Japan Aquaponics - Micro-Aquaponics Unit thoughts

[Japan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本]

Lessons learnt from the micro-system.  

 

Initially I had the loop siphon on the side like in the photos - this worked ok but not reliably for me and so moving the outpipe to the bottom of the growbed worked much better.

Because it is so small it fills and drains very quickly - I am not sure if this will be ok or not so I may need to fit a timer to the pump.  The dilemma is that I would ideally like a really small flow of water - but to pump the water high enough I need to get a slightly larger pump.  The pumps with the flow I want, can't lift the water high enough.  The larger flow does make the siphon sometimes difficult to stop working.

I would also use lighter, smaller diameter wood - this is just too sturdy and heavy!  It could survive a typhoon without batting an eyelid!

I used pumice stone in the bottom half of the growbed and then topped up with hydroton - big price difference and so I am hoping the pumice stone works well!

If anyone has any suggestions they would be very much welcomed!

[Japan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本]

Hi there,

 

Well this is the updated pipework - thank you for the confirmation TCLynx - this is working very nicely now, the water volume to the growbed is now much more manageable, there is a better flood and drain rate, and the siphon now works (and in particular stops) very nicely.

 

The water is not splashing back into the tank because it is set up in our bedroom/study and so my wife complained that with a ll the water splashing she felt like she needed to go to the toilet all of the time!  This may be a consideration if it was in a classroom as well and so the water runs straight into the bottom of the fish tank, but I may make this into a venturi some time.

[Japan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本]

Thanks for the feedback and I wanted to update a little more.  

 

Thanks TCLynx, good to confirm what I was thinking!... now to find that ball valve... not as easy as it sounds in Japan...  I cant even find bulkheads!  DIY not massive over here so can be tricky to find all the fittings!

 

For Eric.. the system is hand-built especially for this project.  I have used 2x2 for the main frame, and 1x4 for the cladding.  Overall it is a little too heavy, but I wanted to make one particularly strong initially.  I might replace the 2x2 with 1x2 and I would certainly replace the 1x4 with thinner cladding.  

 

The growbeds are cheap reinforced builders plastic boxes that are about 50 litres and 30 litres.  The siphon is now coming from the bottom but is inside the frame rather than on the outside (help keep algae down)

 

The plastic piping taking the water from the fishtank to the growbeds I would probably replace with a nice UPVC piping setup, as well as making the water trickle out onto the bed using holes punched into a pipe along the width of the bed.

 

I would also get stronger wheels if you make it heavy!

 

Also,  the top of the frame is about 3 inches above the top of the growbed - not a huge amount but it restricts sunlight into the bed slightly - next time I would make the top of the frame to sit flush with the top of the growbed (and probably do the same with the fishtank).

 

Finally, I would make this in two seperate parts (or just chop this one in half now) so that it is easier to get at the fishtank if necessary.  Probably just cut it in two just about the top of the cladding on the bottom wooden box and then drill some holes in the top and bottom uprights and fit little wooden dowels into the holes so that the two parts of the frame sit neatly.

 

Other than that - it seems to be working nicely at the moment and plants are already starting to shoot up from seed after only 2 days!

 

[TCLynx]

The T with a ball valve to adjust the amount of bypass flow goes back to the fish tank is the right way to regulate flow so a larger pump can be used without hurting the pump.

[Eric Jensen]

The rate would depend upon what you are growing and how many plants.  I have found that in my system certain plant types grow better/worse depending on the flooding frequency.  Another variable would be the type of media used.  I don't have any experience with the pumice stone media, so I can't give you an accurate opinion.  If it was all hydroton and you were growing basil and lettuce I would set the flooding to be on for 15 minutes then off for 60-90 minutes.  This setting would also be varied upon what your timer is capable of (mine has 15 minute increments).

 

I hope that helps.  Post some more pics when you can.  Where did you get this system at?  I like it a lot. 

[Japan Aquaponics - アクアポニックス 日本]

Hi Eric.... shock! downgrade?!...lol  such is life though.  

 

The problem with the flow etc is that in order to keep everything tidy we have used quite small diameter piping and so as the water flow is quite high it can make it difficult for the siphon to turn itself off.  When I restrict the flow (or stop the pump even for a few seconds) it stops immediately.

 

Although it is working now ( a sponge under the water inflow pipe), I am going to try the in-line valve - I will use a 'T' valve though and have some of the water just splash back into the tank... this should make it easier on the pump as well as providing some extra aeration for the tank.

 

What do you reckon would be a good ebb and flow rate for a small bed like this?

 

Let's see how it goes!

[Eric Jensen]

I like this smaller system.  I have a feeling that I will be forced to downgrade my system by my girlfriend when we move in together.  This would be a great alternative.

 

As far as achieving a lower flow but still getting the rise to the grow bed.  I'm not sure if you want a lower flow in terms of quantity (gpm), or water pressure.

 

For lower gpm you could get the larger pump and put a valve in-line after the pump to regulate the flow.  I'm not sure the wear this might cause on the pump though.

 

For the lower pressure you can increase the size of the lines.