Comment

Comment by Robert Rowe on December 19, 2013 at 10:23am

One advantage of the tote is that you can close it up. This can be important in the winter when you need to keep the temperature up. You can also fabricate a cover from 1 or 2" sheet foam which will drop down over the top. 

Re the 1 inch bell siphon drop to 2" drain, don't make it a hard connection. put an elbow (45 degree preferably) on the 2" pipe and just drop the 1" pipe into it from above for 2 or 3 inches. If you make a hard connection it can screw up the  siphon action.   Asom put 2 90 degree elbows near the bottom of the 1" siphon drop, angled so that an airway will exist up the upper inside surface of the pipe, to ensure a sharp cutoff at the end of the cycle when the siphon will burp a bubble of air from below.

Comment by Anthony Payne on December 19, 2013 at 9:30am

Hay I'm getting my first two totes in the morning,330's. I'm thinking of inverting the tanks so the 6” opening is in the bottom center to suck up waste easier to send to the swirl bio-filter. Or should I just plumb them in series for easier expansion. Love to see what others have done. I have a design in my head. I'm putting the totes in each corner of gh with the bio-filter between them and emptying into a 300 gal sunken watering trough for a sump and pushing the water to the beds, and back to sump. Dose this sound like a decent set up? Some input would be nice as this is AP number one for me thanks. Oh I'm thinking of running 1 inch for pipe on the pump and 2inch on drains. The bell siphon would be 1inch drop into a 2 inch pipe to the sump.  

Comment by Leo White Bear on December 13, 2013 at 4:31am

Jerry-

  I lived in Waco for four years, in the Brazos Valley and it did get humid and hot in the summer but relativly cold in the winter so I do know a bit of Central Texas weather.  In eastern Texas, I am not sure what the weather is like but with the heat you definitly would want to keep your system in the shade also think about light in your FT as this can cause problems with algae growth.  Insects may be a problem also so a screened area would be ideal for your grow area.  Here in Wisconsin we have a problem with Japinese Beetles so I screen off my GBs and that really helps this difficulty for me.  So placing your FT in the shade and piping the water both from the FT to the GB and GB back to your FT could pose design difficulties but it can be done with success.

Comment by Anthony Payne on December 12, 2013 at 8:17pm

OK Jim, the art is a side line that can be placed at any time. The main goal is to have the gh and system up and running by March as I still have a retaining wall to build on the lot line. I can get granite for $6.00 a yard About $12.00 for the beds. I'm glad I rebuilt the wheel barrel. My south side of the house I thought of wicking beds.

Comment by Leo White Bear on December 12, 2013 at 7:47pm

Jerry-

The advantages of having your system inside and using grow lights year 'round is you have the option to regulate the heat and the intensity of the light provided.

the disadvantage is the heating and electrical usage could be high if you are on the grid.  There are options for heat such as using a Rocket mass heater.  Good heat with little wood usage.  You can also go solar for the heat and lighting but that gets pricy.

  A green house will extend your growing season and not use much supplimental lighting if any.  Here in Wisconsin, a green house alone will extend my growing season into January without supplimental heating unless the temps drop to below 0.  Which is quite often.  So the down side is with a GH, I need to suppliment with lighting and heat wither way in the winter or bring a small system indoors which I di this year.

Comment by Jim Fisk on December 11, 2013 at 6:03am

Hey Anthony, If you have lots of granite in the area find a quarry and ck out their gravel. 18.00 a ton here so that's 9.00 per 12" deep IBC grow bed (as opposed to about 180.00 for clay balls) and granite has far less dust and what little dust it does have is considered a mineral source for the plants. I would use those 330's for full size FTs and keep the tops on (see my photos) and get some 275's to cut up for GBs at 14" deep. Far less waste even if they cost the same.

I like your fish idea but don't get hung up on the artwork quite yet. ALSO try and keep your water out of the sunlight: algae blooms a5re a pita.

Yes in a home system some plants will slow down. Try and keep the system water above 50F or all life in the system will go dormant. I use a woodstove for that if u can. (also see my pics) I got one of those 30.00 (Sams) transmitting thermometer/clocks to send about 250 ft to the "big" house by placing the transmitter on my steel solar barrel rack. (normally only goes about 60 ft if you're lucky) I can watch the temp in there any time and know when it needs more wood. I get 8 - 12 hrs between fills. It heats air and water and I am working on an even better design right now.

Hey, nothing wrong with lots of planning and collecting before digging in. My GH plan has worked out great and is easy to expand year after year. It will all be worth it and if you like trout like we do you should be in trout country there so look into trout farms nearby as well. Can you say Omega oils? Yum.

Comment by Linda Logan on December 10, 2013 at 5:33pm

Right now things are pretty slow.  I'm keeping it above freezing but just using the natural light.  My main problem was not getting more started before the cold weather.  I got confused in the transition from summer plants to Fall.  Just learning.

Comment by Anthony Payne on December 10, 2013 at 4:42pm

Thank Linda

Do your plant just grow slower and take more time to harvest?

Comment by Anthony Payne on December 10, 2013 at 4:39pm

Thanks Leo

I have bee trying to find a local distributor for expanded shale and for some reason in western Washington I have yet to find it. I will probably go with pee gravel I don't think we have much limestone here in western WA. Our water is soft. Lot of granite mountains. I will research it. I have been thinking of a waterfall water feature for aerating of the water, tumbling it on a wall of cone cups running into each other making run into the two fish tanks on the back wall like moving art with pleasant sounds. Maybe make in the shape of a fish as the water would run off the head and tail. This will be made out of stainless 16- 18 GA sheet metal and take a torch to it, to tint an uneven bluing look. With the fish being in the Coastal Native carving of the NW.

Comment by Leo White Bear on December 10, 2013 at 12:30pm

Anthony-

  I have my outdoor systems down for the winter and brought my fish inside for my indoors system until spring.  I have a 55 gallon FT and two 24-gallon grow beds, all in my dining room.  Being into aquaponics for about 4-years, I am still using my very first pump I bought then.  It is still going strong and with monthly cleaning, I don't see it dying on me soon.  The pumps I use are a product called "TotalPond" pumps I get from the local Home Depot.  My pumps range fron 60-gph up to 1200-gph for my dual IBC systems.  The 1200-gph is a bit of overkill but I intend to add a spray bar into the water inlet piping. 

  These pumps range in price from $18.00 to $99.00 for the 1200-gallon pump.  Being easy to attain and maintain, I recommend these pumps to anyone interested in moving water.

  When you get into building your system do some serious research on the media and be sure it doesn't include limestone, you will not be happy as the pH will drive you nuts.  I finally settled on a quartzite material, it's a bit more expensive but you will be happier in the long run.  Other media that don't affect the pH are lava rock (scoria) LECA, Hydroton, and other clay products.  These are not cheap but they do the job.

 

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