Funny how, when you least expect it, your aquaponic system can show you that you are sometimes not completely responsible for all that grows in it.  End of last year I took out some tired looking cherry tomatoes from a bed and replanted.  I must have dropped some fruit into the bed because just as the current batch of plants started looking good, a whole lot of tomato seedlings popped up in a single position.  I took out all but one, just to see if it can find its way in the tangle of plants…

I was looking over my photos and was curious to know what exactly you would like to see in this assembly guide.

Currently I follow these steps per unit.

1. Preselect LED's for each "string" and put them in a breadboard so I can just grab them as I need them, not a necessary step but I still do it.
2. Start at string 1 and solder in the resistor after bending the leads.
3. Place each LED in the string in the board, make sure it lays flat, then bend leads…

Well the secret is out. I have fish and a fish feeder in an unsecured greenhouse.   Oh us stupid humans.  As a Ferengi I use to know would say.  Hue-Mons they are strange. It seems a terrestrial Invader has found first my fish feeder and then my gallon jar with fish food. A racoon I surmise. Woe is me.  I have heard the many stories of the cunning invaders. They can open jars and navigate wires. All may be lost but the thrill of the Game is on.  Sure I could go the mundane route of a steel…

So here is some scale. That Aliflor bed that it is in is about 14" square. The cabbage plant on the left is over 3 feet wide.  I harvested it today for the leaves in my green drinks. 

Now the monster on the right is about 6 feet or so. I am really tempted to let it keep growing. I has no HEAD. What the heck is going on. I think it know that if it heads I will harvest…

Holy Elvis.  (not retouched)

Well I missed the Kodak moment.  Although this wasn't bad.  When I went by yesterday Elvis was bent backwards at the knees.  So that photo would have been named the Incredible pelvis of Inflatable Elvis.  But alas when I went back to take the photo Elvis was completed deflated.  I guess that famous stage move of his of…

Here are the photos that I promised in my last blog. They aren't the best unfortunately since I couldn't find the cable for my camera. I had to take these with my phone.

Here is the gigantic spear of asparagus. I know my previous blog stated it was 14 inches tall. This was yesterdays. It is nearly 17 inches tall now!!!

Below are the brussel…

Well, here I am with a fancy aquaponics system that I just built myself. How did I come across the idea of getting into the aquaponics hobby, you may ask... Well it all started a long time ago while I was looking into setting up a hydroponics unit. But, me being the lazy type, I figured it would be too much work always having to take readings of the nutrient levels and feeding it the nutrients manually (I really dislike manual labor). Then one day while day dreaming about how nice it would…

This is to serve as a teaser while I compile the images I have take, two for each item soldered on so its a bit.



Also it should be noted this unit has not been tested beyond a short "pretest" of the LED's before soldering in place. I will try to get a working picture of this tomorrow when I solder on the main leads and the Jumpers for the other leads to jump to then next board.

This stated here is some goodness for you to look at. TLeft is 1, TRight is 2, BLeft is 3,…

It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to find some time to put the myriad of thoughts that have been milling in my head to some form of logical order.  There was a flurry of activity doing some much needed renovations and additions to the house, and in recent days my brother has been visiting from London.  Chatting to him, some of my other international friends and colleagues have been great for clearing the clutter that has been my attempt to direct my mind around aquaponic…

I am watching a documentary on nature conservation initiatives (Non Gov organizations, national parks, "hotspots"...) and one comment strikes me as particularly relevant to our community: nature conservation as it is currently conceived does not take into account the social impact of having to move populations or asking them to modifiy their ancestral survival techniques.  Take South Africa, where national parks are artificial oases protected by electric fences, out of which all traces of…

Ok if you read my last blog post, and mainly the comments, you know I am still waiting for items to come in and I ran into a snag with the PCB hole spacing not being ideal for my ultra compact LED layout.

To review that is this layout

The problem is simple, if you place two LED's in with the anodes (positive side as indicated by the purple/pink…

Friday was a productive day, and everyone was sore on Saturday.  BUT, the base for the greenhouse floor is in.  Tanks have arrived, I just need to pick them up and the seed starting hydroponic system arrived as well.  Flooring cover and gravel to be installed in the next 10 days.  16 April, weather permitting, will be the day the greenhouse cover goes on and the ends closed…

Just ordered all the parts I will need to create my LED light project. This project will cover a area 6 x 8 if it is desired and will cost $760 in parts and run off a total of about 80watts. Based on my math this will pay for itself in a few years time based on energy savings alone over using HID lights.



There is a lengthy post in the Indoor lighting group with the reason behind why I chose this design over others. This is NOT made to be the only source of light but work in…

I have seeded some Italian Grape tomato and spinach a couple of different ways. I directly placed some spinach into the right growbed about 1/2" below soil line. This is slightly above the water's max fill. I have also planted some spinach and tomato seeds into some 1"x1"x1" rockwool cubes. It has been only about 4 days since I seeded so I expect to see sprouts soon. I placed the cubes in direct sunlight beneath a window to help expedite the growth.…

I am just now begining in aquaponics.   I was intrigued after coming across the idea by accident on the internet (couldn't tell you exactly where on the net).   I've been both a gardener and into aquariums for a good part of my life, and I haven't been this excited about a hobby for quite some time, so I think this is good for me to try!   Also, as a former school teacher and present parent, I think this is an awesome way to learn about ecosystems and the balance it needs to have to work. …