Hydro/Aquaponics

Qik - hydroponic update May 15, 2011 by Cheryl Sterling

2011-05-19T15:56:00.001-04:00

Qik - aquaponics update 4/29/11 by Cheryl Sterling

2011-04-29T20:00:00.001-04:00

Qik - aquaponic update by Cheryl Sterling

2011-04-10T14:06:00.001-04:00

Aquaponic Update

2011-03-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

Well, the weather made a drastic change. Throughout the week, the wind kicked up and the weather turned

quite chilly as compared to the mid 70's and low 80's we've had for a couple of weeks. Todays highs

hit a whopping 39! It is wet, cold, and dreary out!

I did go out and made a real quick shaky (from shivering) video, though.

The pollen has been crazy! Everything has been covered! My black car looks an ugly green color, the

water in the fish vat is black/green/yellow, and murky....the grow beds were covered in yellow...so,

the rain has been a welcome cleansing.

I've added several plants during the week. Most of them have been started in the green house, patiently

waiting for their transplant. Some were started in rockwool, others in soil. The ones in soil, I originally

planted at my husbands request for his garden....but I stole a few in the process. I made sure to rinse the roots

off really well before putting them in the hydroton.

Currently I have planted some cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, pole beans,

fava beans, cabbage, cauliflower, bib lettuce, cantaloupe, okra, brussel sprouts, and strawberries. I am waiting for the different peppers to mature a bit more before putting them in the grow beds.

Everything seems to be growing well. I did add an actual pond filter box for the pump to help with all of the pollen. It is doing its job, just way too much pollen and dust with the winds we had to keep up. The pump seems to running fine even with the overcast sky. I was worried that the battery wasn't going to be able to recharge enough to run things.

So, I'll include the quick shivering video and hope you enjoy! Looking forward to warm weather and sunshine!

Some things I've learned on my quest so far......

2011-03-20T20:13:00.001-04:00

I thought this might be a good time to just kind of reflect on some of the things I have learned so far..

1. I really need to work on patience. I ended up putting plants in earlier than I said I was. The weather is so nice, it just seemed fitting for the occasion. (I DO have spare seedlings growing in rockwool, just in case!)

2. I need to slow my thoughts down. There are so many ways of doing hydro/aquaponics that it is sometimes hard to stay focused on just one system. I already have so many ideas for the future....trying an NFT system, expanding what I have, starting one in the green house so it is ready for winter, trying odd plants out of curiosity, etc...

3. This venture is NOT a "cheap" way of doing things. Possibly after everything is up and running for awhile. The startup costs are not cheap, though, and that is what I started out trying to do. My excitement got ahead of me and I've already "upgraded" simple things. I did not have to go solar to begin with and would have saved quite a bit. I am happy with that decision, though. I didn't have to "cheat" and buy a couple of plants this weekend to get a head start....but I did. .........and I am happy with that decision, too.....

4. I have also learned that when the system is up and running on the timer just the way you want it, be sure to notify your family that the "experimentation" phase is over. Protect your timer!!! If it has controls like mine, the tiniest touch can throw it off.

5. Don't mess with the media guards. If they are working at keeping out the Hydroton, gravel, or whatever....LEAVE THEM ALONE! I had to dump a bed and redo it because for some silly reason, my son felt the need to "see if it was working." Bless his heart.....refer back to that "experimental" phase....

6. My ducks are not my friends. I caught 2 of them trying to get into my fish vat...mind you, they have an acre and a half pond that they just walked from, right behind them. I'm going to have to find a fix for that...

7. It has been well worth the time, research, and effort I've put into this. I am excited about what I'm doing and looking forward to seeing the progress over the next couple months.

I added some Marigolds to the front of the fish vat just to pretty it up a little.

Behind the Marigolds are some yellow onion bulbs. Not hydroponics, but good eats anyway.

I'm working on a trellis to put above the grow beds. It is from scrap metal we had laying

around. It will sit in notches on top of metal poles. I tried to paint it this weekend, but the

wind was blowing so hard, I painted more of myself than anything.

Well, that's all for tonight! I had a wonderful weekend and look forward to the

week ahead!

Happy Gardening!

The fish are in!

2011-03-15T19:21:00.000-04:00

So, I've glued most of the pvc together, covered my clear line coming from the pump up to the reserve tank to help prevent algae, and ran the extension cord from the pump to the inverter. I tried to hide the power line as much as possible to help make the system look a little better. (Have to work on a nicer looking, covered reserve tank.)
Part of what I want to do is hook this all up and make it an interesting part of the yard. I've watched so many videos of really neat systems but many just....well.....look ugly. I understand that it really shouldn't make
a difference, I guess, but we work hard on our little piece of paradise and I don't want this to detract from it. I want it to enhance the yard and curiosity of our guests.

I put 3 good size catfish in the vat Sunday and the system has being running 3mins on, 30mins off since Saturday morning. It is now Tuesday and I've been out late at night and at dusk and it has been running. Everything is filling up the way I want it, and draining great!

Once I get an aerator for the fish vat, I will change the on time to maybe once an hour. The fish seem to be doing well....they aren't coming up to the surface except for food in the evening.

The video explains a little more........
I sure am enjoying myself!!

About to add the fish!

2011-03-08T17:26:00.000-05:00

I've read some on how you should allow the water to cycle before adding fish.

I'm guessing it is kind of like setting up a new aquarium...you don't want to fill it up and just throw fish in.

I've had water in the fish vat for about a month now and over the last two weeks have been running the water through the growbeds. It hasn't been on a cycle of any sort, just when I was still trying to get everything right and currently just when I go out there. I would say it is probably run through the beds 5-6 times a day.

After watching one of the catfish in my aquarium grab and eat one of my 4in goldfish last night, I figure I better step this up and get him out into his new home soon!!!

The timer I ordered came in and I bought an extension cord today.

It is pretty cool. The "on" time can be set in seconds or minutes and the "off" time in minutes or hours.

Seems fairly simple. I played with it and got the "on" time just about where I want it.

As I was testing it out, I noticed that I have

a lot of hydroton to retrieve from the fish vat from all the experimenting I've been doing. Now I'm worried about some of it in the future getting caught up in the pump.

I don't know how well it will work, but I've come up with an idea to try...

I'm taking an old strawberry planter, leaving the plastic bottom insert tray in, and setting the pump inside.

I'm covering it with an old dollar store net type bath sponge that I've taken apart. It is one long piece of netting bunched up to make the sponge. It fits right over the top and completely around it. I cut of the top and can use the rest of it for many more applications like this (if it works.) It wont keep out any small stuff, but should be able to keep out any hydroton that happens to escape...

The water temperature of the inside aquarium (we run it without a heater since the fish in it usually come from the pond in the backyard) is only 8 degrees warmer than the outside vat....testing halfway down. I'm wondering if that is because over 2/3rds of the vat is buried. Because the aquarium in the house is so large, I'm going to move some of the water into the vat with the fish...maybe it will help them with the transition....and perhaps a jump start on the cycling if I haven't done it right???

Looking forward to tomorrow!!!

A wonderful rainy weekend!

2011-03-06T17:17:00.000-05:00

Even with the rain, it has been a great weekend!

Sad, I really don't have much to say....a huge feeling of contentment and a big smile, though!

I set up two more growbeds and of course cycled the system a few times. A friend, Charles, gave me a timer.

I need to research exactly how to use it for my set up. I did order a timer online to get me by, until then.

I've planted several seeds in rockwool and moved several that I started indoors out to the green house.

I think my most enjoyable time this weekend was sitting in the greenhouse listening to the rain beating down and looking out the door at what I've set up. It was so relaxing and a big feeling of accomplishment.

I told my husband that if he gets home from work and can't find me....

he should probably check the greenhouse!

Happy gardening!!!

Tried my hand at a video!

2011-03-01T16:48:00.003-05:00

Success!

2011-02-27T19:37:00.000-05:00

I DID IT!!!

(Well, with some great help from my Husband and Son!)

Through out the weekend I changed ideas so many times...I guess I'm a bit fickle.
I got rid of the tires, well actually, my husband sold the tires, so he agreed to help make a stand! Yea!
I got the pump to run up to the reserve tank, but, couldn't get it to drain into the beds at the right time or speed to deliver just the right amount of water. I was having massive buoyancy issues trying to get the toilet plunger to open at the right time.

My son had some great ideas on my plunger problem after researching the tank in his bathroom. (I never asked him if he fixed the leak he had going on in there, while he was at it! Ha!) In the end, with his help, we did the simplest thing....tied a plastic bottle to the plunger. When the bottle rises with the level of the water, it pulls up the plunger.
We filled it up and tried and sure enough, it worked!
We had proper flow!

I got the guys on the roof to mount the solar panels and hooked them up to an inverter and marine battery.

So this is now what I have!

Tomorrow after work, I will update with some closer pictures and the solar set up. Silly me thought I would do a "quick" video and made it way too long. It was showing the system in action. Therefore all the "good" pictures are on it.

I have some happy catfish that are looking forward to diving into their new home!
They have outgrown our indoor tank!

Looking forward to posting tomorrow!

Back at it after yesterdays frustration....

2011-02-20T20:07:00.000-05:00

A new day with new ideas and a refreshed mind.

After much thought, I think my son was correct. Since the beds were filling slower than the water was draining, the water level never hit a point to build the air pocket for the siphon to start. I tested the beds over and over and the siphons are working fine when I increase the water flow one at a time.

On to plan B...or maybe it is plan C by now.

Let me explain what you see in the following picture.

It is hard to tell, but, I lowered the grow beds. They are still higher than the fish vat so gravity can
help with the draining of the beds.
The ugly tires, which are there strictly to test this theory before building something permanent, are to
hold water above the grow beds.
I am going to replace the inflow lines with control valves where the T's were so I can adjust the flow
of water into each bed.

The water will be pumped up from the fish vat into the tub/basin that is sitting on the tires. Using a toilet
flushing type system, I am hoping with the use of gravity, the amount and speed of the water will fill the
beds faster than the water wants to drain. I can't go any smaller really on the stand pipes...they are
3/4in pvc. By having control valves at each bed, I should be able to decrease the flow into the first
bed and increase the flow throughout the other beds. I would think that without those valves the first
couple of beds would be getting the majority of the water until there wasn't enough flow left for the beds
further down the line. I think it will be a challenge "tweaking" the flow of water to the top basin and
controlling the release of it to the grow beds.

So, that is where everything stands right now.

Looking forward to another day to play with it!

Total Frustration!!!

2011-02-19T16:12:00.000-05:00

I've been outside enjoying the sunshine and working on the system. I washed another bag of

Hydroton and filled the beds up to the level I wanted. I didn't have enough to do it last weekend.

Silly me for wanting to test everything out one more time.....ugh!

The siphons are continuously draining to the point of the stand pipe, no suction is taking place. I guess I now

have a continuous flow system. (insert sarcastic "HA!")

One grow bed by itself seems to work just fine, but altogether, none of them seem to work. I just don't understand. I really thought I had it. I came back in and jumped on YouTube to watch more video to help troubleshoot this "simple" system. I think, after watching a couple of great videos, when I added more Hydroton the water level needed to come up further. My stand pipes are too short. The actual process of draining seems fine. So....I went out to cut some longer pipe and try it. Now the beds will drain, but they are flooding.! When trying to pull the stand pipes out again to cut them a little bit shorter, I bumped the media guards and two of them and now have a hydroton mess going on! I'm going to have to dump the beds into....I don't know....something....and put the siphon back together with the guard around it...then refill the beds with the hydroton.

My 20yr old son just walked by and asked me how it was going. I just explained to him what happened and he said, "Mom, did you ever think that maybe the water isn't filling your beds fast enough? That maybe the water level gets to the height of the stand pipe and drains from there faster than it can fill?" Hmmmmmm smart kid, he may have a point? I don't know how to correct that, though. I'm going to have to do more research.

It seems like this is taking forever. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying myself and I think I am learning a lot in the process...I am just highly frustrated at the moment. I would love to take a few days off to do this, instead of just the weekends. I think it is time to grab a beer, sit and stare at the whole thing for about 30mins, and then get back to it.

Almost there!

2011-02-13T19:26:00.001-05:00

Another Great Weekend!!

I cut the pvc for the drain line and then spent a lot of time cleaning lava rocks and Hydroton.

If anyone hasn't told you yet, I will! What a pain in the butt to clean! The lava rock is the absolute worse! There is a lot of powdery stuff in it that wants to "muck" together like cement.when wet. After washing and draining it about 4 times, there still is quite a bit of muck in it. Perhaps I just got a couple of bad bags...I don't know. The hydroton was much easier to clean and much more friendlier on the hands! I filled the cooler with water and swished the hydroton around a bit, drained, and repeated. Make sure to put a small screen in front of the drain so the pellets don't clog it.

Testing the system before everything is locked down. The pipes filling the beds are not complete yet. I want them to go into the media to help prevent algae. The drain pipes seemed to work quite well! In the end, there will be 6 grow beds.

The bell siphons will be modified a bit. I need to get some 3in pvc to use as the guard so the media wont get sucked up in the siphon. I had this size on hand and it works...but, just not happy with it...takes up too much space.

So, at the end of the day, this is what I have. The line to feed the water to the beds is not going to stay the way you see it now. I was just testing the bilge pump to make sure it would pump up as high as I needed it. It will be powered by solar and the test was just hooked up to a battery charger.

If you notice, I did away with the whole brick idea inside of the green house. I tried and tried and tried to level the area where it sits. I just couldn't get it right. By the time my husband felt sorry for me and tried to help, I told him that only the sides needed to be level......the middle will be the pea gravel I didn't want to pay for! Grrrrr! I must say, though....I think I like this better!

Until next time, happy gardening!!!

What a Wonderful Weekend!!!

2011-01-30T18:24:00.004-05:00

The weather this weekend has been gorgeous! Approx. 60-64 degrees both days! I've missed it so much! I spent the entire weekend outside. Finished digging the hole for the fish vat, leveled out the ground for the final placement of the greenhouse, (more on that later,) and cut all the PVC pipes for the bell siphons.

I hadn't put the greenhouse in its permanent location because I was really hoping for some pea gravel as a base. I don't want to pay $3.68/bag for it, so, instead I decided to use some recycled white bricks that we picked up years ago and are sitting doing absolutely nothing. My husband suggested I level off the ground as much as possible and then let it sit for a few days. We are supposed to get some rain Tuesday and Wednesday. He said after the rain let it dry and level it out again. I guess it will help compact the loose soil so my bricks will sit just right.

I think the most frustrating part of the weekend was working on the bell siphons. Such a simple concept took a bit of trial and error. All the videos I watched on how to make them seemed so simple. Once I figured it out, though, it really was. Everyone said that the "stand pipe" determines the height of the water that the siphon begins. After experimenting with this, I only partially agree. It seems to me that the height of the "bell" portion also helps dictate the start of the siphon. Perhaps the amount of "gap" between the top of each? I really don't know....all I do know is that when I finally got it to work I yelled, "YES!" and did a little happy dance. My poor dog looked at me like I was crazy!

In the end, I am so pleased with the amount of work I got done. I was hoping to get further, but I didn't realize how much time digging and leveling would be. I have found muscles that have been lost for awhile, will probably clog up the shower with all the dirt on me, and I know I will have happy veggie dreams tonight!

The Greenhouse is up!

2011-01-24T18:07:00.000-05:00

Over the past couple weeks, I've been gathering supplies. The weather is getting better and I want to be ready for it! I got the panels on the greenhouse this weekend and finished digging up the sod with the help of my wonderful husband! We moved the vat I am going to use for the fish in its basic location and have picked up all the equipment for the bell siphons. I am getting so excited!

Still waiting on the weather....

2011-01-13T18:12:00.000-05:00

Old man winter seems to want to stick around for awhile. We've had 5in of snow and ice on top of that. I know it doesn't seem like much to some, but, out here it pretty much shuts everything down. I'm glad I made the decision not to put the panels on the greenhouse. They may have broken. I did learn that I should probably build a structure of some sort over it for in-climate weather. Now I'm just drooling through all the seed and gardening magazines that these companies want to tease me with....just dreaming of sunshine....

While waiting for the weather to cooperate....

2011-01-07T23:43:00.000-05:00

There is a chance of flurries tonight progressing until Monday. Because of the weather, I decided to make a trip to Lowes Home Improvement and even some of the Family dollar type places to check out prices on some supplies I can't come up with here at home (free). I've been pricing totes for grow beds and after seeing the prices, I am going to see if I have any friends that have totes in decent shape, but throughout the years have lost the lids to them and just want to toss them my way. I'm wishing I would have saved my old totes in the past...the lids seem to be the first thing to get damaged on them and kinda like tupperware, when you loose or damage the lid, the container seems to move further and further to the back of the cabinet until you finally throw out the old to make room for the new. In the plumbing section of Lowes I got many strange looks. Is it really that odd to see a 40+ yr. old woman sitting on the floor trying to put together pvc elbows, T's, and adapters? I have an idea in my head and I can't describe what I want to do in words. I am visual. I must play to see. One employee was very helpful, though...he just laughed and said to holler if I need any help and to be careful not to trip any fellow customers.

So, in the end, I didn't purchase any pvc that I was playing with. (I was good and picked up after myself and put everything back in the right places,) but I did purchase some lava rocks. I know, I've read about the pros and cons of using it, but, I am working on a limited budget and they are fairly cheap. I figure I will use them for the bottom most layers of the grow beds and 3inches or so of the clay pellets/hydroton on top of it.

Well, this is it for tonight! Hoping for a change of weather to come soon!

Location

2011-01-06T19:44:00.000-05:00

It truly doesn't look like much. This will be the location for the system. That really IS sod that I am removing, btw!

I WILL get this together!!!

The greenhouse and why....

2011-01-06T19:07:00.001-05:00

Okay....my husband (Santa) got me a greenhouse for Christmas. It is a reasonably priced (or so he told me) greenhouse from Harbor Freight with instructions from.....well....not here. My plan is to get the greenhouse up to start seeds so when I finish building the aquaponics system, the seeds will be ready for transplant into this system. This means I will be on a timeline of some sort....ugh! So, 5 adults and 9hrs later, the framework of the greenhouse is done. The directions were lousy and we gave up for the night. So, Sunday morning (I'm catching you up here,) I resorted to google. I love google. I found a link for the same greenhouse with the same lousy instructions and somebody took the time to take pics along the way! Alas!!! I have a door on my greenhouse!!! We moved the greenhouse to its semi-permanent location. Now, we are up to date. I am digging up the sod where it is going to sit to put in other areas to help with erosion control. The panels are not up on the greenhouse yet because we've had quite a bit of inclement weather for our neck of the woods. I am looking forward to tomorrow to be able to continue on with my plans. I hope the weather cooperates with me! When I figure out how to do it, I will post the link for the man that had all the pics and nifty instructions for this Harbor Freight greenhouse. He was my hero for the day!

In the beginning.....a simple (?) dream.....

2011-01-06T17:09:00.000-05:00

After weeks and weeks of research, I am ready to take on the challenge. My challenge, you ask? Simple. For me, a non-green thumb person who loves to play with plants, (and have killed a few in the process,) to create an aquaponic system in my backyard on a very limited budget.....to produce enough for my family and hopefully some to share with friends. I am new to blogging so now I've added another challenge. Please bear with me. My hope is to share from the beginning setup to the end and all the ugly stuff in between. My thoughts, aggravations, and pleasures along the way. Opening myself up to criticism and hopefully some praise and advice along with it. Possibly to help others if this works, or to help others because it doesn't work.....this IS the beginning of something special.....

Hello World!

2011-01-06T16:05:00.000-05:00

Commitment. So this is it. Opening my(odd)self up to the world.

I am at a loss as to what I am paying for anymore. Fuel, food, basic groceries, health care, etc....all going up. Are groceries going up because of the price of fuel? Perhaps for the chemicals used on the mutated food to make it "bigger and better?" Is health care going up because of the "bigger and better" chemicals interacting with our bodies in a negative fashion? I just don't know. I am just simply perplexed. I do believe, however, that there are things I can do here at home to help our situation and give to our friends and family in the process. .....and so begins my journey of hydro and aquaponics.