Design Help- Betta drip system turned aquapoinc - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-29T06:15:53Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/design-help-betta-drip-system-turned-aquapoinc?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A239901&feed=yes&xn_auth=noIt's probably a bit of both.…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-11-02:4778851:Comment:2408002011-11-02T01:55:51.234ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>It's probably a bit of both.</p>
<p>But in your indoor space your plant size will be limited too by space and light so you may not find the shallow beds too limiting in that respect.</p>
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<p>As to the bio-filtration. If you already have enough filtration for your current fish load, I don't think that will be an immediate issue and you will simply have to see if the grow beds you add allow you to keep your nutrient levels low enough to eliminate your need for water changes. Once…</p>
<p>It's probably a bit of both.</p>
<p>But in your indoor space your plant size will be limited too by space and light so you may not find the shallow beds too limiting in that respect.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As to the bio-filtration. If you already have enough filtration for your current fish load, I don't think that will be an immediate issue and you will simply have to see if the grow beds you add allow you to keep your nutrient levels low enough to eliminate your need for water changes. Once your grow beds mature you could probably convert some of your bio-filter space to more grow bed if you need more plant space to use up the nutrients. I think you may find that it takes quite a lot of plants and light to use up all the excess nutrients and completely eliminate the need for water changes.</p>
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<p>Beware, this can be addicting, your aquaponics may proceed to take over the place.<a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Smile.gif"/></a></p> Are the shallow grow beds lim…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-11-02:4778851:Comment:2416112011-11-02T01:31:39.178Zapril Dawsonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/aprilDawson
Are the shallow grow beds limiting because of the decreased bio-filtration or because of a lack of root space? Or is it a combination of both? In your opinion what is the best grow medium? Thank you so much for all your help!
Are the shallow grow beds limiting because of the decreased bio-filtration or because of a lack of root space? Or is it a combination of both? In your opinion what is the best grow medium? Thank you so much for all your help! 7" is on the shallow side but…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-31:4778851:Comment:2399442011-10-31T02:54:54.706ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>7" is on the shallow side but seeing as you are dealing with shelves I thought you would be limited in the height you could work with. It will still work for growing salad and herbs and greens and things that will do well under minimal lighting like a shop light. I wouldn't recommend trying to grow tomatoes beans and okra or anything of that sort in em. And beware the mint or if you really like it, you might have a tub with nothing but mint.</p>
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<p>You can look for bulkhead…</p>
<p>7" is on the shallow side but seeing as you are dealing with shelves I thought you would be limited in the height you could work with. It will still work for growing salad and herbs and greens and things that will do well under minimal lighting like a shop light. I wouldn't recommend trying to grow tomatoes beans and okra or anything of that sort in em. And beware the mint or if you really like it, you might have a tub with nothing but mint.</p>
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<p>You can look for bulkhead fittings or uniseals to plumb your bins. </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.aquaponiclynx.com/products/uniseal"><img class="align-full" src="http://www.aquaponiclynx.com/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Uniseals-Medium.jpg?width=400" width="400"/></a></p> Thanks for the suggestions, a…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-31:4778851:Comment:2401202011-10-31T02:23:10.768Zapril Dawsonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/aprilDawson
<p>Thanks for the suggestions, after some googleing it looks like i will be ordering 8 7” deep bus tubs and an additional shop light to place above the rack, maybe some for the other shelves as soon as i know they will not get dripped on. How should the drain be built? Just a tube in a hole with a gravel guard around it or do they make a connector that wouldn’t risk leaking?</p>
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<p>Your right, i did have a bus tub in one of the pictures but i have had it so long that i couldn’t…</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions, after some googleing it looks like i will be ordering 8 7” deep bus tubs and an additional shop light to place above the rack, maybe some for the other shelves as soon as i know they will not get dripped on. How should the drain be built? Just a tube in a hole with a gravel guard around it or do they make a connector that wouldn’t risk leaking?</p>
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<p>Your right, i did have a bus tub in one of the pictures but i have had it so long that i couldn’t remember what it was called or where to get more, thanks!.</p>
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<p>Will 7” be enough depth for anything besides lettuce?</p> I only mentioned it since it…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-30:4778851:Comment:2399012011-10-30T00:38:36.430ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>I only mentioned it since it looked like you had one in one of your pictures.</p>
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<p>Mortar tubs work too but they are lighter weight and will bulge if filled with gravel and would need reinforcement. Mortar tubs can be found at any of the big box home improvement stores over in the building supplies usually near the concrete blocks.</p>
<p>I only mentioned it since it looked like you had one in one of your pictures.</p>
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<p>Mortar tubs work too but they are lighter weight and will bulge if filled with gravel and would need reinforcement. Mortar tubs can be found at any of the big box home improvement stores over in the building supplies usually near the concrete blocks.</p> The filter gets most but not…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-30:4778851:Comment:2395962011-10-30T00:15:16.874Zapril Dawsonhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/aprilDawson
<p>The filter gets most but not all of the big stuff. But they used to clog. Now the drippers have been drilled through to allow full flow and then lead through air line to another dripper to control the flow to 1gph (i have found this works best for some reason). Whenever i change the water i turn the pump off and allow the water to drain backwards through the pump which creates a siphon and pulls water backwards through the dripper and releases any trapped stuff into a bucket. I do a water…</p>
<p>The filter gets most but not all of the big stuff. But they used to clog. Now the drippers have been drilled through to allow full flow and then lead through air line to another dripper to control the flow to 1gph (i have found this works best for some reason). Whenever i change the water i turn the pump off and allow the water to drain backwards through the pump which creates a siphon and pulls water backwards through the dripper and releases any trapped stuff into a bucket. I do a water change with a separate siphon through each feeding hole and allow them to fill up with fresh water added to the sump. Any that don’t fill up get replaced (about 1 a week on average). I often check them and they are almost always working. </p>
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<p>Thanks for the bus tub suggestion, i have been looking for those but didn’t know what they were called. It looks like that is what i will end up using.</p>
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<p> </p> And how do you keep those dri…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-29:4778851:Comment:2396882011-10-29T23:46:23.567ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
And how do you keep those drippers from clogging all the time?
And how do you keep those drippers from clogging all the time? biggest challenge will be mak…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-29:4778851:Comment:2395942011-10-29T23:45:49.035ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
biggest challenge will be making sure the plants have enough light. Even a bright room is usually not enough to grow much in the way of veggies.
biggest challenge will be making sure the plants have enough light. Even a bright room is usually not enough to grow much in the way of veggies. If you don't have much height…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-10-29:4778851:Comment:2397672011-10-29T23:45:08.257ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>If you don't have much height, you could use a bus tub as a grow bed and plant lettuce in it.</p>
<p>If you are having to do water changes, you probably have enough nutrients to grow some plants. If you still have to do water changes after getting some plants going, then add more plant beds.</p>
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<p>If you do gravel beds, you might be able to get rid of your filters later but I would leave them hooked up until the gravel beds get cycled up.</p>
<p>If you don't have much height, you could use a bus tub as a grow bed and plant lettuce in it.</p>
<p>If you are having to do water changes, you probably have enough nutrients to grow some plants. If you still have to do water changes after getting some plants going, then add more plant beds.</p>
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<p>If you do gravel beds, you might be able to get rid of your filters later but I would leave them hooked up until the gravel beds get cycled up.</p>