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Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on March 11, 2012 at 8:46am

Bob

I remember your bulkhead setup..

Super strong..

the link below has an error on my computer

Comment by Bob Campbell on March 11, 2012 at 8:33am

Lexan Link

John The link above is for a small piece of lexan. Less than $11.00 with shipping.

Here is a link to how I installed my bulkhead

.  This is fool proof, strong and provides an easy way to remove the bulkhead if you should ever need to replace the seal.  I've also included how not to do it.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on March 10, 2012 at 8:03pm

John, Bob, and Jacques,

Love your updates and progress.

Plumbing, I love it, but I am a carpenter at heart.

Plumbing:

I like to use Ace for the auto siphon. and I use a 4" PVC filter around the auto siphon to keep the grow media out. the 4" permits me to get my hand all the way down to the botom of the siphon. I can even remove the bulkhead fitting without moving the grow media. I used plastic paint for atleast a foot around the siphon hole on the wood under the pond liner. then I used silicon under the liner around the hole and again on the bulkhead fitting. I wanted to make sure I did not have leaks. one of my grow beds is 6'x6'x 12" deep.

never had a leak and I was able to fine tune the drain from the grow bed into the fish tank.

just a thought

I am available to discuss anything, but you guys are GREAT!

Dave

 

Comment by Jacques L. on March 10, 2012 at 4:59pm

@John

Gracias! Yes... the wife choose the paint scheme, I just build the stuff ;)

You'll note the nice little vine on the right hand side that we planted, this is a Lavender Vine that will be trained to completely cover the run, both to provide additional shading and obscure view from potential flying predators.

Upon hitting the ground with the first shovel load, I now truly appreciate the level of effort you put into digging your own hole!

Got my work cut out for me when I get to that fish tank! 

Comment by John Malone on March 10, 2012 at 4:31pm

Bob - I really like the natural look that you've got going there.   I'm a bit of a pragmatic soul and so aesthetics are usually an after-thought.  The final goal of this AP setup is to have it enclosed in a greenhouse / shadehouse, so compactness is rather key.   I'm hoping to keep it going through the summer, if possible.

Jacque - Exceptionally pretty chook shed, old man.  Three colour paint scheme, no less!   Those are going to be some pretty snobby chickens.   Love the look of the solar panels.  You probably didn't need to re-shingle that side of the roof.  It's completely covered.

After lunch I convinced myself to go out and do a bit more on the grow bed.   I walked right past the couch and remote control, donned the hat, and got down to work.  As a result the grow bed is assembled and the liner installed.

Next for the plumbing.   Plumbing and I are not friends.  Never have been, and I'm pretty doubtful we'll ever get to be more than tolerant of each other.  This should be interesting...

Comment by Jacques L. on March 10, 2012 at 4:21pm

My man John is on a bender!

Congrats old bean, that setup of yours is looking exceptional! 

As me and John are a competitive sort, I have to wrap up with my little updates.

Granted, no AP yet, John's got a head start on me there, but now that I've completed our chicken coop, I'm gonna post the final pics now that the build is complete.. whew!

Our last little bit of urban farm happiness... we got our solar installed this week!! Woop! Woop!

Comment by Bob Campbell on March 10, 2012 at 2:06pm

John,  I forgot to tell you how I pot my plants.  I like to use those cloth pots, and I fill them with "floor sweep"  Floor sweep can be purchased at automotive stores. It's used to soak up oil on the floor.  Sometimes it's difficult to find the right kind.  Look for inert materials like silica rather than the organic floor sweep with nut hulls.

Comment by Bob Campbell on March 10, 2012 at 1:52pm

John, have you given thought to building a stream to return the water to the tank?  You could make it all look very nice by placing a few potted plants in the stream.   Lingularia, Impatiens, and ferns all grow well in my pond's stream.  A combination of tall and short plants will make it look very nice.  Ivy will hide the edges and make it look more natural.  Stay away from Colocasia as it is too aggressive and will become a weed.

Comment by Ken Richardson on March 10, 2012 at 12:41pm

John looks like you will have a very nice set up, good luck with it.

Comment by John Malone on March 10, 2012 at 12:31pm

Another Saturday morning, so some more progress on the AP build.

First grow bed is well under way.   I moved rock and dirt, leveled the ground, set up concrete blocks as supporting pillars and started assembly.    Getting those pillars all level and straight was a bit of a challenge, but perseverance won through.

Here are the photos.  Feel free to comment.

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