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Comment by Rex Byrns on December 29, 2012 at 9:01am

Highly evolved is exactly the opposite - lol. I am just getting started really. You can see a few older pics on my page of parts and pieces. I have been doing a lot of experimenting and tweaking (aka redoing).  I am still running goldfish, but visited my local fish farm yesterday and am planning on swapping out goldfish for tilapia in February.  I have about decided that my next step is to built a swirl filter and dedicated bio-filter.  My bottle system so far is very efficient on the expensive stuff like hydroton and space.  My back yard is too small to use a lawn mower in so I am having to be creative.  I have the common problem of starting hobbies for therapy and then getting so consumed with it that I have to have a therapy outlet for that - lol.  I am loving aquaponics because when the plumbing starts getting to me, I can play with the control systems and chemistry a while.  Basically the broad spectrum of aquaponics is being very good to me so far. 

The next weekend that has a warm spell will find me making a little summary video of what I have done so far.

Tank is about 240 gallons.

Comment by Cameron Smith on December 27, 2012 at 11:34pm

I am very interested! It sounds like your system is highly evolved. How big is your tank? Do you have any pictures or info already posted on your "bottle system"? I've never heard of that. 

Comment by Rex Byrns on December 26, 2012 at 10:01pm

Finally got tired of nitpicking the arduino code, and handed control over to the new system.  I get water temp, air temp, relative humidity, flow confirmation from the sump, start records and duration records on the flood and drain.

  I still don't have alerts unless I am home (within bluetooth range), but at least I don't have to worry about intense water loss.  My new system has an ultrasonic sensor watching the level of water in the fish tank.  If the bottom drops out over 4 inches past average, the outgoing pump turns off until the situation is resolved.  Soon I will have the house computer sending me texts if this situation arises.

I am about to add the larger grow beds to my bottle system and I figure I will make so many more changes to the system that I might as well just get the beta testing over with.  I have twenty more bottles to put online after the family Christmas parties -- woo hoo!

I will try to post info on what all I did around the new year's holiday for anyone that is interested.

Comment by Rex Byrns on December 23, 2012 at 7:19pm

I am sure that it would burn out if run dry eventually.  As a matter of fact, I had a malfunction yesterday and about half of my water drained out on the ground.  The temperature probe was out of the water in the cool air while the element was still under the water.  Fortunately I caught it early, but the water was warming up quickly.  I lowered my temperature probe to the same level as the heater to prevent this from happening again.

Comment by Bob Campbell on December 22, 2012 at 11:56am

I'd like to see details about the electrical connection, and how you sealed it. 

Water heater elements will burnout if on while out of water.  Will a deep fryer element do the same?

Comment by Rex Byrns on December 21, 2012 at 11:04pm

I will see if I can come up with a video or something.  Actually yes, you do have to turn it up -- so to speak.  1500 watts is 1500 watts.  It is like the thermostat in your house...  Turning it up higher does not make it hotter faster.   The difference is how long it is turned on.  And, the fact that you only want 70+ degrees instead of 400 for nice brown turkey -- lol

I was shocked that it was on for 20 minutes and you could lightly touch it without being burned.  The water carries the heat away well.

The problem as I understand it with hot water heaters is the fact that most heating elements are nickel coated copper that can eventually cause a problem.  Fryer elements are stainless steel to survive the grease, etc...

Comment by Cameron Smith on December 20, 2012 at 10:16pm

Yes, I would also love to see a how-to video.

I've been thinking of doing something similar to this with a water heater. You don't really have to turn it up as high as you would to fry a turkey to keep water at 72 deg, do you?

Comment by Michael Silberstein on December 20, 2012 at 8:47pm

I got a wall paper steamer that i got for the same idea. great build. do you have a how video or  walk threw?

Comment by Rex Byrns on December 10, 2012 at 8:59am

Oh, BTW it is 1500W.  I had people asking me how I was going to protect the fish from burning themselves.  In testing I was surprised to learn that the water carries the heat away so well that you can touch it while in operation.

My first attempt leaked a little.  It has been submerged now for 24 hours and it is still holding.

Comment by Rob Nash on December 10, 2012 at 8:48am

nice! i know a guy who uses the whole thing, he straitens the element and mounts it on the side of the tank. he uses the temp control that came with it... but i like the way you adapted it to the PVC. keep us posted.