4 Bus Tubs and a 10 Gallon Rubbermaid Garbage Can - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T23:14:34Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/4-bus-tubs-and-a-10-gallon?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A109101&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noHi Larry,
Sounds like you hav…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-05-10:4778851:Comment:1091012011-05-10T18:24:26.633ZHarold Sukhbirhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/HaroldSukhbir
<p>Hi Larry,</p>
<p>Sounds like you have a good handle on your AP. One concern in water media in AP is that it's not best suited for plants with roots being kept for long periods(Perinials), although i know some people are attempting this. That's why most AP'ers look to raft for fast crop like lettuce.</p>
<p>Hi Larry,</p>
<p>Sounds like you have a good handle on your AP. One concern in water media in AP is that it's not best suited for plants with roots being kept for long periods(Perinials), although i know some people are attempting this. That's why most AP'ers look to raft for fast crop like lettuce.</p> My air pump has two outlets. …tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-05-10:4778851:Comment:1090062011-05-10T16:54:53.938ZLarry Hillhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LarryHill
<p>My air pump has two outlets. One goes to a large air stone in the tank, which has been on continually. The other went into a four valve thingy, to split the air to the four stones in the tubs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I changed my media, and now have all four stones aerating the tubs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm using small landcaping stone (chipped marble) now. For starting new seeds, I fill my netpots 2/3 with stones, then put wet vermiculite (fine) on top. This allows the seeds to germinate nicely. …</p>
<p>My air pump has two outlets. One goes to a large air stone in the tank, which has been on continually. The other went into a four valve thingy, to split the air to the four stones in the tubs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I changed my media, and now have all four stones aerating the tubs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I'm using small landcaping stone (chipped marble) now. For starting new seeds, I fill my netpots 2/3 with stones, then put wet vermiculite (fine) on top. This allows the seeds to germinate nicely. The vermiculite wicks enough moisture that it stays nicely damp.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I transplanted a lot of my seedlings that were in the coir / vermiculite media into just stones now, and they are doing fine. Even more have been transplanted into potting soil (NOT in the AP system - in ordinary seedling flats), and will go into the raised beds or into the ground in the back yard later this month.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>My plan is to keep plants for salad fixings in the system year-round, while still keeping some free space for starting seeds for the outdoor garden. I'm thinking I want to eventually have 1 cherry tomato, 1 slicer tomato, 1 cucumber vine, 2 to 4 kinds of lettuce / greens going in the system year-round.</p> Hi Larry,
Good work! Did you…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-05-10:4778851:Comment:1087132011-05-10T15:27:35.497ZHarold Sukhbirhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/HaroldSukhbir
<p>Hi Larry,</p>
<p>Good work! Did you eventually turn on the aerator? While additional aeration is not necessary in AP with rule of thumb ratios, it can still be beneficial for increase plant growth and water quality. There are many options you can use to include aeration, using fine pore air stones, use a smaller output air pump, attach a sump to the FT and aerate that. We can never have too much aeration in AP. </p>
<p>Hi Larry,</p>
<p>Good work! Did you eventually turn on the aerator? While additional aeration is not necessary in AP with rule of thumb ratios, it can still be beneficial for increase plant growth and water quality. There are many options you can use to include aeration, using fine pore air stones, use a smaller output air pump, attach a sump to the FT and aerate that. We can never have too much aeration in AP. </p> I can happily report now that…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-05-10:4778851:Comment:1089082011-05-10T13:48:43.946ZLarry Hillhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LarryHill
<p>I can happily report now that my system is fully cycled. I was worried for a while though, because the Nitrite was WAY high. But my little buddies persevered, and we now have nothing but Nitrate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now I need to build a rack to hang a light on, and to tie up my vines when they start getting taller.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I found this design, which I will tweak a bit to fit my table. …</p>
<p>I can happily report now that my system is fully cycled. I was worried for a while though, because the Nitrite was WAY high. But my little buddies persevered, and we now have nothing but Nitrate.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now I need to build a rack to hang a light on, and to tie up my vines when they start getting taller.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I found this design, which I will tweak a bit to fit my table. <a href="http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/growlite/construc.html">http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/factsheets/growlite/construc.html</a></p> Yea, for start up you might b…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-03-29:4778851:Comment:784302011-03-29T21:05:31.997ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
Yea, for start up you might be better off equating pound to fish. As in if you have enough growing space to support say 6 pounds of fish, then you start up the system with just 6 small fish so that the bacteria can catch up as the fish grow but of course with a small system where the fish will never get that big, you might add more fish later as the bio-filter is up to supporting more fish.
Yea, for start up you might be better off equating pound to fish. As in if you have enough growing space to support say 6 pounds of fish, then you start up the system with just 6 small fish so that the bacteria can catch up as the fish grow but of course with a small system where the fish will never get that big, you might add more fish later as the bio-filter is up to supporting more fish. It was the digital download f…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-03-29:4778851:Comment:786162011-03-29T20:03:08.847ZLarry Hillhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LarryHill
<p>It was the digital download for the Apartment-sized systems. It has lots of info on startup. One problem though, was that their guidelines for how many fish were based on POUNDS of fish per square foot of growing space. So I really had no clue how many goldfish I should have bought. And I bought WAY too many.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I might try to contact them and suggest adding some better guidance on how many of what kinds of fish for these smaller systems.</p>
<p>It was the digital download for the Apartment-sized systems. It has lots of info on startup. One problem though, was that their guidelines for how many fish were based on POUNDS of fish per square foot of growing space. So I really had no clue how many goldfish I should have bought. And I bought WAY too many.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I might try to contact them and suggest adding some better guidance on how many of what kinds of fish for these smaller systems.</p> Hi Larry,
which manual do yo…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-03-29:4778851:Comment:781362011-03-29T19:32:44.914ZAlfred Luckerbauerhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AlfredLuckerbauer
Hi Larry,<br />
<br />
which manual do you have ? Should have a section on start up. Maybe mail to Susanne or Tim, always ready to help you.<br />
<br />
Alfred
Hi Larry,<br />
<br />
which manual do you have ? Should have a section on start up. Maybe mail to Susanne or Tim, always ready to help you.<br />
<br />
Alfred There isn't a whole lot of li…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-03-29:4778851:Comment:784242011-03-29T19:25:56.333ZLarry Hillhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LarryHill
There isn't a whole lot of light reaching the tank, but I'll probably drape something over it, at least until I get it cycled. I'm sure the cold water isn't helping much either.
There isn't a whole lot of light reaching the tank, but I'll probably drape something over it, at least until I get it cycled. I'm sure the cold water isn't helping much either. Hi Larry,
Very nice setup! Do…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-03-29:4778851:Comment:784222011-03-29T18:42:15.389ZHarold Sukhbirhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/HaroldSukhbir
Hi Larry,<br />
Very nice setup! Do you cover your FT? Covering will assist your bacterial growth and keep algae from growing there.
Hi Larry,<br />
Very nice setup! Do you cover your FT? Covering will assist your bacterial growth and keep algae from growing there. I finally got my crappy littl…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-03-29:4778851:Comment:781322011-03-29T18:33:48.817ZLarry Hillhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/LarryHill
<p>I finally got my crappy little digital camera to work again, so I took a few pictures.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I finally got my crappy little digital camera to work again, so I took a few pictures.</p>
<p> </p>