Aquaponic Gardening

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This past week, we started our second greenhouse (sold our first one with our house last year), going bigger and hopefully better this time.  Put on some pictures so you can chart our progress and our frustrations.  Greenhouse will 20x52' and we will be running an ebb and flow with two 920 gallon fish tanks.  A lot of work but we are so looking forward to a larger system than what we had before.  Most of our system will based off of the old 14x36 greenhouse we had, which was inspired by the Spereano's, but we are making some changes based on what some of you all have done with systems.  (Thanks for sharing!)  We will try our best to keep you all updated.

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Good start.  Can't wait to see the finished product.

A little update on our progress!!!!!

  The wading pool grow beds are great!    Can you tell me where you got your fish tanks (brand and where you gor them)?  How much did they cost?  Volume of water they will hold?

 

   Congratualtions!  Looks like a wonderful addition!

-Converse

We raised beef cattle and we took them out of the pasture....I don't know the brand, but they are 920 gallons...We got them at our Rural King here in our county.  Hope that helps!  Wading pools was my wife's idea....cool to it at first, but the more I looked at other options, the more economical a solution it became!!!!

Converse said:

  The wading pool grow beds are great!    Can you tell me where you got your fish tanks (brand and where you gor them)?  How much did they cost?  Volume of water they will hold?

 

   Congratualtions!  Looks like a wonderful addition!

-Converse

  Do you have to seal the particle board that the growbeds are sitting on, or is moisture not an issue?

   Just asking 'cause I'm in the process of expansion, and I'd rather use particle board than plywood (less expensive here anyway), but I want to do it right and not leave out any details.  Thanks for sharing your experience!  You have an amazing set-up on the way. 

- Converse

Put a clear coat protectant on it....humidty gets bad in the winter time.

Converse said:

  Do you have to seal the particle board that the growbeds are sitting on, or is moisture not an issue?

   Just asking 'cause I'm in the process of expansion, and I'd rather use particle board that plywood (less expensive here anyway), but I want to do it right and not leave out any details.  Thanks for sharing your experience!  You have an amazing set-up on the way. 

- Converse

Beware if you are in termite territory, if the termites get up into the wood under the kiddie pools, the termites can chew through the thin HDPE plastic to get the moisture.  My duck-a-ponics kiddie pools have been pulled out for that reason.

Appreciate the info....didn't have a problem with our wood boxes with our other setup (S&S based system), but certainly that is something I haven't thought of that would be in the realm of possibility when moisture and wood are together!



TCLynx said:

Beware if you are in termite territory, if the termites get up into the wood under the kiddie pools, the termites can chew through the thin HDPE plastic to get the moisture.  My duck-a-ponics kiddie pools have been pulled out for that reason.

Well, the first frustration....we built from the inside out and as we were getting our hoops up yesterday, we noticed our outside aisles are going to be narrower than expected.....will have updated pictures in the next day or so, but two long days of getting our greenhouse completed commences at sunrise, so I better hopping!!!!

Owe everyone pictures, but we have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather here in Southern Illinois as our greenhouse is going up and making good progress....Pumps go in tonight which will complete the plumbing portion....been cleaning out the dirt off the rock in the growbeds and hopefully in the next day or so will be putting water in the fish tanks.

We are up and running as of today....fish are in the tanks, manure juice in the grow beds to start the bacteria and some bedding plants are in as well as lettuce and bean seeds planted.  Have a grow bed that is leaking, will have to fix it sometime.  The wading pools may not have been the best idea but 15 of the 16 growbeds aren't leaking and doing okay but time will tell.

Well, this is what it looks like right now....9 of 16 beds are running.  Some leakage I have to contend with, but overall pleased with it in the early going.  Not the biggest fan of the wading pools, although I know a number of aquaponics buffs use them with little or no problem at all.

Will try to keep you updated, but work has me buried, making it hard to do my hobby!!!!!lol.

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