tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70589655321761308742024-03-05T12:44:10.292-08:00AquaMonster Aquaponics BlogWelcome to my Aquaponics Blog!
I am Carel Hauptfleisch. Aquaponics crazy person. What is Aquaponics? It is an organic hydroponics system. Fish and plants living in harmony inside a recirculating system whereby the fish provide nutrients for the plants, and the plants remove nitrates from the water.AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-88193582976090544332015-12-07T00:15:00.000-08:002015-12-07T00:15:33.697-08:00I am not dead!And here we are.. Some 5 years later!<br />
The system as you see it here, no longer exists. A few years ago, we moved out of our house. Things were getting too cramped, and we went to rent a bigger place, while renting out ours.. I had to break up the entire system, and got rid of most of it, with the exception of some parts that I consider irreplaceable..<br />
<br />
Good news, is that we are moving to a smallholding this month, and I will be building a brand new AP system! Watch this space!AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-19867925224563603112011-10-24T04:12:00.001-07:002011-10-24T04:12:20.176-07:00New video addedSomething is wrong with blogger. I am unable to embed a video..<br />
<br />
pls see the link below for the latest video..<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db2PzBz3Yz0">Spring 2011 #1</a>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-62901789968093837812011-10-23T06:19:00.000-07:002011-10-23T06:21:46.778-07:00Spring is here and I have killed my fish!!<div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSqaaWxNgt2UtUFPuSo-P3ObhVZK7qptEfIRfKPde9UrrhOoPQKTfvTceWPg21KUCqaPy1nA-BTF5alBk3z2NMHJeuiMmDPwY3AoslUmufaExCblEo4A1t4_RICJubprX64SJEYHX1rY/s1600/shit-720662.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666676864403914658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjSqaaWxNgt2UtUFPuSo-P3ObhVZK7qptEfIRfKPde9UrrhOoPQKTfvTceWPg21KUCqaPy1nA-BTF5alBk3z2NMHJeuiMmDPwY3AoslUmufaExCblEo4A1t4_RICJubprX64SJEYHX1rY/s320/shit-720662.jpg" /></a></div><div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqgy2soeC3Lm4sdEkLA3wW9vQwGsWh6vIBM8qCQ3X7xc4HCzxaHmCotzZvygoniPWxcnU8pt4jpN2PkD9pQQO1Z0yYqXsMfhwihIQK9zimU5AJBd2QdjQ-ffYheW_jIP_oaQdtuT49co/s1600/IMAG1213-721578.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666676863529609330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUqgy2soeC3Lm4sdEkLA3wW9vQwGsWh6vIBM8qCQ3X7xc4HCzxaHmCotzZvygoniPWxcnU8pt4jpN2PkD9pQQO1Z0yYqXsMfhwihIQK9zimU5AJBd2QdjQ-ffYheW_jIP_oaQdtuT49co/s320/IMAG1213-721578.jpg" /></a></div><div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EhpsbY1s0rsMtn0etJDlqa3mbJ1mSK6nNscY-9GqWA9TYFl-D9q-T6aGgXYtjlYITzA6i-helPd8ltrDG7ZbzxalfV9sRJmHULBity3RrzbmYxfwDeRy4Mk9iyO8cAxzRVKU8jokkvs/s1600/IMAG1261-722807.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666676874069678018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EhpsbY1s0rsMtn0etJDlqa3mbJ1mSK6nNscY-9GqWA9TYFl-D9q-T6aGgXYtjlYITzA6i-helPd8ltrDG7ZbzxalfV9sRJmHULBity3RrzbmYxfwDeRy4Mk9iyO8cAxzRVKU8jokkvs/s320/IMAG1261-722807.jpg" /></a></div><div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHvr8Rq3ZiBPb2zdIJ8vyTwX9cI2uK8onTJCbU97rcn-TwK6OyO4KhkqilV6T0mpSHXSVdqQb7WsjH6QVTGMRnw_u5-zXml1JJfs8fSvPHQDViiqZmh7b-gq2I4xGXOONOP3ikPBLW5k/s1600/IMAG1195-724626.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666676876384968098" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHvr8Rq3ZiBPb2zdIJ8vyTwX9cI2uK8onTJCbU97rcn-TwK6OyO4KhkqilV6T0mpSHXSVdqQb7WsjH6QVTGMRnw_u5-zXml1JJfs8fSvPHQDViiqZmh7b-gq2I4xGXOONOP3ikPBLW5k/s320/IMAG1195-724626.jpg" /></a></div><div class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqHc24UTsuv5bIqY84-n7MWyoURUHVOldI0P7tfTYQWIbOvoIHXcJ9g14PImVxd5X43Pnw0GvGeE8OLaODtz6Hl-2h8UcXpqMaNQQt8iG9aDlzpPgcKhUYYdAsd4dlTBnl_AOrkssiB4/s1600/IMAG1224-725420.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5666676879178970418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhqHc24UTsuv5bIqY84-n7MWyoURUHVOldI0P7tfTYQWIbOvoIHXcJ9g14PImVxd5X43Pnw0GvGeE8OLaODtz6Hl-2h8UcXpqMaNQQt8iG9aDlzpPgcKhUYYdAsd4dlTBnl_AOrkssiB4/s320/IMAG1224-725420.jpg" /></a></div>Spring is FINALLY here!!<br />
<br />
A lot has been going on... Sorry for not posting for so long. Fact is that not much has been happening.<br />
I managed to kill all my trout by sheer stupidity. Re-planted my DWC system with some tomatoes and basil. Also made a fishtrap with some success.. I further added a new growbed, and I introduced a few local bass to my system. Feeding them with "reject" koi from a local breeder. I still have some tilapia that made it through the winter. Planning on having a number of litters to feed the bass. Check out the pics..<br />
<br />
Plants currently in the system:<br />
* 1 tomato that survived the winter (doing very well)<br />
* a bunch of new tomato,s different varieties<br />
* cucumbers<br />
* peas<br />
* squash<br />
* corn<br />
* mango<br />
* chilli<br />
* paprika<br />
* green peppers<br />
* basil (two types)<br />
* Thyme<br />
* Parsley<br />
* lemon Balm<br />
* Oregano<br />
Wow. Did not realise it was that much...<br />
<br />
comments?AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-10155305291002091652011-08-16T08:17:00.000-07:002011-08-16T08:17:39.200-07:00I am still alive!Long time no post.<br />
<br />
It is winter now and things are not so good. The weather is too cold for summer crops and it appears too hot for winter crops. My cauliflower and broccoli have both gone to seed because of hot weather. Spring is upon us, so I am starting new seedlings so that I can get a head start...<br />
<br />
I have Trout in the system right now, and they are getting quite big. Will be eating some of them soon. The Chest freezer is back in commission, and working AWESOME! - it is nicely sealed (it took ages) and the tilapia are as happy as, well fish in water. As soon as the system water heats up, I will put the remaining trout in the chest freezer, and use it as a keep-cool tank. I plan to add a block of ice every day to keep it chilly. The tilapia will then move back into the system. I also plan to trap some bluegill fish and use that in the system. Will post pictures soon!AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-71726307129471293052011-05-21T05:11:00.000-07:002011-05-21T05:11:06.202-07:00Chest freezer out of commissionSo the freezer somehow sprang a leak. had to top up the water every few days.<br />
<br />
Decided that I should do away with the liner and rather fix up the freezer properly.<br />
This is proving to take longer than I had hoped. As in going on 2 weeks.<br />
Result is that most of the tilapia have died..<br />
Those that are left are probably genetically disposed towards tolerating the cold weather..<br />
Bruno my dog had a field day. He ate every last dead fish..<br />
For some reason I am unable to add pictures to the blog today. Will try gain later.. <br />
<br />
In other news, the trout are doing very very well!<br />
They are eating like starved banshees.. will be eating a couple of them tonight!AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-42103762879487344772011-05-01T01:00:00.000-07:002011-05-01T01:04:10.114-07:00Fish are balmy in the freezer!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We had a couple of fish deaths from the cold. I lost maybe a dozen or so fingerlings and one plate-sized guy, You may remember old Geoffrey from an earlier post. I took hm back outside since he was all better and the cold water promptly killed him. And I did not shock him. I lowered his temperate overnight before taking him outside.. Oh well. A memorial service is scheduled for old Geoffrey. Felt really bad about it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Decided to do something about it. So I got me a beat-up old 350L chest freezer.. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">(while my wife rolls her eyes)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGrg9St4-MrBt0_43Vf4bN2CXQDA5f5UAniLYqXBFXNuAvWZLF5mQaRqrbl13o4z5V8HHaQiP4QCT3rCSdCORoA6kp-oq3Uw7VhjPWLbGqnJqRS0nfPJvyT8ZMqYYRWtGcE2SWTK13oY/s1600/IMAG0791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGrg9St4-MrBt0_43Vf4bN2CXQDA5f5UAniLYqXBFXNuAvWZLF5mQaRqrbl13o4z5V8HHaQiP4QCT3rCSdCORoA6kp-oq3Uw7VhjPWLbGqnJqRS0nfPJvyT8ZMqYYRWtGcE2SWTK13oY/s320/IMAG0791.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So why would I use a chest freezer if I am complaining about the cold? - because the freezer is very very well insulated and will keep the heat inside. Of course the freezer is not turned on :-)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I lined it with black plastic. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHr6T33U48sgc5ncne62lzxlgA2NaqUVy83i_cdQAQ1yX7Tk8hD-rFsynZfKPTHkhyphenhyphengPhinF1KqPpl7bPQL7cuu76Cz0_cnDTkMi9YSRp5SkwiSTMkQ-qATgYLHFPcJcKentKFF9PeOA/s1600/IMAG0792.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHr6T33U48sgc5ncne62lzxlgA2NaqUVy83i_cdQAQ1yX7Tk8hD-rFsynZfKPTHkhyphenhyphengPhinF1KqPpl7bPQL7cuu76Cz0_cnDTkMi9YSRp5SkwiSTMkQ-qATgYLHFPcJcKentKFF9PeOA/s320/IMAG0792.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Getting it in and neat is quite difficult... Involves a whole lot of patience. That substance that I have soo much of.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoJBs-Z3yWFWtm3UyFzaBV3Px6eU4oNGQC7dxlwGs-VRzdGw08RkiijYTwFX9Jx8Lpj7R0N2g-uv_0DVr876JtQUWJFbZCLBkEBKgWLFsyMlNhtLzi1Pz0cpRkUtzvqoJ_t3qEQ2yX1Y/s1600/IMAG0801.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoJBs-Z3yWFWtm3UyFzaBV3Px6eU4oNGQC7dxlwGs-VRzdGw08RkiijYTwFX9Jx8Lpj7R0N2g-uv_0DVr876JtQUWJFbZCLBkEBKgWLFsyMlNhtLzi1Pz0cpRkUtzvqoJ_t3qEQ2yX1Y/s320/IMAG0801.jpg" width="191" /></a>But a bit of packaging tape helped it along.. Was worried about the lid pinching the airlines, but it appears ok. (If I put my ear to the closed lid I can hear it bubbling away inside)</div><div class="" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNSFCEWLtdDBN0lUxVNPCd1zQwjpzhnjm1SMWtP-1QMgnwo2uFONEfBjVV26L6-L61qXwvLBCdcZGYHecsr4uwHcbXHtdVhpEC0N92oHcQTE1CiZLEyVXu1pXcAEpYbUIUj_rzy3mYO0/s1600/IMAG0814.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQNSFCEWLtdDBN0lUxVNPCd1zQwjpzhnjm1SMWtP-1QMgnwo2uFONEfBjVV26L6-L61qXwvLBCdcZGYHecsr4uwHcbXHtdVhpEC0N92oHcQTE1CiZLEyVXu1pXcAEpYbUIUj_rzy3mYO0/s320/IMAG0814.jpg" width="320" /></a>Please notice the all important lid-closing device on top... Will install some sort of latch to keep it closed. Later. And please also notice my helper on the side.. She felt the needed to check he seal personally..</div><div class="" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">And this morning, I checked the temperature again: 28 degrees Celsius!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLy6jAny4sYf9IENxTaYZMI8cj-Fd43hSKXsT-SQx8I_pXJHg4hDGJCUwwZIGSRETIZm44Q64tkN4JEkklR1HtgnvaPSt-kYGKKQH_Pb2BtRgtoHIAWKo-I54ABdYKGPG1vGR_MT3XE0/s1600/IMAG0816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPLy6jAny4sYf9IENxTaYZMI8cj-Fd43hSKXsT-SQx8I_pXJHg4hDGJCUwwZIGSRETIZm44Q64tkN4JEkklR1HtgnvaPSt-kYGKKQH_Pb2BtRgtoHIAWKo-I54ABdYKGPG1vGR_MT3XE0/s320/IMAG0816.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">And they seem happy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1LYvtcaBo4Cz7zThIj0QXdQ0IMqkj4Dlrf6uYDwJoHKqZV6khFrtam3P1MYmpJA8EcmNQqD-UGqPoZl90OMspDxEuDM7M-SBSfwsV5EWHwF5A2w12IMFrKf7HXs9CO9wd1xmNX3YfMM/s1600/IMAG0807.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1LYvtcaBo4Cz7zThIj0QXdQ0IMqkj4Dlrf6uYDwJoHKqZV6khFrtam3P1MYmpJA8EcmNQqD-UGqPoZl90OMspDxEuDM7M-SBSfwsV5EWHwF5A2w12IMFrKf7HXs9CO9wd1xmNX3YfMM/s320/IMAG0807.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Woo hoo!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">This is fun..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><b>Next steps:</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">I would like to measure the effectiveness of the insulation. So I will be monitoring the temperature in the tank (it should go up and down as the heater switches itself on and off) - from this I could figure out how much power I am using to maintain the temperature. I have the option of adding more insulation, but I think 90% of the energy loss at this point comes from the cold air that is getting pumped in via the aerator.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Tomorrow I am getting trout for the AP system! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Ysxy8w3sZrzK2p-jRWpB0eN-WfDsIUGVbQdCKyo29xMccn2R_HBM4-ivn0j3McHzs6Yf8P8tw7AWAvETSh9SlN_Hj9V7UtjpSlAlPIrWkJ7QZ9vxzhnxzS3-fA6x1fW3IXnyDVmULKw/s1600/IMAG0794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-4403574111222018232011-04-24T03:19:00.000-07:002011-04-24T03:19:01.217-07:00Rafting update<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>HSM</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> An HSM is an aquaponics term, short for a <b>H</b>oly <b>S</b>hit <b>M</b>oment. Defined as an indeterminate period of time during which all hell breaks loose in an aquaponic system, and where serious intervention is required. In some cases accompanied by severe fish losses and lots of swearing and running around like a mad person . Examples include broken pipes, serious biological imbalances (nitrite spikes etc), and in some cases, you get dogs OPENING YOUR FRIGGIN' DRAIN TAP. I lost maybe 1000L of water today. This is the 3rd time. No idea how they do it, no idea how to stop them from doing it. Maybe I should apply liberal doses of chilli to the handle...<b> <GRIN></b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Luckily the <a href="http://aquaponic-monster.blogspot.com/p/system-design.html">super clever design of my system</a> will never leave the fish without water, so I did not lose any fish because of this<b><br />
</b></div><b> </b><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b></b></div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>First winter casualties</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Arrived at the smallfry tank this morning after our first particularly cold night, and (apart from the HSM) found two little bite-size dead guys.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaVxNbXxQJUO13GlDR6Phlp58Xo60uwJj0v7dpGtbVOHqkSDC8QzzMXsdmpd-oatL_eN3Pfkr_r5y379VgO_Zl3_5w1iDN3KZctBqgPabBpnMk6qKyMLx4NTafimVltKL5XjEYLZwpNQ/s1600/IMAG0771.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNaVxNbXxQJUO13GlDR6Phlp58Xo60uwJj0v7dpGtbVOHqkSDC8QzzMXsdmpd-oatL_eN3Pfkr_r5y379VgO_Zl3_5w1iDN3KZctBqgPabBpnMk6qKyMLx4NTafimVltKL5XjEYLZwpNQ/s320/IMAG0771.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here is one of them. I assume they could not handle the water temp dropping below 18deg C. I am convinced not all of them will die, because tilapia are flourishing in our local dams, which get as cold as 12degC in winter. But I am worried. I would prefer not losing half the fish.. And the water is not even that cold yet. I need to make a plan and quickly..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Rafting update</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here are the promised pics of the rafting system.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhp8YaqIEg8onZkh0ayEIaOwNJdA8AZ9atmbdunuZPPSu79ADfBksWEh0XBriJa5Sk_pQVq-XuzQez2ZvSVqFgxNiI2RQp5O-X_HMErzHfB42i6VWcSAlstW8sf9iBzGvwaefBZdZY2KQ/s1600/IMAG0759.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhp8YaqIEg8onZkh0ayEIaOwNJdA8AZ9atmbdunuZPPSu79ADfBksWEh0XBriJa5Sk_pQVq-XuzQez2ZvSVqFgxNiI2RQp5O-X_HMErzHfB42i6VWcSAlstW8sf9iBzGvwaefBZdZY2KQ/s320/IMAG0759.jpg" width="320" /></a>The cabbage are doing particularly well. I have some pots open where I plan to plant a second batch..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUDV8YKXmGNY8iqK71phdNQjFW7ZWSrh3gS8GpRISHK5OYM6zUFxB6bbhjRFduYGOfXLJLI2Vh3nvYv4JfF2tBTANwmkO-OcWLem5CQj-nhbKLIClAgq6Z0QR07Z1R01tW4NQ2S3A6ko/s1600/IMAG0724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUDV8YKXmGNY8iqK71phdNQjFW7ZWSrh3gS8GpRISHK5OYM6zUFxB6bbhjRFduYGOfXLJLI2Vh3nvYv4JfF2tBTANwmkO-OcWLem5CQj-nhbKLIClAgq6Z0QR07Z1R01tW4NQ2S3A6ko/s320/IMAG0724.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some nice roots growing out of the pots and hanging into the water. The water is well aerated to keep the roots from rotting.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Making chillisauce!</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrf02U6R-oO68H9R9fqRiHePOa6RW1VFjPxlpDoA52Q9Q14wO-xlj4hhsbEmjE1CbNYI_l5dH-BG_lBnpKOPR8J4vpt48isVx67rCl7IQ__jlXRAnpNY_8JqasTjLjdpBh1pipXTHL_A/s1600/making+chillisauce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrf02U6R-oO68H9R9fqRiHePOa6RW1VFjPxlpDoA52Q9Q14wO-xlj4hhsbEmjE1CbNYI_l5dH-BG_lBnpKOPR8J4vpt48isVx67rCl7IQ__jlXRAnpNY_8JqasTjLjdpBh1pipXTHL_A/s320/making+chillisauce.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I had WAY too many chillis harvested, and I don't really like the taste when raw, so I made chillisauce!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">DO NOT TOUCH EYES OR NOSE when handling chilli. And if you are male, DO NOT GO PEE!!! (Or if you do, go freestyle!)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That is all I am going to say about that..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Recipe? Comment to the blog if you want it. I used lotsa chillies, some fresh paprika, 2 red peppers, 2 red onions and a LOT of sugar. yum.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9DhqH9rXOtogkUtW0iEE54K2-V9yAVTDDFh3ItBFPO4tkN8Imrp-PIjRf3Z-rRhVLATqgq0q8DDA-n0ZaDi5K7wmBJOCGVrlAdSfV_mUKK_bG8MmZz4LHydJjkPAaMqGyMFS_7B92Q8/s1600/nomess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9DhqH9rXOtogkUtW0iEE54K2-V9yAVTDDFh3ItBFPO4tkN8Imrp-PIjRf3Z-rRhVLATqgq0q8DDA-n0ZaDi5K7wmBJOCGVrlAdSfV_mUKK_bG8MmZz4LHydJjkPAaMqGyMFS_7B92Q8/s320/nomess.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Luckily I do not make a huge mess when cooking. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oops..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxVhHe_UaVOxd1zfbn96einayUJyVe4Q8HkktBePBj5yZGIpyCoXlCgCUXvCVBpVJ0nNxUVS5PBiNdJVDGxmVwSguY7U8zTcggSdk4qT9E1puwwTXXiVR31Ct3tr4m_j4_jGLlG24iws/s1600/tadaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxVhHe_UaVOxd1zfbn96einayUJyVe4Q8HkktBePBj5yZGIpyCoXlCgCUXvCVBpVJ0nNxUVS5PBiNdJVDGxmVwSguY7U8zTcggSdk4qT9E1puwwTXXiVR31Ct3tr4m_j4_jGLlG24iws/s320/tadaa.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The result.. A very sweet, medium hot chilli sauce. Sort of tabasco plus sweet chilli sauce plus a truckload of sugar. Plus maybe some more sugar.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Did I mention it tastes sweet?</div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-80870040390800732032011-04-16T14:01:00.000-07:002011-04-16T14:01:34.076-07:00Winter is coming!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sorry for the long silence! And thank you to all my new followers! - it is awesome to blog if you know some people are actually reading the crap you are writing. </div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1hVdIQeflIPUC1EwwBDfJ_kXg1clL8Y6iz10GCzCFhg0_UXxu-drIN6g7OBKoICQ-HGDkVnaJdXT2DTvqdYj6Tohi8EyXf9Ni5876CxKPNABIWn7hrs7bcuLeSI7MRWPBJxqED03K5SQ/s1600/IMAG0683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1hVdIQeflIPUC1EwwBDfJ_kXg1clL8Y6iz10GCzCFhg0_UXxu-drIN6g7OBKoICQ-HGDkVnaJdXT2DTvqdYj6Tohi8EyXf9Ni5876CxKPNABIWn7hrs7bcuLeSI7MRWPBJxqED03K5SQ/s320/IMAG0683.jpg" width="320" /></a>The tomatoes are doing very well, I am harvesting maybe 1kg of ripe tomatoes per day, plus a few handfuls of chili and paprika. Way too much for normal day-day use. I pick them when they start to go pink, and have them turn red in the kitchen. If I don't use it right away, it goes to the freezer, where they are collected for ketchup day. Paprika tastes great. Sort of sweet like a green pepper..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwJGFNuo9qp4UwbP5x5OOn_90BIiQUecMQ3IcRSRP_08skTMmSAN3hrTsHLxcY2b8CAeMnRXVt7XB5MhY6bY48m7brb3bacMy5Pb-iazOc1cg8PiLdx62akHlcJGvoedXDCbBt7GVmlY/s1600/IMAG0697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOwJGFNuo9qp4UwbP5x5OOn_90BIiQUecMQ3IcRSRP_08skTMmSAN3hrTsHLxcY2b8CAeMnRXVt7XB5MhY6bY48m7brb3bacMy5Pb-iazOc1cg8PiLdx62akHlcJGvoedXDCbBt7GVmlY/s320/IMAG0697.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Made my own ketchup the other day! It was great fun and it tastes AWESOME. Used my own tomatoes, paprika, herbs and an onion. Tastes somewhere between regular ketchup, tomato-and-onion mix and salsa... Will do it slightly different next time, but I am very very happy with the results.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIXB0FFwL4db3gSyEfXa_dl61XATMYlPs28MFvvsD7cOmeJMuOdwLiYZT85Z0o1cwA7WB-XgbUdR_8YjWb3Tjjfz-3-_wRAQkczXB0m60GrpBShgcpzpvatPhNaTLG4CVlehqJDfj0Og/s1600/IMAG0655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgIXB0FFwL4db3gSyEfXa_dl61XATMYlPs28MFvvsD7cOmeJMuOdwLiYZT85Z0o1cwA7WB-XgbUdR_8YjWb3Tjjfz-3-_wRAQkczXB0m60GrpBShgcpzpvatPhNaTLG4CVlehqJDfj0Og/s320/IMAG0655.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The raft system is taking off. This is an old pic taken the day I planted the seedlings. I have cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and some basil going there. great fun! Will do another post to show the roots coming out the bottom of the netpots. very cool.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZ5DCFMjA2_-2J1xdweT-vC9LldY-w8dP9VOtBlGQruVm0yYuT8wStW9Xjx-76Up1-pGy-PmMmXZP6uUz58QlHm0n1oCawZA5_BbT9mzb2dZeEEf0R2XPuGFBwlHUQvMxAWNTy11L5IY/s1600/IMAG0696-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdZ5DCFMjA2_-2J1xdweT-vC9LldY-w8dP9VOtBlGQruVm0yYuT8wStW9Xjx-76Up1-pGy-PmMmXZP6uUz58QlHm0n1oCawZA5_BbT9mzb2dZeEEf0R2XPuGFBwlHUQvMxAWNTy11L5IY/s400/IMAG0696-1.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also, I have not mentioned my worm farm before. Today I peeked inside and was particularly impressed by the sheer number of worms that are packing in there. They just LOVE rotten bananas!. Every now and then I chuck a bunch of them into the smallfry/fingerling tank, and then I sit and watch amused as they tear the worms apart. The chickens also love a few worms, and I normally chuck another 2 or 3 onto the growbed and watch how quickly they graft down in-between the gravel. Of course the worms are very good to have in the growbed. They help to process any solids that arrive there from the incoming water, and of course they also help to get rid of any dead roots (especially when your plant has reached the end of the line)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Winter is coming.. Tilapia depressed</b><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Weather is turning cold. Water is cooling down quickly, and the tilapia are not too impressed. They sit in a huddle and complain to each other, reminiscing about the good old days when you could go and swim around without getting your fins frozen stiff.. They have now all gone on a hunger strike to get the politicians to turn the heating back on.. I feed them less than 50% of what I used to, and then I still from time to time notice them not eating the food. I normally try to remove uneaten food because when it starts to rot it gets all mucky and gross. It is good practice to check the tank 5-10 minutes after feeding to make sure they are eating. If I catch them not bothering with the food, I stop feeding for 2-3 days, and thereafter they are more likely to come and catch a sniff at the food. Maybe I should feed them some happy pills. Prozak?<br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Trout?</b> <br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am considering getting some trout for the winter. Will have to eat them all before summer is back. No idea how well the trout and tilapia will like sharing a tank. I could move the tilapia all into the small tank, since they are just sitting around being depressed anyway, but I think it would be interesting to see a bunch of depressed tilapia together with some really excited pink trout.. Maybe the trout will cheer them up?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Mozzie fish and sick dear Geoffrey.</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brian gave me some mozzie fish to help fend off the mosquito invasion. I have them in a heated aquarium tank trying to get them to breed. I want a whole gazillion of them. No success yet. The sick make tilapia is in another tank, getting back to normal. He had a case of white spot, which I cured with some medicine, and thereafter his fins started rotting away. Gave him antibiotics and whatnot. He seems happy now. Not depressed like the others because his tank is sitting at 33deg C.. My wife decided he is to be called Geoffrey. Now we will never eat the sucker... He actually has some personality. He was watching me cook the ketchup in the kitchen with a "are you sure you don't know what you are doing?" look on his face.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Water heating..</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The cold water is a bitch. I have been considering different options of trying to get the water temp up. One would be a solar water heater system. This would help to get temperatures up in daytime, but at night it would plummet again. Was thinking I could preserve a lot of the thermal energy if I insulated the main fishtank, maybe add some styrofoam rafts on top plus some foam around the sides, then switch off the pump during nighttime. Not too sure of my story, but I heard somewhere the plants don't need the water so bad during the night, so I could halt the pump after sundown, which should help to keep the water from losing all of its temperature. Thoughts anyone?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If I had the space and a steady supply of organic material, a compost heap would have been an excellent water heater option...</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-58247895457052144522011-03-01T11:32:00.000-08:002011-03-01T11:50:49.075-08:00Raceways arriving..<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lots of cool news..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Firstly, my all-new stainless steel raceways have arrived. I will be using one for a growbed (gravel filled, with flood and drain cycles) And the other will be used for DWC (Deep Water Culture) AKA Rafting..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIpalzqIhn9GZUs0VY3RCpHll3ui9n91rJqMHrIjTjKcQFo63WBVuFVcza5LAf5MJqG8BE4rtSGG2ZtrmXoSyPkSTHN_tcAjp4POw489zZmOSJnN6akH5OmItcaMEYo5EafdcTI1scxc/s1600/PA_help.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIpalzqIhn9GZUs0VY3RCpHll3ui9n91rJqMHrIjTjKcQFo63WBVuFVcza5LAf5MJqG8BE4rtSGG2ZtrmXoSyPkSTHN_tcAjp4POw489zZmOSJnN6akH5OmItcaMEYo5EafdcTI1scxc/s320/PA_help.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here my father-in-law was somehow talked into spending the hottest part of the day helping to get the stands into the back yard... Notice the endless patience as he holds the frame up while I am messing around with the camera..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And here they are. They are each 2.4m x 200mm x 700mm. Massive!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-F3c4AtZ63CUB648dDosxwyw_D19Ibps-xpsI-ZonBeAg1fpgv5d2Nygi00GC3wxajrD-qoICEaLwmECid8EHzOa4yj6jKOG01qFC0yrjL7_7iVMBtEbmCNdHd0rcfYBTfTps6nnUxXk/s1600/raceways+in+by.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-F3c4AtZ63CUB648dDosxwyw_D19Ibps-xpsI-ZonBeAg1fpgv5d2Nygi00GC3wxajrD-qoICEaLwmECid8EHzOa4yj6jKOG01qFC0yrjL7_7iVMBtEbmCNdHd0rcfYBTfTps6nnUxXk/s320/raceways+in+by.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZroeImYifceQMIDncadbuO1srG97VCQXghHbsobleOpIeZbSTGwLyEG3YJ7-GQKK5Oz4IWm1sb_HYUegPYawZzZzTBv4wAI-fa8fgrp_D8N0OW0kPsRwtNA-2InTIohLILyw9EZis-M4/s1600/raceway+filter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZroeImYifceQMIDncadbuO1srG97VCQXghHbsobleOpIeZbSTGwLyEG3YJ7-GQKK5Oz4IWm1sb_HYUegPYawZzZzTBv4wAI-fa8fgrp_D8N0OW0kPsRwtNA-2InTIohLILyw9EZis-M4/s320/raceway+filter.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice the filter frames. The water will enter the raceway on the left, and then move through two separate filter cartridges before entering the raceway proper. The cartridge frames are shown here. I have two spares, so every few days I can just swop out the filters for a clean one. The idea is to filter as much muck out of the water as possible, or else the muck will tend to clog the root systems of the floating plants in the raceway..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_lj3MTdfDve6y2h09Fe0FJt9vun7hkOvovL1ekn6LQEYUEcSpbtcKGrGfn7__KlFOo3m-74LSolSOSJFnm8cpz14qcCIS6cIlRJ6PnHmx4Zk6F7k0RxZ74_sVNv9oCfJtXKiflBHGWw/s1600/growbed+1march2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0_lj3MTdfDve6y2h09Fe0FJt9vun7hkOvovL1ekn6LQEYUEcSpbtcKGrGfn7__KlFOo3m-74LSolSOSJFnm8cpz14qcCIS6cIlRJ6PnHmx4Zk6F7k0RxZ74_sVNv9oCfJtXKiflBHGWw/s320/growbed+1march2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you can see, the plants are doing VERY well...I counted a total of 35 tomatoes on there.. At a harvest average of 500grams each, that will be about 17 kilos of tomatoes!! And we are still growing, with at least twice that number of flowers showing!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnjKC7UN02aL5KV3xkLG3iFe3su_GY7YUWGdAP7wSGZl0P5pctXf4Ub4KsJjGEISGd0fPn_t835qDRh8a5QDdWIYCILOKmmFXgB2TWaKXEDFuJBAagKqyNzs0B0geFdbaboyeFYI03so/s1600/tomatoesagain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYnjKC7UN02aL5KV3xkLG3iFe3su_GY7YUWGdAP7wSGZl0P5pctXf4Ub4KsJjGEISGd0fPn_t835qDRh8a5QDdWIYCILOKmmFXgB2TWaKXEDFuJBAagKqyNzs0B0geFdbaboyeFYI03so/s400/tomatoesagain.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'nuff said!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gXxpT4ATddUynIpLV95j9ThsAxjNso5d2ZCy5hiIm2ipDXLXqE810p3QVM0GzykgZDtLIgsMDxbsNWR6l2Tx7XO-tSr1O90wYeIwe4eK7eMHnVwxYJxVgNGvJeuAcOPCJsDJB3U2SbY/s1600/mango%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9gXxpT4ATddUynIpLV95j9ThsAxjNso5d2ZCy5hiIm2ipDXLXqE810p3QVM0GzykgZDtLIgsMDxbsNWR6l2Tx7XO-tSr1O90wYeIwe4eK7eMHnVwxYJxVgNGvJeuAcOPCJsDJB3U2SbY/s1600/mango%2521.jpg" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This little purple plant is in fact a Mango tree! I had the pip from a mango in my worm bin (another story altogether), and it germinated in there. So I stuck it in the growbed and it appears happy as a clam. Will have to get it its very own growbed soon...</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoILz4JuGkxvVoLARRB6a6vzsZCM8clYbBhYb6QLmMNQyA56Y9RpsucqvVmDTeglkhcr8t4m5VpWRTVjMqHdnS_sSMTKGIYLJqRz3ZDuLmyPmbjIpnxWu_sBVQ-m3NWFrBRZ-gwW1BLvk/s1600/poor_sage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoILz4JuGkxvVoLARRB6a6vzsZCM8clYbBhYb6QLmMNQyA56Y9RpsucqvVmDTeglkhcr8t4m5VpWRTVjMqHdnS_sSMTKGIYLJqRz3ZDuLmyPmbjIpnxWu_sBVQ-m3NWFrBRZ-gwW1BLvk/s320/poor_sage.jpg" width="191" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This was once a happy and vibrant sage plant. And then my dog Lisa decided it might be a lot of fun to maybe rip it out of the pot and leave it on the paving for a day or 2. By the time I picked it up to get it into the growbed, there was no soil left around the roots. It was in really bad shape. The leaves are all dead, but the stem appears green and alive. Watch this space. Should be interesting to see how it recovers..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
And this is Lisa. The destroyer of gardens. And anything else of value. Also wanted for the theft of hearts.. She is a great dane, and 8 months old. Lets hope she does not start to get curious about the growbed or any of the plumbing...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDph5cLy0VejJ0mBIbaGGP8-3nXvROxBqWSp8XaRiu0inEjrxkZgGrazlOWPvtaU5HhF98cPnh4AHmfTUHjvl0TLHHy9Fn9Mgf8fTliTqfkFT-TS5JOCqj5BZoMqgcYH258MbENBB008/s1600/lisa2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzDph5cLy0VejJ0mBIbaGGP8-3nXvROxBqWSp8XaRiu0inEjrxkZgGrazlOWPvtaU5HhF98cPnh4AHmfTUHjvl0TLHHy9Fn9Mgf8fTliTqfkFT-TS5JOCqj5BZoMqgcYH258MbENBB008/s400/lisa2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last but not least I have an updated video of the system.. Enjoy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ANeeuTBL9JY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Find it interesting? PLEASE COMMENT</span>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-85047961036149122152011-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:002011-02-19T08:33:39.880-08:00Tomatoes are showing!<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvVugXYuIwq_X2OF5e9X5hklNGQUj9A8THZq63Qzm4DEJsgD8TQ91esTaq5Ca9QHL2ZhD60TPS4WBhNWVSZ3NnesN6icoKYDoirsBQu9hcr-o7A6sj4zkgQ0G85u_TU_H3_KixN6RISE/s1600/tomato+on+its+way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvVugXYuIwq_X2OF5e9X5hklNGQUj9A8THZq63Qzm4DEJsgD8TQ91esTaq5Ca9QHL2ZhD60TPS4WBhNWVSZ3NnesN6icoKYDoirsBQu9hcr-o7A6sj4zkgQ0G85u_TU_H3_KixN6RISE/s320/tomato+on+its+way.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The tomato bushes have been really going like a boeing. The cultivar is called Ox heart, which grows tomatoes upto 1lb in size. This guy is already about the size of a tennis ball..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMo6PfozgIZYuHwm-TUsSo7-6P-XR8jSfSU_35JyTl9SW-fzK5x4mtGMWxTe6vUQrtalnqBst7bVjmDrnynUoN9b-N77TlyxOjM1vwwPCu6yntAs4rRtcDY9LGRzPfDFlC1W7SrelLSw/s1600/string_her_up_rails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMo6PfozgIZYuHwm-TUsSo7-6P-XR8jSfSU_35JyTl9SW-fzK5x4mtGMWxTe6vUQrtalnqBst7bVjmDrnynUoN9b-N77TlyxOjM1vwwPCu6yntAs4rRtcDY9LGRzPfDFlC1W7SrelLSw/s320/string_her_up_rails.jpg" width="320" /></a>They are also apparently an indeterminate varierty, which means they do not grow into a fixed shape, which means they can grow very very long if you string them up. So I put up some 3.6m horizontal poles which I will use to string the tomato plants as far as I can. I am hoping for more than 10m. (will add more string-ups when it gets to the end of the 3.6m poles..) Also notice the welded mesh I installed to try and keep the tomato plants in check - they have been swamping the poor chilli plants..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoJB8_bx61mzE5n8RNZ8j5o3W8FkBgR9fjFfzHidoM6qb9rP1zXGQA6QzWGY1E0ufIN5b5csnnu_6v_sTYdhC_w0lCujJshRMNy3N6301T614udDK-gyByupvblJujRPYbJ8RDI7kdNI/s1600/paprika.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoJB8_bx61mzE5n8RNZ8j5o3W8FkBgR9fjFfzHidoM6qb9rP1zXGQA6QzWGY1E0ufIN5b5csnnu_6v_sTYdhC_w0lCujJshRMNy3N6301T614udDK-gyByupvblJujRPYbJ8RDI7kdNI/s320/paprika.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Speaking of which. the chillies are all doing very well. One paprika in particular is looking very good...</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MZxnuy8XeSR4kNLB4CKMvpc9liEgn5bXYGzoG1lRWrE_2r96J2lY9rfbVWm2oTifXLJKzfMdd48E54ZClqsPUBXf-Y5FcwkFkxcQ3_uw8cElyrtWSTE4zBd4FUaVw1ptLJ5pX3Mtv0o/s1600/smallfry+moving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MZxnuy8XeSR4kNLB4CKMvpc9liEgn5bXYGzoG1lRWrE_2r96J2lY9rfbVWm2oTifXLJKzfMdd48E54ZClqsPUBXf-Y5FcwkFkxcQ3_uw8cElyrtWSTE4zBd4FUaVw1ptLJ5pX3Mtv0o/s320/smallfry+moving.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In other news, I have moved the smallfry outside. I counted 140 of them! I now have all the fingerling females in one tank and all the males in another, and all the smallfry together in a 3rd tank.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTw9rC-88tv8QVMCpJam8TJ0Y5C_PIhrHjiTaivq8BBqsPU75yedsFgIfAIDBnLoXogP74N3N46Mgwb9KQMsyn86JOirM0wLTKo2GoaPesosJoRMTe9tZS5r70A0n47q0aBeB8fse9vo/s1600/lemon+valve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimTw9rC-88tv8QVMCpJam8TJ0Y5C_PIhrHjiTaivq8BBqsPU75yedsFgIfAIDBnLoXogP74N3N46Mgwb9KQMsyn86JOirM0wLTKo2GoaPesosJoRMTe9tZS5r70A0n47q0aBeB8fse9vo/s320/lemon+valve.jpg" width="320" /></a>Last but not least, I am trying another experiment. I like to call it "open loop aquaponics" In open loops, the water is fed to the plants but not circulated back. I connected a solenoid valve to the pipe coming from the pump, and fed a pipe all the way to a lemon tree that is planted in soil. The lemon tree has had a rough time from dry conditions. The solenoid valve is switched on twice a day for 20 minutes. The solenoid valve normally requires a high pressure to properly open. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpzZZeGQGSb-pV-yY9irAwW0woVSsyMGjhP3u6Eu8oF_voBfQU49ag9Uc8pXdhzWR8OB2aATGC-9O_2_qqoCRLT6c5s1lim8V9wZ6ZnXQrwm6KGjwTAGGeblgTf0tTc2CIo-l02hFey8/s1600/lemon+dripper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFpzZZeGQGSb-pV-yY9irAwW0woVSsyMGjhP3u6Eu8oF_voBfQU49ag9Uc8pXdhzWR8OB2aATGC-9O_2_qqoCRLT6c5s1lim8V9wZ6ZnXQrwm6KGjwTAGGeblgTf0tTc2CIo-l02hFey8/s320/lemon+dripper.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I do not have much of a high pressure from the pump, so it only lets through a trickle. Which is exactly what I want. Twice a day, a very small amount of nutrient-rich water is dumped at the lemon tree, I would guess it to be less than 2 litres a day.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-73116952265728219862011-01-31T22:38:00.001-08:002011-01-31T22:38:48.438-08:00HOLY FISH!!<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7jX5KLc3VxGhuMA1WzprSnyomFVfqyXQOQj3PJ10soZ1rHvT57nyI69hyphenhyphen0TOleNuuVEL4X_1eOLICpAR9owzYAvJ3HvFeIcb05E3UfoyE1NY-qiqqFQ6bjqa2UsEJrg7pjLloF9JOug/s1600/holy_fish1-728439.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7jX5KLc3VxGhuMA1WzprSnyomFVfqyXQOQj3PJ10soZ1rHvT57nyI69hyphenhyphen0TOleNuuVEL4X_1eOLICpAR9owzYAvJ3HvFeIcb05E3UfoyE1NY-qiqqFQ6bjqa2UsEJrg7pjLloF9JOug/s320/holy_fish1-728439.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568606898741795426" /></a></p><p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHnJavxTTFwxPTGLpsna5Aa130xFFq_uolZyxDA5pa-H2hk4qZruUJFsycT_AfUqkennGHfF9zwmdP095ngwY6-uKfzeZwfuEE2TkgpUJrnLh_on9jDvrVO8UgTeKQhFffzBBmvNBgmA/s1600/holy_fish2-729443.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHnJavxTTFwxPTGLpsna5Aa130xFFq_uolZyxDA5pa-H2hk4qZruUJFsycT_AfUqkennGHfF9zwmdP095ngwY6-uKfzeZwfuEE2TkgpUJrnLh_on9jDvrVO8UgTeKQhFffzBBmvNBgmA/s320/holy_fish2-729443.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568606901587573938" /></a></p>Hi again<br><br>Today I present the holy fish..<br>This is what happens if you have too many males in a tank with too few females. <br>The males pull out their '38 specials and start shooting the females?<br>friggin unbelievable..<br> <br>Other than the hole, the fish appears to be OK..<br> AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-15084384026743468962011-01-29T12:48:00.000-08:002011-01-29T12:48:53.459-08:00New SLO design, Video tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi there</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Long time no blog..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Today I put up another fishtank and built a pretty cool Solids-removal system for it.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>The solids removal problem:</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In aquaculture systems, solids need to be removed. Why? Well how you you like to swim in your own poop all day? Seriously, the fishpoop solids can start to rot and create ammonia and all sort of nasty things we don't want. Plus its nice to have a clean tank to show to visitors..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">How is it normally done in AP systems?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In AquaPonics, there are two main methods to remove solids. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Pump-in-Fishtank (PIFT):</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBAebYOI8qn15JCtF9DgM0XICQemHPOK0vHQ-CalMKuGOE47-Tz-djQSEBehggziE7B96DighxWpP0RpVpO3FkBbVyG1_GIxl82N4vWJ0HH4zuoATLKy2Kr91JQP5cW39yTNLFHJCkOE/s1600/PIFT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBAebYOI8qn15JCtF9DgM0XICQemHPOK0vHQ-CalMKuGOE47-Tz-djQSEBehggziE7B96DighxWpP0RpVpO3FkBbVyG1_GIxl82N4vWJ0HH4zuoATLKy2Kr91JQP5cW39yTNLFHJCkOE/s320/PIFT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBAebYOI8qn15JCtF9DgM0XICQemHPOK0vHQ-CalMKuGOE47-Tz-djQSEBehggziE7B96DighxWpP0RpVpO3FkBbVyG1_GIxl82N4vWJ0HH4zuoATLKy2Kr91JQP5cW39yTNLFHJCkOE/s1600/PIFT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nYJIl6QrpGuGMoykHWIBtCprXj-Z6y2-KsRvCrjhctaOPysgqMvJa2o1ZmvvQ1ETgDql7NrKprpiD546RoHdnN6q6P8iSVje4fZebebo9wM8yzn52udOCBajqOaGoLOvu7Mj5VxgNkI/s1600/PIFT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The pump is located on the bottom of the fishtank. The pump picks up the solids from the bottom of the tank, and typically the solids are dumped in the growbed, where earthworms will take care of it.. Problem is that the solids are picked up OK, but only around the pump. The opposite corner of the fishtank will remain poop-filled, and you will need to manually siphon it out, or maybe grab a net.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Solids-Lifting Overflow (SLO): </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil82HHMK2MvZjTd51059a0hnJ4os7AsgVw-IEpyfSS7bZ7Dza31l83yah_uvZ_aXIHCuxaYTtt4NTJQGtkEfcvH6Uyjy-8fGs8b-KVvtKYFqgzSMJyiFVH5KnSGnrcRwviy5pTXO4e6KY/s1600/oldstyle+SLO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil82HHMK2MvZjTd51059a0hnJ4os7AsgVw-IEpyfSS7bZ7Dza31l83yah_uvZ_aXIHCuxaYTtt4NTJQGtkEfcvH6Uyjy-8fGs8b-KVvtKYFqgzSMJyiFVH5KnSGnrcRwviy5pTXO4e6KY/s320/oldstyle+SLO.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b> </b>The fishtank has a pipe along its bottom with slits cut into it. The pipe elbows up the side of the tank and from there heads out to the sump. Sounds good, and works sort-of OK. Problem is that again, the bottom pipe does not reach everywhere, and again you have some poop sitting in a corner. A second problem is the size of the cuts in the SLO. If you make them big enough to always pass all the solids, then, if you have smallfry, you run a real risk of getting some smallfry sucked in. If you make the cuts small enough to keep smallfry from getting sucked in, then the cuts are likely to get clogged by poop and debris. Not good.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>So what is my idea?</b></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I noticed that in indoor aquariums, the Under-gravel filters work wonders in collecting fishpoop. In a typical aquarium, the poop sort-of collects under the filter plate until you eventually get around to cleaning it. These filters work by creating a negative pressure area under the filter plate (which itself is covered by gravel). Fishpoop gets sucked down through the gravel, through slits in the filter plate, into the cavity below the filter plate. The reason it works so well, is that the filter plate and gravel diffuses the negative pressure, so there is suction all over the bottom of the fishtank, as opposed to one or two areas, as in the typical AP setup. The other cool thing is that smallfry do not make a habit of swimming down deep into the gravel, So you have a system that can pick up all solids without any risk to the smallfry</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My idea is to create an under-gravel filter that collects solids in the same way, but the solids are not collected and stored, but removed via SLO. We create a filter plate with a negative-pressure area under the plate (solids collection cavity), and have gravel above the plate. Solids are removed by a SLO mounted inside the collection cavity. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYx0DYWeIEe63vNo-ep2nHnzlKUi-GLoep7mYTEV1zaR33XW4uZEt_WOxvXy6_2OpCyBxIZYZl9I5fISSheF1-ROE7j-Kk6Hg2ZQTW-MrsfN4g9zcagWjeP7vEZ09IOP7jnCfr1M9Yss/s1600/new+SLOW+design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYx0DYWeIEe63vNo-ep2nHnzlKUi-GLoep7mYTEV1zaR33XW4uZEt_WOxvXy6_2OpCyBxIZYZl9I5fISSheF1-ROE7j-Kk6Hg2ZQTW-MrsfN4g9zcagWjeP7vEZ09IOP7jnCfr1M9Yss/s640/new+SLOW+design.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>This is how I did it:</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Solids-lifting overflow pipe assembly:</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhou7WRSgxLNeC_v9JytBUXmvAh7v5HVEJ7jRXz0-m-mCGEQU275jtKYEjCmrjJOytZSa2VLD2GN72IakE41FqaDDl_vCd-JzFIv0ujAuosH8sH8WSp2t_3_6mWCdh6JX4d4UJtsjrPmYk/s320/SLO+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>SLO pipe assembly</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The pipe assembly features a split design that helps to spread out the suction beneath the filter plate</div><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAEZEKOE4lxHhWvKrTfwEWXriMouOYSPKFsPe_oEi0iXYGvW-A3EBXYUJ8-iifMClsy_ZSPefINcVHN0l6atDwZyy3jJ46uwpDW5C7pwVY0AKl-bSHV2g_grG6JKvR55uWCjDUAVN8hw/s1600/SLO+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAEZEKOE4lxHhWvKrTfwEWXriMouOYSPKFsPe_oEi0iXYGvW-A3EBXYUJ8-iifMClsy_ZSPefINcVHN0l6atDwZyy3jJ46uwpDW5C7pwVY0AKl-bSHV2g_grG6JKvR55uWCjDUAVN8hw/s1600/SLO+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmAEZEKOE4lxHhWvKrTfwEWXriMouOYSPKFsPe_oEi0iXYGvW-A3EBXYUJ8-iifMClsy_ZSPefINcVHN0l6atDwZyy3jJ46uwpDW5C7pwVY0AKl-bSHV2g_grG6JKvR55uWCjDUAVN8hw/s320/SLO+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">SLO Pipe Assembly showing cuts</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some cuts in the pipes allow the solids that are collected under the plate to be removed..</div><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFU5j4qmWzgwvRryBzhw38h4V43MLOJpxWP4kIcxGtG9aVrzsJfBirUuKsKWsRr0dwpr9vfJ3C1k5QUduVdX2Nc9eM7LRsIsaLwxdJ2htl3gUdvu7fDjydRKW6DJaAihVVkGIn5hNjzM/s1600/plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFU5j4qmWzgwvRryBzhw38h4V43MLOJpxWP4kIcxGtG9aVrzsJfBirUuKsKWsRr0dwpr9vfJ3C1k5QUduVdX2Nc9eM7LRsIsaLwxdJ2htl3gUdvu7fDjydRKW6DJaAihVVkGIn5hNjzM/s1600/plate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFU5j4qmWzgwvRryBzhw38h4V43MLOJpxWP4kIcxGtG9aVrzsJfBirUuKsKWsRr0dwpr9vfJ3C1k5QUduVdX2Nc9eM7LRsIsaLwxdJ2htl3gUdvu7fDjydRKW6DJaAihVVkGIn5hNjzM/s320/plate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Filter Plate</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Filter plate with cuts. Cutting a perfect circle is not very easy.. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcRMZE0o2C-ACtdbVL6g_WEULSRvyOk7aTKPWvqWmbCZsv9nCjGFCaVnzVI6zOvp40qyT0gghN0X1_uzPgCNFrtNDiqSTb2I1RQm-Yi3fVYEH_2ZU8_svaU99eapqEUjoqgKhI8FmyHs/s1600/SLO+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvcRMZE0o2C-ACtdbVL6g_WEULSRvyOk7aTKPWvqWmbCZsv9nCjGFCaVnzVI6zOvp40qyT0gghN0X1_uzPgCNFrtNDiqSTb2I1RQm-Yi3fVYEH_2ZU8_svaU99eapqEUjoqgKhI8FmyHs/s320/SLO+3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Filter plate strapped to pipe assembly</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRVqukG2BWHvrQpwsGjnxl6v1tkaGjRuiUlniRJ8MXo_m-qa1ibSMdufRkGTv36LZnBztAMmYqS8HOKrTR3ApJmJ5ktxwxsy5Sx-haDaMQ5l5f9ia8akN5Q3ep-dfpEYLe9w0n-S9aTA/s1600/SLO+in+tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXRVqukG2BWHvrQpwsGjnxl6v1tkaGjRuiUlniRJ8MXo_m-qa1ibSMdufRkGTv36LZnBztAMmYqS8HOKrTR3ApJmJ5ktxwxsy5Sx-haDaMQ5l5f9ia8akN5Q3ep-dfpEYLe9w0n-S9aTA/s320/SLO+in+tank.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>SLO + undergravel filter mounted inside Fishtank</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3y3hTgZWMO6FNVZ4Vv3pjoxp6ytsNDU7nDGhyphenhyphenI9S4ybpAzsEs-q9QjRxUVnHXpvYZroDezJdUd6tmeelRE9mIxYyGMZywm4i1PpFNdfixHvuykNa-Fk0Skidt4uIK652_kqFmil5Lfw/s1600/complete+tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX3y3hTgZWMO6FNVZ4Vv3pjoxp6ytsNDU7nDGhyphenhyphenI9S4ybpAzsEs-q9QjRxUVnHXpvYZroDezJdUd6tmeelRE9mIxYyGMZywm4i1PpFNdfixHvuykNa-Fk0Skidt4uIK652_kqFmil5Lfw/s320/complete+tank.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Completed Fishtank. </b></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice the dirty water, because of the gravel I added to the tank</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Video Tour:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I finally made a video. Enjoy!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2oY7SoWjV4M?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-41968517562837615842011-01-24T10:53:00.001-08:002011-01-24T10:54:20.903-08:00Tomatoes are going like a boeingI checked the tomatoes again today.<br />
<br />
I swear those plants are popping steroids. I am sure I am exaggerating, but they appear to have grown an inch overnight. The first week went by without much apparent growth. I think the seedlings take a small while to recover from the planting, and the roots need time to spread and to go down deeper into the growbed. It appears they have the hang of it now, and it is just crazy..<br />
<br />
Doesn't look like the chillies and peppers are growing at the same sort of rate. Not much apparent difference between the aquaponic guys and the potties. But maybe I should have them next to each other for better comparison.<br />
<br />
Busy inventing a new solids-collecting system for the fishtanks. Problem is always to effectively remove solids without running the risk of losing fish via the same holes that are supposed to pick up the solids.. Will give more info soon...<br />
<br />
If anyone is reading this, I would love for some of you to leave some comments... Maybe a question or two?AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-74340182545587547002011-01-23T11:31:00.000-08:002011-01-23T11:31:00.699-08:00Earth vs Aquaponics: Some comparison photos<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi again.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Its been 2 weeks since I have planted the tomato seedlings into the growbed. Interesting thing is that I kept two of the seedlings apart and planted them into a pot with potting soil. I watered each of the two potty plants every day (twice on the really hot days), and they seem to be doing well. But if I put the plant next to those in the growbed, there is just no comparison... In the picture I have the two potties and next to them a row of the exact same tomatoes, planted the same day..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">VERY goodlooking tomato plant in growbed.</span>. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRF-5NKwYgGjiTGbUHu-9Z1bAF1_sU_K95G2bAlnQgQQO0Rmr3Jh5lpygdpMgNUywxFMO-dK6ltLBqp1UGN8-JqF8NUnYei8QbjvYAHq9a6RZmEZw0grFdcuA7CC0YdeN-LnA_eXdbNo/s1600/tomato+comparison2sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRF-5NKwYgGjiTGbUHu-9Z1bAF1_sU_K95G2bAlnQgQQO0Rmr3Jh5lpygdpMgNUywxFMO-dK6ltLBqp1UGN8-JqF8NUnYei8QbjvYAHq9a6RZmEZw0grFdcuA7CC0YdeN-LnA_eXdbNo/s400/tomato+comparison2sml.jpg" width="400" /></a><i> </i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGqsLsSJBEK-YANPpZ2xqFFxfj6dcFRCfu8grNkaxhyTf46_W67imwJzAdrCNGXwXYt4EsthV3OoW1Vc-ryTiEIcKg_GkHQ_JxXRouwm93qkHtFVMdUzX38zz5yDKxeqj5H45H7I5C8s/s1600/tomato+comparison3sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGqsLsSJBEK-YANPpZ2xqFFxfj6dcFRCfu8grNkaxhyTf46_W67imwJzAdrCNGXwXYt4EsthV3OoW1Vc-ryTiEIcKg_GkHQ_JxXRouwm93qkHtFVMdUzX38zz5yDKxeqj5H45H7I5C8s/s400/tomato+comparison3sml.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Potty plant, in good shape, but not close...<img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdpValmOdjfkDL7gR50rVwbZJMBlIInAeIuPALK2t4MwDDm2YHQXuvqn3zeWaBrYM-MKPLqC1-Z-O2Cra_v1TaoWQX7nN7WbHRYGU-4mMkRja9nychZL6aeWnMnG-9_isHQtc_CG6Yl00/s1600/tomato+comparison.jpg" width="400" /> </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice how the potty plant is very thin and its green is sort of pale when compared to the one in the Growbed.. </div><br />
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">COOL huh?</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
In other news, my peas don't seem to have made it. They were planted out the same day as the tomatoes, but I think the sun burnt them too badly..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9Su15e1UEGKUc-xsHXWvrVJwyHKzceYw-UOnMl2hqDfJEHlr_gSCN2F2PQ_pcuCdi-pEyrNZI7wqO_wHmBuPDtlGk08xQ6goijjwQWMoZWXKNkGI5DM2g2N9kLc2mFUwe23OCqGQNQA/s1600/dead+peas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN9Su15e1UEGKUc-xsHXWvrVJwyHKzceYw-UOnMl2hqDfJEHlr_gSCN2F2PQ_pcuCdi-pEyrNZI7wqO_wHmBuPDtlGk08xQ6goijjwQWMoZWXKNkGI5DM2g2N9kLc2mFUwe23OCqGQNQA/s400/dead+peas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVNVr_dGCdxfZbTczeTPU8BuOOWTGcTXFRCytWTHXd9dcWMqyRGcoZqf0iy2MnR3FzaUEq58u_g_Rjob9RVAAk5hFS3PE1oB0ZlERnChnFcczSaoNot62X3vP-q_ttIvzIIawsxxqZBA/s1600/control+box_sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVNVr_dGCdxfZbTczeTPU8BuOOWTGcTXFRCytWTHXd9dcWMqyRGcoZqf0iy2MnR3FzaUEq58u_g_Rjob9RVAAk5hFS3PE1oB0ZlERnChnFcczSaoNot62X3vP-q_ttIvzIIawsxxqZBA/s400/control+box_sml.jpg" width="238" /></a>One other thing is I have finally installed a <a href="http://www.gsmcommander.com/">GSM Commander</a> on my setup. The <a href="http://www.gsmcommander.com/">GSM Commander</a> is used to monitor for power failure, and also control my irrigation system. I plan to hook up the aquaponics to it in all sorts of ways. Going to be monitoring temperatures, flood/drain cycles, flow rates and who knows what else.. The big battery is for powering the big 12v air pump that will provide my emergency aeration. Notice the huge amount of empty space left for the undefined stuff I am still going to add..</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NEXT: I will be posting a proper video tour of the entire setup. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRF-5NKwYgGjiTGbUHu-9Z1bAF1_sU_K95G2bAlnQgQQO0Rmr3Jh5lpygdpMgNUywxFMO-dK6ltLBqp1UGN8-JqF8NUnYei8QbjvYAHq9a6RZmEZw0grFdcuA7CC0YdeN-LnA_eXdbNo/s1600/tomato+comparison2sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRF-5NKwYgGjiTGbUHu-9Z1bAF1_sU_K95G2bAlnQgQQO0Rmr3Jh5lpygdpMgNUywxFMO-dK6ltLBqp1UGN8-JqF8NUnYei8QbjvYAHq9a6RZmEZw0grFdcuA7CC0YdeN-LnA_eXdbNo/s1600/tomato+comparison2sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRF-5NKwYgGjiTGbUHu-9Z1bAF1_sU_K95G2bAlnQgQQO0Rmr3Jh5lpygdpMgNUywxFMO-dK6ltLBqp1UGN8-JqF8NUnYei8QbjvYAHq9a6RZmEZw0grFdcuA7CC0YdeN-LnA_eXdbNo/s1600/tomato+comparison2sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-3567073596571046882011-01-15T13:40:00.000-08:002011-01-15T13:45:02.149-08:00My system in detail<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Its about time I introduce you to my system in some proper detail. I am constantly chopping and changing. The idea is to get you up to speed with the current state of the system, that way you can keep up with the latest updates and modifications.. Please see the <a href="http://aquaponic-monster.blogspot.com/p/system-design.html">Design page</a> I have added to the right..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now for the news.. I am the proud grandfather of a litter of smallfry! - Checked the Fishtank (FT) yesterday, and there they were!! I removed them and put them in the smallfry tank together with the fingerlings I had there. This morning they were gone.. Apparently Tilapia (that is the fish species I have in there) can be a bit cannibalistic when they are still small. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dammit.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Good news, is this afternoon, I had a new bunch of smallfry in the FishTank, and I promptly added them to a clean fishtank indoors. They can stay there and grow untill they are big enough to go into the smallfry tank (whose fingerlings will then be moved to the main tank) Cool thing is now I can check out the babies all the time. You are not as lucky, being stuck with one lousy photograph:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g83iyMh3GKZR_sG1STVHT5YI1lEZT_6DycGu-OlYHpOjf-vuscyh4frbGxzUSse0Ne4YdthXAD4Zre-7MK0Lm_FMVN2ILVUd3_Pc4eQS3UxL9m_7ukEHJ_6GH6Ulq8_PanKWRGkOdnE/s1600/IMAG0252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9g83iyMh3GKZR_sG1STVHT5YI1lEZT_6DycGu-OlYHpOjf-vuscyh4frbGxzUSse0Ne4YdthXAD4Zre-7MK0Lm_FMVN2ILVUd3_Pc4eQS3UxL9m_7ukEHJ_6GH6Ulq8_PanKWRGkOdnE/s640/IMAG0252.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is SO COOL. The smallfry are really really small. I am talking 4-5mm in length. Some of them got sucked up into the overflow, and ended up inside the sumptank. Amazing thing is I saw some of them inside the filter! - those fish had to survive the gravity ride down the overflow into the sump, then getting rudely picked up by the big bad pump, and carried under pressure into the filter!!! - some of them probably also ended up in the growbed. They won't survive that. Oh well.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In other news, the drain of smallfry tank started getting clogged up by poop and all sorts of gross stuff. The clogging makes the water level rise until it starts to overflow. Not cool. This has happened before, and it causes the entire sump tank to get drained. Anyway, I started by cleaning the drain a bit, and then I noticed the entire smallfry tank had more poop than a sewage farm. Thought I'd go the whole 9Y and clean the tank. So I proceeded to remove the standpipe thingy I have in the drain of the tank, cleverly covering the hole using a halfbrick. I then proceeded to go around swishing like crazy in my poop-scooping efforts. In the process I somehow bumped the brick, opening the drain, and immediately the fish proceeded to race each other down the drain.. Now the fish are already bigger than an inch in length, and the drain is a one inch pipe for the first few feet.. Luckily I have a union on the drain, so I could disconnect the drain before it got to the sump. I had about 2 feet of pipe totally clogged up with suicidal idiotic fingerlings!!. And they were lodged up pretty tightly like sardines. Had to force them out by blasting the drain with a hose pipe, then running dementedly all over the place picking up a dozen or two fingerlings flopping about, gasping, wondering why the world was sitting on its side all of a sudden.. </div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Managed to finish the day with only two dead fish... New Rule: NEVER have any open drains around the fishies. They are sorta dumb...</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-49074689719461546302011-01-12T05:04:00.000-08:002011-01-12T05:05:14.259-08:00My first post via email<p class="mobile-photo"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCERaKf7u9qaCVVr5Udj7TDPOL-5HOzy04Vtgk2fhkh3XeyXcOjGNmchAQ5kwK0EtoqwQtNDYGa8pTXf9_ICPY6OIlW5JxDNhyphenhypheng9AeS9_RhqJmOGbkLbkw16TThudDLf161qhNzLmxEo/s1600/DSCF2133-714260.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQCERaKf7u9qaCVVr5Udj7TDPOL-5HOzy04Vtgk2fhkh3XeyXcOjGNmchAQ5kwK0EtoqwQtNDYGa8pTXf9_ICPY6OIlW5JxDNhyphenhypheng9AeS9_RhqJmOGbkLbkw16TThudDLf161qhNzLmxEo/s320/DSCF2133-714260.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561284780197633746" /></a></p>Hi again<br><br>Wanted to check if I could really post via email...<br>While I am here, I will give another installment on the story..<br><br>Aquaponics (AP) uses 3 main methods to house the plants. These are Deep water culture (DWC, also referred to as Rafting), and Flood-&-drain growbeds.<br> I did say 3 methods. The third one is called NFT, and I am not going to discuss that now..<br><br>My current system consists of a FishTank (FT), a Swirl filter, a SumpTank (ST), a Grow Bed (GB) and a Smallfry fishtank.<br> Today I will discuss the swirl filter. Basically a conically shaped plastic container, where water is pumped into the container at its midsection. The water enters at an angle, so as to create a circular flow inside (also called a swirl or vortex). Solids tend to move towards the middle in a vortex, and they collect at the bottom. Clean water exists the filter at the top. In my filter, I also have a lot of japanese matting inside, (drifting on top) which provides a whole lot of surface area for my bacteria to live in. (biofiltration)<br> <br>I hope this post-via-email thing works...<br><br clear="all"><br> AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7058965532176130874.post-52509786932176294542011-01-12T04:49:00.000-08:002011-01-12T04:53:32.791-08:00Beginnings: Basics of Aquaponics and my first Fish Tank.<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Welcome to my Aquaponics Blog!!!</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lets start with the basics:</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What is Aquaponics? - It is the combination of Hydroponics and Aquaculture.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We basically have a bunch of fish that crap in the water. The water is pumped in a circulating system through a system of grow beds where we have plants that thrive on the fish waste. A nice little eco system. The plants keep the water clean, and the fish supply food to the plants.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The above is an over-simplification..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What happens in detail, is the fish crap contains a crapload (sorry, had to do that) of ammonia. The ammonia is broken down by a colony of bacteria (not scary things, but the good kind) into Nitrites. There is another bunch of bacterial critters who in turn break down the Nitrites into Nitrates. And the plants happen to love Nitrates..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Where do the bacteria live? All over the place. They need lots of surface area to cling to, so the sides of the fish tank, the sides of the plumbing, and of course the grow bed provides the surface area that is required.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is my fish tank, when I first put it up: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm55wGDI-KXKiKeaFOczJCJvTTh8HCkwQBjJUWQlFA06g_KQxXAxAPfHMs7-ZPtaMnMJ5a0NagrhcB1yXU9-bCsSI-GlSdT00hPqj6swCXh59o5mWvOJ9cgHkallaOKrGG_zHpc4Ga3hM/s1600/IMAG0206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm55wGDI-KXKiKeaFOczJCJvTTh8HCkwQBjJUWQlFA06g_KQxXAxAPfHMs7-ZPtaMnMJ5a0NagrhcB1yXU9-bCsSI-GlSdT00hPqj6swCXh59o5mWvOJ9cgHkallaOKrGG_zHpc4Ga3hM/s320/IMAG0206.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I cover it up so that the algae does not have such a field day (they need sunlight)</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Aquaponic-speak, we refer to the FishTank as the FT. And Aquaponics is often referred to as AP. On top of the FT you will notice a plastic 25Litre container that I cut open and filled up with gravel. I pumped water in there to run through the gravel. The idea was to use the gravel as additional surface area for my colonies of bacteria. In aquaculture, the place where the bulk of your bacteria are housed, is called the bio-filter..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will be adding some more information soon. My system consists of much more than the above fish tank, but I will take you through it step by step, as I went along.. Please comment if you feel like it, and send this blog to people who may be interested. I will be much more likely to update the blog on a regular basis if I know there are people who want to know..</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">regards</div>AquaMonsterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12900392959308150665noreply@blogger.com3