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Comment by Holly Curtis on March 6, 2012 at 10:39am

Nothing to do with fish or plants, but interesting article on getting off the power grid...nearly: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/demand-spikes-for-zero-energy-cos...

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on March 6, 2012 at 6:49am

I used my auto siphon in a grow bed for trees. It was 22" deep 

One of my trees in that was in that bed is a papaya, which is fruiting now. 

I love experimenting. I have 3 papaya in my new grow beds.

Comment by Bob Campbell on March 5, 2012 at 7:38pm

John said "Bob, I'm curious about the siphon that you built"

I'm putting together a detailed description of my high flow siphon, and hope to be able to share it on Tuesday.  I'm going to experiment with one small change in the morning before making a presentation. 

I planted my bed today!  Still doing a fishless cycle, but today I added some gravel from the Koi pond.  It's been getting warmer, so I hope the bacterial is not dormant.

Thanks to everyone who has been trying to find a good source of fish food.  My babies are growing up so fast.

Comment by David Schwinghamer on March 5, 2012 at 3:33pm

I forgot to mention Rachel, she has a great little urban farm going with a cute little greenhouse and an AP system. Thank you Rachel for taking the time to drive out to the Sheri farm to get some fry tilapia!

Comment by David Schwinghamer on March 5, 2012 at 3:29pm

Thanks Sheri for the early birthday gift, I didnt realize they would be so small. Its alright, just something new to learn. When they are so small I think you could feed them more often with high protein powder food? Is there a chance they could get stuck or even pass into the Eheim filter, it sounds like panty hose time. Any thanks again for your generosity. 

Comment by Holly Curtis on March 5, 2012 at 10:21am

What terrific people we have in this group!  Thank you so much for all the help and links you sent me. 

Sheri - Thank you for the basic intro to aquapoinics slides.  I just found them this morning and look forward to reviewing them.

John Malone  -  Thank you for the explanation on CHOP and worst case points to consider.  Love the UPS idea.  If power goes out while I am at work, they just have to survive until I get home right now....and that could be many hours. 

Bob Campbell I am especially appreciative of the animation of the no holes need in my aquarium overflow pvc controller thing.  I can do that.  The DIY guy has good instructions and I love your addition of piece to get poo off the bottom of the tank and avoid pulling out feed. 

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on March 4, 2012 at 9:11pm

John, 

I know you asked Bob, but my auto siphon is simple and easy to maintain.

Now that I have it perfected, I have not had a problem on my last 5 tanks with auto siphons. I purchase all of my parts from Ace Hardware. If you are interested, I will walk you thru it. It is one of my points of interest when I tour people around my facility and greenhouse.

Comment by John Malone on March 4, 2012 at 7:55pm

Bob, I'm curious about the siphon that you built, mostly because I'm on the verge of building my own.  I have zero practical experience (apart from a demo I made from a soda bottle in a bucket!) and want to glean as much info as I can before I have the same problems as everyone before me.    

• Do you control the pump flow at all by using a valve of any sort? 
• What volume of water are you pumping?  
• What is the size of your fish tank and grow bed(s)?
• What is the size of the upstand (i.e. the inner tube) in your siphon?
• Do you have a reducer in your siphon to create a funnel at the top?
• If so what size is it?
• What is the size of the bell part of your siphon?

Lots of questions. Sorry, but inquiring minds need to know.  

Thanks mate.  John

Comment by John Malone on March 4, 2012 at 7:36pm

@Bob : Warning!  Mad Scientist at Work!

I think someone is having just a little bit too much fun!

Good inventing Bob.

Comment by Bob Campbell on March 4, 2012 at 6:50pm

I rebuilt my bell siphon this morning as per Affnan's specs except for a 4" bell, but my 500 GPH pump is too large for the one inch tail piece.  I went back to my design and cut an inch off the horizontal section and that cut a couple seconds off the time it takes for the siphon to break.  These bell siphons can really be tricky.  If I add an inch it will not break.  Such a fine line!  Here's my 2" tailpiece

I also build my tank heater today using two 1500 W electric water heater elements.  I'll put them in series to reduce the amperage to 6.25, because my thermostat is rated at 8.5 A.  The water is about 1 degree F warmer coming out at 500 GPM in that mode, but I'm currently running just one without the thermostat to get up to temperature quickly.  I think it will hold it there quite well when placed back in series.

This is my heater.  It's hooked up in High 1500W mode without the thermostat in this shot.  I don't know if it matters,but I laid it on it's side because I was afraid an air bubble at the top might make it melt.  I can place my hand on it now and barely feel the warmth, but my watt meter shows that it's drawing 1300W.

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