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Comment by Gillian Burrus on February 19, 2014 at 6:38pm

Yes, though not to much is happening

Comment by Jeff S on February 19, 2014 at 2:45pm

Gillian,

 Sounds like a good plan. Do you have your grow bed going?

Comment by Gillian Burrus on February 19, 2014 at 10:19am

Today my PH was at 6.8-70.  This is good right?  I felt happy, because this is the first time that something happened in my tank! Our power was a out for a week due to an ice storm and we might have another one next week.  But I am ready to buy some goldfish, i think.  What do I do next?  

Ps. starting with goldfish because i don't want to "waste" moneys on a more expensive fish. 

Comment by Anne Phillip on February 13, 2014 at 2:48pm

Hello everyone- just a quick request to get your input on a 10 question survey about microgreens. I'm trying to gauge interest for a project I'm working on in Portland, OR. If you've got a few minutes, I would appreciate your perspective! Here is the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KYK2N8B

I welcome everyone's perspective but if you're in the Portland area, you can message me after you finish in order to enter a drawing for a free tray of microgreens. Thank you for your input!

Comment by John Saunders on February 11, 2014 at 2:22pm

Thanks TC. More good info.

Comment by TCLynx on February 11, 2014 at 2:12pm

John, Keep in mind that going vertical means you have to pump the water up higher, (costs more in electricity to pump water up higher and distribute it out small outlets) and you will have to deal with unclogging the small distrobution openings very regularly.  Vertical growing is also most appropriate to small and shorter term crops.

Finally, most vertical growing will have more temperature stability problems than media beds or Raft beds.

Separating out solids provides you with more precise control of how much nutrient is in the system but don't equate precise control with simplicity/ease of implementation and maintenance.  When you add some form of Extra filtration that needs to be emptied on a consistent/regular basis, that is adding a Job to the tasks needed to maintain the system.  This could be relatively easy if you know how to build it such that maintaining it is really easy but that kind of experience in system design/construction and the elevations needed is not always available to the average newbie.  And actually being able to test for more complex nutrients and make use of the more precise control over nutrient make-up is definitely NOT something the average Newbie with just an API freshwater master test kit is going to do.

I know lots of people get really excited over the idea of vertical gardening but it is not always the most efficient.  One really needs to take their specific location and system needs/goals in mind in specific system design.  The Bright Agrotech Zipgrow towers are definitely the way to go to pack a large amount of growing into a high latitude climate controlled greenhouse space, especially in a location with lots of light to penetrate the greenhouse.  However if you have lots of space and are closer to the tropics the benefits of going vertical wane since we have higher sun angles and the climate control of cramming things into a small greenhouse is far different in a hot humid climate.

For a first system in a sub tropical climate where one isn't planning to move in the very near future, ya can't beat gravel beds for simplicity of learning and getting started.  You don't have to KNOW your plant spacing ahead of time with gravel beds and they really are good bio-filtration as well as solids filtration as long as you stock the system appropriately for the amount of filtration you have.  You really don't need that much fish to grow quite a lot of plants.

Then for your next system you might be better prepared to know what sort of "other" filtration you need.

Comment by John Saunders on February 10, 2014 at 2:23pm

To TCLynx: Yes, thank you, that is what I was thinking of; "suspended" solids, not dissolved solids. The more I read the more it seems like the suspended solids might not be a problem if I incorporate earthworms into my grow media. I'm leaning now toward the vertical design used by Bright Agrotech rather than a horizontally oriented bed, especially one that is filled with a heavy, dense media like granite pebbles. As for using a swirl or vortex filter before the fish tank effluent is applied to the grow media, there are some practitioners out there who advocate doing so to both a) get the suspended solids out first so as to avoid a build-up in the grow bed and b) collect a nutrient-rich soup which can be applied to a raised bed of veggies. This seems to make sense, from a newbie's point of view, and might prove to be useful, practical and easy to implement/maintain. I am still on the hunt, however. Thanks again for your helpful input.

Comment by TCLynx on February 8, 2014 at 9:33am

John, I think you may be confusing dissolved solids with suspended solids.

Dissolved solids are things like salts that can dissolve into solution with the water, to filter those out you need something that can interact chemically with those salts to remove them from solution with the water, these are things like RO filters and De-Ionizing filters and to an extent with certain things activated carbon filters.  This would generally not be done on water recirculating in an aquaponics system but you might do some of it on the water before you use it to fill an aquaponics system if your source water is terribly high in Dissolved solids.

A vortex filter or swirl filter or settling tank or Radial flow filter are all things used to settle out larger and suspended solids.  However, for a simple Aquaponics system for most really new to the whole idea of aquaponics, instead of bothering with separate filtration, people will put in a media filled grow bed which not only is a great place to grow the plants but also functions as your solids filter and your bio-filter and a place for worms to live and for mineralization of those solids as well as a place to set your drink down while you explain the aquaponics system to your buddies.  As long as the new system is balanced appropriately (as in not too many fish) a simple media bed can do it all while you work on researching all those other things for you NEXT system design.

You probably can't do just one. Leo is right, Aquaponics can be an addictive hobby, but at least it is one that might have you and your family eating better food and enjoying all sorts of educational opportunities at the same time.

Comment by Leo White Bear on February 7, 2014 at 5:51pm

Just as a precaution I drill small holes in the low areas of my grow beds to allow for drainage in the event the electric or a pump goes out in my absence.  If you look at the top of an IBC tote, you will notice raised areas to either side of the top braces, these become the low area when inverted over the fish tank.

  Just be sure that these holes are small enough that they do not interfere with the siphoning of the bell siphon (if you are using one) but large enough that they do not clog up with either the media or solids accumulation.  I drilled mine with a 3/16" bit and they work well for me

Comment by Jim Fisk on February 7, 2014 at 8:51am

@John and Linda; ozone. I have used ozone for years to treat municipal drinking water and have had a couple of o3 gens for years that, due to our present wonderful well, I was not using. During my 2 yrs of studying AP and fish I noticed that many aquarium suppliers sell them for aquariums so I decided, rather than have it take up shelf space, to put one in line with one of my air stones that is in a 275 ibc that has no fish in it at present but is on line with the system. Just as one of many precautionary measures. I certainly would not advocate beginners rushing out and purchasing one before they understand it's role and use. But if you have one it can't hurt, only help. I also have a UV fish pond light that I will at some point set up to control algae if and when I get another bloom. Very effective. Last bloom I had I was able to filter out in 2 days with a home made polyfil filter as I haven't seen the UV light since we moved. But I have 2 semi storage trailers to go thru to find it I know it's there

And John, anaerobic bacteria are always present. O3 is just one arrow in the quiver. Any water allowed to pool with old food, etc. present, will go anaerobic.

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