Hand-operated system? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T16:50:40Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/hand-operated-system?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A291752&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=nohave you thought of using tre…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-11:4778851:Comment:2917522012-02-11T06:11:03.477ZDon Starkhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DonStark
<p>have you thought of using treddle pumps? very low cost low tech option. especially for third world or off grid applications</p>
<p></p>
<p>have you thought of using treddle pumps? very low cost low tech option. especially for third world or off grid applications</p>
<p></p> Just a thought Eric... why so…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-08:4778851:Comment:2903802012-02-08T07:43:59.611ZJapan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本https://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/JapanAquaponics
<p>Just a thought Eric... why so keen to raise and lower the grow bed? It is likely to be very heavy, and is going to have to be extremely sturdily made (which could be a problem) in order to put up with constant lifting. Surely it is much easier to raise the water using whatever methods are locally (and more commonly) available? The grow bed could be partly over any pond area as that would help with shading... and any leaks would just go back to the pond. Just seems like lifting the grow…</p>
<p>Just a thought Eric... why so keen to raise and lower the grow bed? It is likely to be very heavy, and is going to have to be extremely sturdily made (which could be a problem) in order to put up with constant lifting. Surely it is much easier to raise the water using whatever methods are locally (and more commonly) available? The grow bed could be partly over any pond area as that would help with shading... and any leaks would just go back to the pond. Just seems like lifting the grow bed is a lot of hard work and likely to break fairly quickly. </p>
<p></p>
<p>I suspect that under most circumstances a permaculture type of arrangement is likely to be more effective than an aquaponics one. Take a look at the work of Bill Mollinson - he has done a huge amount in developing sustainable farming practices in 3rd world countries. As much as I love aquaponics, it is more likely that permaculture will provide a more effective and stable answer... IMHO.</p> Thanks again for all your ins…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-08:4778851:Comment:2904352012-02-08T06:45:57.325ZEric Thttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/EricT
<p>Thanks again for all your insights. Robert, even easier than teeter totter would be just raise/lower only one side with block/tackle, namely the grow bed. Yes, there would be hand-operated valves between bed and pond, and probably two hoses, one wide for the flooding, and the other narrow for the slow drain. Ellen, yes in the heat of the day probably a shade cloth would be needed. It sounds like from your above responses that it might be plausible, which is encouraging. Proof is in the…</p>
<p>Thanks again for all your insights. Robert, even easier than teeter totter would be just raise/lower only one side with block/tackle, namely the grow bed. Yes, there would be hand-operated valves between bed and pond, and probably two hoses, one wide for the flooding, and the other narrow for the slow drain. Ellen, yes in the heat of the day probably a shade cloth would be needed. It sounds like from your above responses that it might be plausible, which is encouraging. Proof is in the pudding, of course! Thanks, all.</p> have you given any thought to…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2901742012-02-07T22:00:46.668ZRobert C. Woodhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/RobertCWood
<p>have you given any thought to making it like a teter toter and use block and tackle to lift and lower each side. you could use valves to control the flow through the hoses. the reason this seems more feasable because if this is for third world applications, one would have to keep in mind the avalibility of matirials.</p>
<p>have you given any thought to making it like a teter toter and use block and tackle to lift and lower each side. you could use valves to control the flow through the hoses. the reason this seems more feasable because if this is for third world applications, one would have to keep in mind the avalibility of matirials.</p> in a situation like that you…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2900702012-02-07T17:36:10.605ZAveranhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/AveranGale
<p>in a situation like that you would want to have as natural a fish tank/pond as possible so that there is a lot of surface area for bacteria and plants and algae to act as a first-phase filter.</p>
<p>you'd also want a fairly large volume of water for the comparatively low-stocking density of fish so that during that 8 hours ammonia is not able to reach toxic levels.</p>
<p>personally, i think you might be better off leaving the pond and beds alone and instead manually pump water into a…</p>
<p>in a situation like that you would want to have as natural a fish tank/pond as possible so that there is a lot of surface area for bacteria and plants and algae to act as a first-phase filter.</p>
<p>you'd also want a fairly large volume of water for the comparatively low-stocking density of fish so that during that 8 hours ammonia is not able to reach toxic levels.</p>
<p>personally, i think you might be better off leaving the pond and beds alone and instead manually pump water into a 'header' tank that would slowly drain into the fish tank and overflow into your beds carrying solids with it. just be sure to setup the beds so that they can drain into a sump to allow you to reuse that water when you manually pump it back to the header tank. this would be easier and give you more options of where to position things without compromising the plant beds. it's also going to be easier to use existing hand pumps commonly found in third world countries to move your water rather than inventing a system of platforms and levers and gears.</p> It would require lower stocki…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2898992012-02-07T17:28:58.907ZEllen Roelofshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/EllenRoelofs
<p>It would require lower stocking densities, but if you channel the water draining from the grow bed to break the surface of the water... yeah, I think it's plausible. Slow drainage would be a must for the bacteria to do their job. Keeping the media moist for 8 hours in the hot sun could be a trick.</p>
<p>It would require lower stocking densities, but if you channel the water draining from the grow bed to break the surface of the water... yeah, I think it's plausible. Slow drainage would be a must for the bacteria to do their job. Keeping the media moist for 8 hours in the hot sun could be a trick.</p> It would be possible. The big…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2900672012-02-07T17:13:11.756ZChris Smithhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChrisSmith
<p>It would be possible. The biggest issue that I see would be flooding the grow bed enough to keep the ammonia down so you don't kill the fish and bacteria. It might require more floods than once every 8 hours.</p>
<p>It would be possible. The biggest issue that I see would be flooding the grow bed enough to keep the ammonia down so you don't kill the fish and bacteria. It might require more floods than once every 8 hours.</p> Thank-you Japan and Ellen for…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2900642012-02-07T17:06:47.357ZEric Thttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/EricT
<p>Thank-you Japan and Ellen for those nice ideas. Of course, since the beds can be placed on a platform, instead of moving the water I could just move the bed, with an appropriately designed platform (then let gravity do the water movement).</p>
<p>The real question though is whether this can be a viable system? If someone did this every 8 hours, and made an effort to collect all the fish poop each time, and the fish pond was shallow to provide aeration, and the grow beds were kept moist…</p>
<p>Thank-you Japan and Ellen for those nice ideas. Of course, since the beds can be placed on a platform, instead of moving the water I could just move the bed, with an appropriately designed platform (then let gravity do the water movement).</p>
<p>The real question though is whether this can be a viable system? If someone did this every 8 hours, and made an effort to collect all the fish poop each time, and the fish pond was shallow to provide aeration, and the grow beds were kept moist (using the sponges I spoke of, or by way of slow draining), could an appropriate ratio of grow bed to pond ratio, and an appropriate fish density be found? Maybe there would still be too much ammonia build-up?</p>
<p>Before I attempt it, I just wanted to get some opinions. Thanks for your help!</p> Some other designs:
Low Lift…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2898862012-02-07T15:52:22.593ZEllen Roelofshttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/EllenRoelofs
<p>Some other designs:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/34717754/Low-Lift-Irrigation-Pumps" target="_blank">Low Lift Irrigation Pumps</a></p>
<p>Some other designs:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/34717754/Low-Lift-Irrigation-Pumps" target="_blank">Low Lift Irrigation Pumps</a></p> Looks like Japan Aquaponics h…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2012-02-07:4778851:Comment:2898742012-02-07T13:11:12.574ZMatthew Holzmannhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/MatthewHolzmann
<p>Looks like Japan Aquaponics has a great idea to share.</p>
<p>Looks like Japan Aquaponics has a great idea to share.</p>