Aquaponic Gardening

A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

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Arizona Aquaponics

Helping each other to learn and grow big nutritious plants and fish to help feed the world.

Location: Phoenix
Members: 230
Latest Activity: Oct 7, 2019

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Thank you all for joining my group, I hope to do a lot with all anyone interested. Please
tell me any event suggestions you would like us to do.

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Comment by John Malone on May 3, 2015 at 10:29am

It took me many, many, many hours to get a good understanding of bell siphons.
Once you get them working the overwhelmingly single issue that causes them to stop is a change in the water flow.
You need to find out what is changing the flow.  Here's a few of what has happened to me:

  • Tomato roots in the bell
  • Debris in the pump
  • Dead fish in the pump
  • Plumbing change / rerouting

That's the first place to start: water flow.

Comment by Arlene Baker on May 2, 2015 at 7:40pm

Thanks, Jeff; Kim. The issue is placement, and it is so hard to move without a major amount of EFFORT lol. I haven't had any issues with electrical, but for some reason, all of a sudden my stupid bell siphon won't stop/break siphon. I have fiddled with it, dunno. It used to work; now it doesn't. I have a feeling it needs to be cleaned out better than I can get to it, since my hands won't go down inside far enough to scoop out any roots that may be interfering with the whole shebang. I am waiting to buy a bigger, maybe a 6" diameter pipe, and then replace the 3" one I now have. It just isn't big enough for me to dig in...Anyone else have that problem, that they figured out what to do?

Comment by Kim Romen on May 2, 2015 at 10:19am

Arlene, i think most plants need 7 hrs sun/day.  some do well in shadier areas.  in the summer last yr all i could really grow was okra.  my ap was a jungle of okra.  was beautiful but who wants to eat that much okra and it wasn't easy standing up high in the jungle to harvest cuz it also has little thorns. 

i have to say i kinda miss my ap system but i kinda don't.  right now we're in a temporary construction in the backyard and so the chickens keep getting out and eating the plants that i transplanted into pots.  i was a frustrated soil gardener in the ground by the mountain but ap was the easiest as far as plants and i liked having it high up.  what i don't miss is that i didn't like how the system looked and how bulky it was and the probs with the pump and fish that would arise.  if i do another ap system it'll be more of a pond or something.  my system got full sun and was under a grape arbor so i was able to shade it as needed but didn't need to for okra.  ap is fun for those who like to fidget with things and who don't mind the things that come up and go wrong with the pump, electric tripping so u loose some fish...  i miss the fish and it's a marvelous system.  it mostly runs itself once u get it right except for blurps.  u might want to contact jim troyer for help!

Comment by Jeff S on May 2, 2015 at 7:06am

I understand your frustration. Hang in there. A shade cloth cover should take care of both problems. I don't know much about them but I see a lot on them in the videos.

Comment by Arlene Baker on May 1, 2015 at 8:24pm

Welll, folks. I'm going to have to admit; I am getting a bit discouraged with the AP thing. Why? Well, last year I located the system under my back awning, which gets the morning sun, and then only the late afternoon sun (as the back of the house faces north, and the awning is on the northwest side of the back yard.

I had wonderful growth both last year early at first, and then it seems, I lose the plants, either to bugs, or just scrawniness. I have recently lost three of the 5 large goldfish, and one small Koi, although the bigger 6" Koi is hanging in there. There are about 3 dozen mollies and guppies currently contributing to peeps and poops....

Anyway, in order to MOVE the system, I would end up having to put it on the patio by the pool which would then get full sun almost the entire day,  not to mention leaves dropping from big tree, and deal with the excessive heat during summer...I just don't know what to do.

Any suggestions? 

Comment by Matt Miskinnis on March 28, 2015 at 2:35pm

ahhhh finally back, I was having the hardest time trying to sign into the site for the longest time....

Comment by Arlene Baker on March 28, 2015 at 1:10pm

Thanks, Kim and Jeff. Kim: sorry you had to give up your fishies. You might want to just get a large aquarium in the house, and make a mini-grow bed with a light. That is what I have got going on in process right now. Will still keep the outside bed, but since I don't want to take the whole thing apart, will have someone just pick up the growbed and move it, and then partially drain the tank, and move it with a pallet jack, and then place the growbed where I really want it, which right now is not the way it should be.

My pool is a regular whatever they call it - plaster? pool, Master pool, built circa 1982 or so I think. If it wasn't so darned BIG I wouldn't mind, but I cannot afford the $5000 it takes to fill it in, and surely not the $30000 it would take to 'make it smaller play pool.' Maybe the best bet is to sell house and get a smaller house with a yard without a pool!

Comment by Jeff S on March 28, 2015 at 9:46am

Arlene if it's a pool without a liner you may have a problem with calcium leaching from the pool walls. Don't know if that would cause issues.

Comment by Kim Romen on March 28, 2015 at 8:26am

Arlene, check with the phoenix pond society (or arizona-i forget the name).  there is someone in ahwatukee who converted their pool and they made it sound like it's wasn't an awful job.  was gorgeous to look at.  i saw it on a pond tour a year or 2 ago.  if u go on a tour u'll get plenty of help.

i sold my system last week.  now i'm going backwards and getting the pool.  lol.  i miss the fish but it just didn't fit where i had it and this way i can make a new system exactly how i want it.  2d time's a charm. 

it went to a good home.  but next time i'll have the folks bring their own shovel and weelbarrel.  1 wheelbarrel and 1 wagon broken darnit.  they were old but would've lasted for what i needed them for.  couldn't take the weight of the lava rock and the back and forth trips.  2 ladies (and we helped a bit) took it apart and off it went in a u-haul.  so,  u prob don't need a pallet jack to move it if u take it al apart.  use a strong wheelbarrow for the rock, though.  :)

Comment by John Malone on March 27, 2015 at 9:41pm
Arlene Boyle. I'd have a chat with Dr. George Brooks.
He does a lot with schools and the community.
 

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