that I couldn't move the grow beds. Each individual piece had to be measured and cut to fit as no two pieces were the same. Time to complete 2-1/2 days. It was worth it and has cut down on the evaporative water loss from the fish tanks, which in turn has cut down on the humidity in the greenhouse. Oh..and did I mention the cost saving on electric to heat the water.  It dropped my bill by about 30%, almost to it's typical winter norm. And the cost for all of this was about $60 dollars. This is one of those " I wish I had done this sooner or first" situations. Hey, it's a learning experience...right? Oh well, I will know better in the future.  Of course, I am a little late on planting for seedlings, but that's for the next post. Until next time....

The Aquaponics Gardener Greenhouse update for December

Just thought I would throw together a quick update on the progress of the greenhouse. It's been a month since the last video showing how all of the plants and fish are growing....I'm very excited to see that the system is really starting to crank out the produce, and in the middle of winter...just mind numbing. Anyway, here's a quick look.

 And as stated in the video we had our first harvest of produce, I picked and prepared Swiss Chard, all types of Kale, Basil, Arugula Chocolate mint,  and spearmint which was mixed up in a nice salad.  It was really good, and there is plenty left over for a few days. I still have quiet a bit more growing in the greenhouse.

The Aquaponics Gardener

Well, I have decided to change the name of the blog to better correlate what I am doing with my backyard and greenhouse in relation to aquaponics and not just aeroponics.  So, the new blog name will be "The Aquaponics Gardener" located at http://aquaponicsgardener.blogspot.com/ ,  I have also started a YouTube Channel by the same name located here: http://www.youtube.com/user/Aquaponicsgardener . So I will be periodically posting videos of my Aquaponics adventures for your viewing pleasure.  Hopefully, this will help some of you who are thinking about taking the plunge with Aquaponics, by avoiding some of the same mistakes I encountered. To get you started here is a quick overview of the Aquaponics system running in my greenhouse after it has been running for approximately 2 months. Enjoy....and until next time.

The Aquaponics Gardener Greenhouse overview video.

GrowBed content has arrived.

Ok, the only thing left to do is fill the growbeds with media, after researching the various options, I narrowed it down to two choices, either Growerstone or Expanded Shale. Due to price, Growerstone in bulk is $3 per cubic ft plus delivery and Expanded Shale is $2.22 per cubic ft plus delivery. I decided on the Expanded Shale, and ordered 3 cubic yards from a local source which was promptly delivered in an hour at a price of $258.00. It takes approximately 23 cubic ft to each growbed and I have four to fill... and so it begins.

 Due to dust from processing the Expanded Shale, It needs to be washed to remove any residue. I accomplished this by taking a 5 gallon plastic bucket and drilling some 2-1/2" holes in the bottom and the placed some left over wiring screening I had laying around, this not only helps with removing dust/sand from the Shale but also helps in grading the size of the material. I should get a pretty consistent 3/8" stone size on the shale.

I tried using a regular spray hose to clean the shale, but it was not very effective, so I broke out the pressure washer and gave it a spin. I filled the buckets up about 1/2 full with shale and pressure washed it with a fan spray which seems to work fairly well. It does however breakup and create smaller granules which I can't separate out, this will just have to go in the beds, and hopefully it will not cause clogging problems later on.

It takes about 30 minutes to clean a 6CuFt wheelbarrow full of shale and another 10-15 minutes to unload it into the grow beds.

It takes approx. 4-1/2 wheelbarrow to fill a growbed, so it is somewhat time consuming to do so, but hopefully well worth the effort in the long run, and finally the first growbed is complete. The media is 1" to 2" inches above the water fill line. This prevent algae growth on top of the media in the beds.

After filling the growbeds with media, I still have about half of the Expanded Shale left, obviously I received a lot more than 3 cubic yards, so that will go into the raised beds for water retention and aeration which I am planning on putting in before winter sets in.  I planted a few herbs and a couple of tomato plants to see how the plants would do in the growbeds.

I still need to test the water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates to determine the levels and whether the plants are doing there job in using the nitrates and whether the bacteria have kicked in and are converting the waste into usable Nitrates for the plants. I guess that means I have to buy a test kit...on my list of things to do.

And now it's on to the worm beds.....

IBC Tote tanks... continued

Alright, I have placed the last two tote tanks and configured them like the ones in the previous post without any issues. After measuring the standpipes  and bell housing, I had to cut them down by 1-1/2" to get the water level down to 10" in the growbeds which would allow for 12" deep grow media. I also added some drain holes to the outside perf pipe and covered them with fiberglass screening to allow for better water penetration into the siphon, without this I would get a premature siphon break half way through the cycle with substrate in place. Next, I ordered two 950 GPH magnetic drive pumps from a seller on eBay at a huge discount. I basically picked both units up for the price of one. These have been installed and a working as planned.

I also ordered a commercial air pump for use in the tanks with a 6 way control valve assembly and four 18" air stones. This unit puts out 45Liters per Hour which is more than enough for the 1100 Gallons of water I have in the fish tanks. It took about 30ft of 1/8" tubing extended to all tanks to get this in place.

 I also built a small shelf to house the unit and valve assembly. I had to bolt the air pump down to the shelf so it didn't vibrate around and fall off.

I have added 20 feeder gold fish to the tanks (5 for each tank) to start the nitrogen cycle process. I have had a few die off due to stress so I will be adding more as time permits.

Next it's on to the growbed media.....

IBC Tote Tank Aquaponics

I know it's been awhile since I last posted to the blog, but I have been very busy planning the inside of the greenhouse. I know the blog is about Aeroponics, but I just had to start out with some Aquaponics adventures to set the stage for future Aeroponics endevours. So, without further ramblings, let's dive in. I searched our local Craigslist coverage area and found an inexpensive source for 275 Gallon IBC ( International Bulk Container) tote tanks ($50 ea.) which were single use food grade totes that contained liquified corn sugar (not corn syrup). This stuff was really sticky and messy, having the consistency of molasses, but without the sugary smell or taste When looking for these types of containers, always look for food grade, or ask the seller what the previous contents were before committing to a purchase, some IBC's are used to transport hazardous chemicals or petroleum products, not good for the fish, plants or you. So I purchased two of these bad boys, and loaded them up in the truck for the eighty mile trip back home. Once I got back, I unloaded these with the help of my son, as they are approx. 75lbs empty, it's can be tricky moving them off the back of the truck.

First step in prepping these totes for use in an Aquaponics system is to remove the top retaining brackets as shown in the photo below. The screws take a large Torqs Bit, which I did not have, but an alternate was to use a Hex bit which fit nicely in the head of each retaining screw.

Moving on, the next item on the list is to remove the plastic tank from the cage, which can be accomplished by laying the whole unit on it's side and sliding the tank out of the cage.

Before cutting up the frame for the various pieces needed in the Aquaponics system. I took a pressure washer and sprayed out the inside of the plastic tanks as a precursor to cleaning them after prepping the cage.

On to the cage/frame prep. I used a metal cutoff blade in my old trusty B&D 7-1/4" circular saw to cut the metal tubing on the cage. Cuts were made all the way around the cage at the second horizontal cross member as shown below.

At this point prior to cutting, I removed the black corner braces and tossed them aside as they will not be needed for the project.

After cutting is complete on the cage, I had to cut a whole in the center of the base for the PVC piping that would have to protrude through to the fish tank as the bottom of the cage would now be the base for my grow bed. Using the circular saw I cut out an approximate 4" x 6" opening in the base.

After this, I took a 4-1/2" angle grinder and took off any visible burrs around the opening and also on each vertical brace of the cage where I cut the cage into two pieces.

After this, it was on to cutting the plastic tote into two pieces. In order to do this the tote would have to be turned upside down and placed back in the base without the scew-on 6" lid in place. Once in place, I took a felt tipped marker and drew a line around the plastic tote at the top of horizontal cross member.

After marking the line around the tote, I removed it from the base and laid it on it's side. In order to cut the tote, I purchased a 120 Tooth plastic/vinyl blade for $10 from my local Lowe's Home Improvement store.

Here is the finished product.

At this point I spent the next two hours cleaning the inside and outside of the tanks. Removing any residue left by the pre-wash by using a combination of Crude Cutter Cleaner, TSP, the pressure washer and good old hand scrubbing.  Once this was done I moved on to prepping the wooden pallets as a base to accept the larger cage for the Fish Tank  I simply placed the pallet where I wanted it to go, and then attached 2"x2' furring strips to the pallet inside the cage perimeter as shown, which hold the cage in place while providing an easy breakdown if it needs to be moved.

All that was left for the major assembly was to place the large half of the Tote Tank into the pallet base which would serve as the Fish Tank, while placing the Metal Base on top of the palletized tote for use as the grow bed.

The top tanks are approximately 15" deep which is perfect for a 12" grow bed. I intend to use Growers Stone which is an inert lightweight material which looks similar to lava rock as a growing medium. Next it's on to the Affnan Bell Siphon, which is made out of 1" PVC pipe and along with a 1-1/4" reducer coupling SxT, 1" female adapter, 2" Male Adapter, and two reducer bushings, one is a 2x1", and the other is a 1-1/2x1" reducer.The last three items are actually glued together and screwed into the 6" screw on cap which the 1" standpipe/bell siphon attaches to. I also used 3" PVC for the bell portion of the siphon with a 3" plastic test cap glued in place with corresponding diagonal cuts on the bottom to break the siphon once the water reaches the bottom of the grow bed. Lastly, I used 4" perforated corrugated drain pipe over the whole siphon to protect it from the gravel in the beds, and to provide better water circulation.

Here is what the whole set-up looks like when put together.

The above picture also shows the ebb & flo growbed in action. I timed the fill at approx. 25 minutes per 200 gallons of water, so for two grow beds in each system with a full compliment of grower stones which will displace approximately 50% of the water in each bed, that cuts the time down to less than 15 minutes, with a drain lasting approximately 5 minutes I should be able to get 3 cycles per hour, not optimum, should be 4, but three will do.

With the 1-1/4 reducer, it takes approx. 25 seconds for a full force siphon to start. I may try to order the 1-1/2 reducers as my local home improvement & hardware stores don't carry them. This would reduce the siphon start time to approx. 5-7 seconds. I used a 600 GPH magnetic drive submersible utility pump with an attached pre-filter to supply water to two tanks at a time.

In order to do this I had to connect the two tanks together. I decided to use the existing 2" ball valves that were attached to the totes from the factory as each one has 2" IPS threads which will accept a 2" female PVC adapter. To this I attached a 2" PVC Union and 2" 90 degree DWV elbows and 2" PVC pipe between each tank for the connection as shown in the next photo. This gives me the added ability to remove the connection and drain/clean or work on individual tanks when needed.

In order to feed water to each grow bed I came up with a PVC manifold using 1/2" PVC pipe and fitting.
This was attached to the pump with a section of black UV resistant 5/8" card hose.

and here is the system at it's present stage of completion. I am in the process of adding two more Fish Tanks/Grow beds for a total of four in the greenhouse.

I still have to add an air system to the tank for Dissolved Oxygen (DO) in the tanks, along with a way to heat the water in the winter and cool it in the summer, perhaps a pond heater and a Chiller are in my future. I will save that for upcoming post....hope you have enjoyed the journey so far. Until next time...