Not a silly question at all! This answer is the reason that the plants are so happy and healthy. The water level cycles up and down every 10 minutes (roughly). When the water level goes down, the plant roots are oxygenated. When the water level goes up, the nutrients feed the plant roots. Each time the cycle is started, there's fresh oxygen and fresh nutrients. The plants love it. In fact, some plants that don't like "wet feet" love it as well. This process makes every plant happy!
Good point George, as one of the "many folks", I have a few ideas. I got a 650 gallon pool at a local Big Lots for 10$ on markdown. I am going to use it for fish. next year, I plan on going around to the local fast food restraunts and collecting old 5-gallon pickle food buckets. these can be hooked up in Paralell with a cheap pump and added onto as money allows. The largest money sink right now will be the air pump to keep the water oxegynated while i am building my hydroponics system.
perfect system.... But... the air stones you have installed actually remove oxigen from the water. As the bubbles rise from the bottom, they capture the surrounding air and bring it to the surface, which then goes back into the air. Its really the movement on the surface of the water that will oxygenate your water. have fun buddy!
I just wanted to say thanks for the excellent video. I'm in the planning phase of putting together my own system. I plan to use a few IBC's inside my 8x12 hobby greenhouse. I'm lucky enough to have a friend who is very knowledgable about the topic and has put together both small and very large systems years ago.
the extra pats with no top no bottom are good for using the Mitler method of growing. Fill them with vermiculite and compost then plant your plants. mainly onions, carrots and potatoes. You can also use tires to grow potatoes with great results please google the mittler methods. You will find tons of info under hydroponics. and great video
Dude, you have more than a green thumb- your brilliant! Never seen a system set up with rocks - usually tubes. This is an awesome , self-sufficient system.
I found there's not need. The sump is pretty shaded under the grow beds. I like giving the good pests a place to hang out. When the frogs hear the water, they come from far away to enjoy the tropics!
Because you can use the nutrients from your soil very quickly. This system, the fish provide the nutrients, so you don't have to "rest" the soil. Its about being able to grow food efficiently. This is much better than current modern farming which uses all sorts of chemicals etc.
I have an idea, instead of blowing $40 on those topsy turvy pots, you should have suspended them above either the grow beds or reclaim tank, then use sprinkler irragation which is cheap to install, feed them from the top let them drip back into your system. Sure there will be some water loss going into the soil, but with evaporation and what not you would barely notice a difference. Plus the larger plants would still have their own place to grow.
HI Warren, there should be a settlement area for fish waste solids so as to not soil the beds with solids. I have seen "swirl" Filters and Rock/sand systems with and without worms to eat the solids.
I have a very similar system. After about 12 months the pallets rot out and the grow beds tilt out of level causing serious problems with sharing the water with the whole grow bed. It is very difficult to fix this mid grow season as the weight is significant - you need to empty and rebuild the support structure and fix plumbing breakages. Be careful to avoid a total crash - heavy timber slabs would be better than old hardwood pallets. Softwood pallets are asking for trouble.
Right Cody! Much energy is lost through the 12v to 120v conversion. May have to order online but there should be a 12v motor to replace any 120v application. If you have to use a converter it's best to buy one from a truck stop. They've been doing this 12v stuff for many years. Solar panels are inexpensive. It's the conversion that costs a lot.
RESPECT BOSSMAN!!! When you started to talk slowly i had thought for a moment you were gonna plant exactly what i would plant in that puppy if i had it in my back yard. Then i saw the onions. Oh well=) Gr8 Job anyway and thank you for the up and knowledge.
Heavy, there's a sump (on the ground) that has a pump in it that runs 24/7. The pump goes through a manifold that branches off into the 3 grow beds and the fish tank. These "branches" run all the time. There's an overflow drain that is gravity fed back to the sump (tank). The grow beds have the auto syphon. As the water comes into the grow bed, the auto syphon drains the water into the sump. The drain is faster than the fill water so the bed drains. When finished it fills to start again.
Nerdville in it's true (natural) form (I'm a computer and tech nerd) .... great vid.... thanks. I have many plans for aquaponics this spring. I will be the first to try this in this small community I live in now.
Good idea Glenn but the sound of water attracts all kinds of insect killers. I have to leave something for the green frogs to eat! The system sounds like a creek with a water fall. So far, knock on wood, not one problem with mosquitoes.
Well, there are pond aquaponics of course, but these produce tons and tons of food. Literally. Paul would have to hire a crew just to move all the produce off his property. Also, that complexity level should be managed by professionals with horticulture degrees. In other words, we could also ask Paul why his house isn't 6 stories high... Good quality build here.
the point of an air stone is to re-introduce oxygen to the water. oxygen is transferred during the creation of a bubble whether that bubble is just being formed or is being split. for EFFICIENT oxygen transfer, bubbles are a GOOD thing. if there are no plants actively photosynthesizing, than you need a source of bubbles. good algae in the bio-filter can help with this, but i think that the water draining from the siphon filters into the sump may make enough bubbles as well as the tank return.
Nice efforts there my friend. Be sure you have mastered it on a small scale and know how to treat the water to avoid ammonia build up and the nitrogen cycle from nitrates to nitrites or whatever... Hope you have a well experienced hand in there. I've read about rain-catching using those caged nalgene tanks. Good luck!
there are pumps that run off of 12 volt. the pump needs to be able to run 24/7 though and depanding on battery backup a solar pannel setup might not last through the night. make sure you have enough battery backup to last per the rating of the pump. and depending on where you are a wind turbine might be a better option.
Great video.. One concern I would have is mosquitoes. The fish will eat the larva in that tank but your low containers is where I would be concerned. Thanks, Glenn
different schools of thought here. The ph will balance out automatically. it will take about a year. Unless you use a medium that contains high or low ph levels like lime rock. You can use acid, baking soda and chicken egg shells (after you microwave them) to balance if you're impatient.
I am just commenting because I LOVE the jingle!!! what a great way to get a message across! you. said soooo much!! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you kept the beds full of water constantly, you would (or could) drown your plant roots, as well as the aerobic bacteria that converts the fish waste ammonia into usable nitrates.
WOW!! thank you for sharing! Now you need little chickens! I hope one day to have our aquaponics :D For the fishies they like tubes to hide in (for the mommies to be).
Looks great man! Thanks for the video. Here's an idea for the middle sections: If you leave 4 of the upstanding bars, 2 on each side, you can stick flexible tubes over them to create 2 arches that can hold plastic and will make a mini greenhouse. (Seen it in another video).
Thanks dinglebarry lol I do have it down to a science. Here's a tip...I tested my well water and it bumps the PH up! Rain water is low in PH and I use it as a PH Down! I've got to add water to the system anyway so why not buffer the PH at the same time.
Why do aquaponic systems (at least the ones I've seen) drain the water from the beds and then refill them instead of maintaining a constant water level? Probably a silly question but...
John Smith *_This aquaponics system has been featured on news channels all over the world and the technique is PROVEN to work._* *_Click it, hope it helps==>_**_easydiyaquaponics.gethow.info_*
These systems use 10% the water that a conventional garden method uses. And until you see the production, you won't know what you're missing. After 3 weeks I already have tomatoes! Try that with soil! I know because I use both. The aquaponics system grows plants 5 times faster, from my experience.
The system you built, is extraordinary! It's impressive to see how you took in consideration the tiny details like the "T" that breaks the siphon… May I suggest you grow some small fish (gambusia?) in the sump that would eat the caterpillars and mosquito larva...
First off, best Aquaponics video i have seen yet. Pond = Fish bucket Pit = drain bucket I saw where the pond fed into the pit, then the pit feeds the beds, then the beds drain into the pit. Later i saw all kinds of hoses strapped to the beds. At this point, ignoring natural water removal, it looks like you have an open system with an input to the beds instead of a closed(recirculating) system. or am i mistaken. Is there any chance we could get a video explaining your setup?
You could certainly do that Dalton. I have seen many systems setup like that. You would have less room for the fish. The idea depends on how many grow-beds you want to run. Remember the system must be balanced.
Question if I may ask: Why did you not simply just use the water out of the pond and pump it into your grow beds? It seem a natural source for water that already contains fish excrement and other organic nitrates. and would save you the money and time to build and maintain the fish tank?
Remember, this is a closed loop system. The water I got from the pond was just to get things started. The mud, as you put it, is worm castings. Fish poo and worm castings is good stuff! You can never have enough and you'll never have too much because it breaks down and the plants eat it.
Watch the video again. You'll see that I used already established water from my fish pond. I have a master test kit and test my water everyday with a new system. I know when to plant more due to high nitrate levels and what to do with high ammonia levels. I also use organic plant food until the good bacteria gets established. I can't show everything on a video. Unlike Murray, I don't charge for my experience. I have another aquaponics update coming soon.
Those are IBC tanks or Totes. They're food grade and are only used once by the industry. Great tank to use for Aquaponics. You can buy them used for $80-125. You may have to search your area somewhat but you'll come across them eventually.
Isn't the water supossed to cycle back to the fish after being cleaned by the plants? I didn't see that part of the system. What do you do avout evaporation?
Aquaponics must be balanced. For example, you can't throw fish into a swimming pool and expect it to work. You would have to have 40,000 grow beds to maintain the balance.
This is an ebb and flow system that just happens to have Aquaponics connected to it. The difference being that Auqaponics explains only where you get the nutrients from. Ebb and flow explains how the system runs, which is what this system is running.
the fish tank needs as little sunlight as possible to prevent algae growing on the sides. "Bad algae" will take oxygen from the water killing the fish.
Hey, if the pond is on your property, why not just stock the pond with fish, if it isn't already, and then float the plants on top of the pond on foam flats?
Jim, Really enjoyed the guitar playing over the years. Angry eyes was awesome. But your work with the Springfield is outstanding too. Saw you once in 1970 with Poco. Just great!
Not good Steve! The granite rock turned out to be too alkaline. I'm in the process of switching over to river rock for the summer growth. I did find that after shutting down the system lettuce kept growing in the static water. I just transferred 20 heads of healthy lettuce.
Paul, you started to show the air stones in the pipes, what were they for? Are you pumping using air uplifts instead of a water pump? (much more efficient)!
Awesome video, forget some of these other peoples comments. I always say don't take advice from losers. Some people will sit back and criticize but never actually do anything themselves out of fear of failure.
Think about a push pump run from a windmill or solar, push pumps work better then pumps that suck up water. The push pump for windmill will push water a long way.
What would be the minimum amount of fill cycles? I know your filling yours at every 10 minutes. Let's say were on solar and battery where saving energy is very important. Could we possibly cut down the fill times with timers to maybe one fill every 30 minutes and still maintain maximum growth?
Hi there Paul,Richard here, very nice simple system, I have lookedat a lot of systems this year,and yours is the best I have seen ,I noticed near the end when you show the green netting that there is a water manifold shown on the back of the grow bed,what is that for?all the best from a brit in Bulgaria
Mr. McHugh, at 16:40 it looks like you imply irrigating your planted seeds with pond water increases the rate at which they will germinate. It also looks like you claim pond water is absolutely awesomely nutritious. This however is not the case. Germination is an event that is triggered by the embryo's genes and its major - though not the only one - requisite is that the seed imbibes enough water to trigger the hormonal responses that will produce the emergence of the radicle. In no way can pond water produce a better rate of germination than other sources of water. If you believe the nutrients in the pond water help keep in mind the seed has no need for them because the embryo is selfsufficient up until it becomes a plant and starts its own photosynthetic activity (that's when you see the first real leaves). Different species of fish may produce different inputs into your water but by far the largest contirbution is amonia (plants will take it as nitrate). Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Boron, Calcium, Manganese and other secondary or micronutriments may be available at concentrations the plants cannot work with, necessarily. I think it would be awesome if you could run a lab test on your pond water and determine what's actually in it. That way you could complement your system with necessary amounts of fertilizer so you can boost your plants growth. Your system looks amazing and using those plastic containers was really ingenious. It's awesome.
the swirl filters are for plants that don't mind wet feet like lettuce. you have to use filters to keep the solids off the roots. I have done testing and have found that lettuce will grow in stagnate water, high nutrient fish water that is, and they grow fine with clean roots. I will show an updated video of the aquaponics system which I've expanded to an additional two floating raft systems.
ok. I didn't notice that.. That's really cool man.. im building a system that uses gravity and pressure to circulate the system. completely off grid and no pumps. I like your set up.
Well, the idea behind Aquaponics is supposed to be a balanced system. The fish feed the food and the food filter's the water. I'm sure if I used a big pond to circulate the water it would throw any balance off that I create. Like Iron and pot ash. These things along with others must be added because the fish don't provide them. It would be very hard to balance the PH if needed. The plants like one PH and the fish like another. Again, it's a balance.
No the down-tubes are to pull tank water from the bottom while adding water at the top. It circulates the goodies. I did use air stones for a lettuce raft system but found that was way too much work. Lettuce will grow in stagnate water. My updated video (uploading right now!) will show a river tunnel which works perfectly. The pump has to run anyway so I wouldn't use the air lifting water. It's not enough water to circulate in the tank. The fish need water movement and air.
Interesting video. Is there such a thing as terraponics? Growing food plants and small food animals together? I am wondering how one would prepare hamsters for the table.
The grow beds must cycle to bring nutrients to the roots then drain to pull oxygen into the rocks. The system goes through many cycles of ammonia and nitrates. Eventually things fall into balance. Aerobic areas can be prevented by using 3/4 inch medium. Excess roots can also cause an aerobic area in the beds like an older tomato plant. You should be planting and harvesting all the time anyway. BTW best to grow vine tomatoes so you can train them away from the beds.
I have changed the medium. Turns out that granite rock is high in PH. I now use river rock. It's very easy on the hands. I've found that the clay really falls apart and when the plants fruit there's too much weight. unless you want to string up all your plants I'd use something heavier. I'm posting another video now (Aquaponics Update) where I explain a vinegar test to insure your medium is neutral.
There is a return to the fish tank. There has to be for a balanced system. I have other food growing systems that only use pond water and I have amazing success. The stand-alone system is just that. It must be a closed loop system to work properly.
SO HOW Did your garden do.. Looks kinda too shady to me to grow good crops like beans ,peas corn or about any summer crop since they require full sun.. just curious . Hopefully what I saw was morning or evening shade
Is there a reason for having the fish tank so far away from the plants? Couldn't you just as easily add the fish to the sump thats in the middle of the system?
Can you make a video to see how the aquaponics system and the plants are doing. Im sure Im not the only one that would to to see the progress. thumbs up if you want to see an update lol
Great idea to use the mid section of the IBC for a raised bed! Thanks for the video and all the ideas!
Thanks Paul, I am in the Philippines and am about to set up an Aquaponics unit, thanks for your video.
Not a silly question at all! This answer is the reason that the plants are so happy and healthy. The water level cycles up and down every 10 minutes (roughly). When the water level goes down, the plant roots are oxygenated. When the water level goes up, the nutrients feed the plant roots. Each time the cycle is started, there's fresh oxygen and fresh nutrients. The plants love it. In fact, some plants that don't like "wet feet" love it as well. This process makes every plant happy!
Good point George, as one of the "many folks", I have a few ideas. I got a 650 gallon pool at a local Big Lots for 10$ on markdown. I am going to use it for fish. next year, I plan on going around to the local fast food restraunts and collecting old 5-gallon pickle food buckets. these can be hooked up in Paralell with a cheap pump and added onto as money allows. The largest money sink right now will be the air pump to keep the water oxegynated while i am building my hydroponics system.
perfect system.... But... the air stones you have installed actually remove oxigen from the water. As the bubbles rise from the bottom, they capture the surrounding air and bring it to the surface, which then goes back into the air. Its really the movement on the surface of the water that will oxygenate your water. have fun buddy!
Super great work! i bet your system is crushing it now!
I just wanted to say thanks for the excellent video. I'm in the planning phase of putting together my own system. I plan to use a few IBC's inside my 8x12 hobby greenhouse. I'm lucky enough to have a friend who is very knowledgable about the topic and has put together both small and very large systems years ago.
great idea with the remaining ibc cuts. I like the pond water idea as well. Nice Video Thank you
the extra pats with no top no bottom are good for using the Mitler method of growing. Fill them with vermiculite and compost then plant your plants. mainly onions, carrots and potatoes. You can also use tires to grow potatoes with great results please google the mittler methods. You will find tons of info under hydroponics. and great video
Dude, you have more than a green thumb- your brilliant! Never seen a system set up with rocks - usually tubes. This is an awesome , self-sufficient system.
I found there's not need. The sump is pretty shaded under the grow beds. I like giving the good pests a place to hang out. When the frogs hear the water, they come from far away to enjoy the tropics!
Because you can use the nutrients from your soil very quickly. This system, the fish provide the nutrients, so you don't have to "rest" the soil. Its about being able to grow food efficiently. This is much better than current modern farming which uses all sorts of chemicals etc.
Nice job. not only did you do a nice job of explaining Sisyphus you also did some nice steady camera work. Thanks for showing us all your hard work.
Thats a nice system, i've been researching aquaponics & its nice to see how economical it is with how tightly together you can plant the crops
I have an idea, instead of blowing $40 on those topsy turvy pots, you should have suspended them above either the grow beds or reclaim tank, then use sprinkler irragation which is cheap to install, feed them from the top let them drip back into your system. Sure there will be some water loss going into the soil, but with evaporation and what not you would barely notice a difference. Plus the larger plants would still have their own place to grow.
HI Warren, there should be a settlement area for fish waste solids so as to not soil the beds with solids. I have seen "swirl" Filters and Rock/sand systems with and without worms to eat the solids.
I have a very similar system. After about 12 months the pallets rot out and the grow beds tilt out of level causing serious problems with sharing the water with the whole grow bed. It is very difficult to fix this mid grow season as the weight is significant - you need to empty and rebuild the support structure and fix plumbing breakages. Be careful to avoid a total crash - heavy timber slabs would be better than old hardwood pallets. Softwood pallets are asking for trouble.
Right Cody! Much energy is lost through the 12v to 120v conversion. May have to order online but there should be a 12v motor to replace any 120v application. If you have to use a converter it's best to buy one from a truck stop. They've been doing this 12v stuff for many years. Solar panels are inexpensive. It's the conversion that costs a lot.
RESPECT BOSSMAN!!! When you started to talk slowly i had thought for a moment you were gonna plant exactly what i would plant in that puppy if i had it in my back yard. Then i saw the onions. Oh well=) Gr8 Job anyway and thank you for the up and knowledge.
Heavy, there's a sump (on the ground) that has a pump in it that runs 24/7. The pump goes through a manifold that branches off into the 3 grow beds and the fish tank. These "branches" run all the time. There's an overflow drain that is gravity fed back to the sump (tank). The grow beds have the auto syphon. As the water comes into the grow bed, the auto syphon drains the water into the sump. The drain is faster than the fill water so the bed drains. When finished it fills to start again.
Nerdville in it's true (natural) form (I'm a computer and tech nerd) .... great vid.... thanks. I have many plans for aquaponics this spring. I will be the first to try this in this small community I live in now.
Good idea Glenn but the sound of water attracts all kinds of insect killers. I have to leave something for the green frogs to eat! The system sounds like a creek with a water fall. So far, knock on wood, not one problem with mosquitoes.
"isnt that something that the seed is still there, nature is just amazing."Yeap, i love this guy.
Well, there are pond aquaponics of course, but these produce tons and tons of food. Literally. Paul would have to hire a crew just to move all the produce off his property. Also, that complexity level should be managed by professionals with horticulture degrees. In other words, we could also ask Paul why his house isn't 6 stories high... Good quality build here.
Its another way of becoming self sustained/efficient..if you weren't interested, you wouldn't have ended up here watching these videos.
I like your explanation of some of the basics ... better than most .. nice work
the point of an air stone is to re-introduce oxygen to the water. oxygen is transferred during the creation of a bubble whether that bubble is just being formed or is being split. for EFFICIENT oxygen transfer, bubbles are a GOOD thing. if there are no plants actively photosynthesizing, than you need a source of bubbles. good algae in the bio-filter can help with this, but i think that the water draining from the siphon filters into the sump may make enough bubbles as well as the tank return.
Nice efforts there my friend. Be sure you have mastered it on a small scale and know how to treat the water to avoid ammonia build up and the nitrogen cycle from nitrates to nitrites or whatever... Hope you have a well experienced hand in there. I've read about rain-catching using those caged nalgene tanks. Good luck!
the whole world should be like this. AWESOME JOB!
it was once... then something called homo sapiens happened
Intro tune is quite fitting. Thx for taking the time sir
there are pumps that run off of 12 volt. the pump needs to be able to run 24/7 though and depanding on battery backup a solar pannel setup might not last through the night. make sure you have enough battery backup to last per the rating of the pump. and depending on where you are a wind turbine might be a better option.
Great video.. One concern I would have is mosquitoes. The fish will eat the larva in that tank but your low containers is where I would be concerned.
Thanks,
Glenn
different schools of thought here. The ph will balance out automatically. it will take about a year. Unless you use a medium that contains high or low ph levels like lime rock. You can use acid, baking soda and chicken egg shells (after you microwave them) to balance if you're impatient.
Now this guy is a hard working and inventor.
I am just commenting because I LOVE the jingle!!! what a great way to get a message across! you. said soooo much!! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Paul, after two years you posted this video.. is your project still running? how is it working? saludos desde guadalajara jalisco mexico!
Use a deep cell marine battery and solar panels to run your pump. Also, make sure to have back-up battery.
If you kept the beds full of water constantly, you would (or could) drown your plant roots, as well as the aerobic bacteria that converts the fish waste ammonia into usable nitrates.
WOW!! thank you for sharing! Now you need little chickens! I hope one day to have our aquaponics :D For the fishies they like tubes to hide in (for the mommies to be).
This is an absolutely awesome way to grow things! I really appreciate you posting these videos on You Tube. Very informative. Thank so much man. Kevin
Awesome awesome
Love this build
Looks great man! Thanks for the video.
Here's an idea for the middle sections: If you leave 4 of the upstanding bars, 2 on each side, you can stick flexible tubes over them to create 2 arches that can hold plastic and will make a mini greenhouse. (Seen it in another video).
Thanks dinglebarry lol
I do have it down to a science. Here's a tip...I tested my well water and it bumps the PH up! Rain water is low in PH and I use it as a PH Down! I've got to add water to the system anyway so why not buffer the PH at the same time.
Why do aquaponic systems (at least the ones I've seen) drain the water from the beds and then refill them instead of maintaining a constant water level? Probably a silly question but...
*A couple of months ago my friend Andrew told me about this great new way to grow Organic food.*
John Smith *_Aquaponics Secrets: How To Build A Working Aquaponics System_*
*_Go Here for info==>_**_easydiyaquaponics.gethow.info_*
John Smith *_This aquaponics system has been featured on news channels all over the world and the technique is PROVEN to work._*
*_Click it, hope it helps==>_**_easydiyaquaponics.gethow.info_*
thanks
thanks
These systems use 10% the water that a conventional garden method uses. And until you see the production, you won't know what you're missing. After 3 weeks I already have tomatoes! Try that with soil! I know because I use both. The aquaponics system grows plants 5 times faster, from my experience.
The system you built, is extraordinary!
It's impressive to see how you took in consideration the tiny details like the "T" that breaks the siphon…
May I suggest you grow some small fish (gambusia?) in the sump that would eat the caterpillars and mosquito larva...
Lo-tech, crude, and brilliant.
First off, best Aquaponics video i have seen yet.
Pond = Fish bucket
Pit = drain bucket
I saw where the pond fed into the pit, then the pit feeds the beds, then the beds drain into the pit.
Later i saw all kinds of hoses strapped to the beds.
At this point, ignoring natural water removal, it looks like you have an open system with an input to the beds instead of a closed(recirculating) system. or am i mistaken.
Is there any chance we could get a video explaining your setup?
You could certainly do that Dalton. I have seen many systems setup like that. You would have less room for the fish. The idea depends on how many grow-beds you want to run. Remember the system must be balanced.
Question if I may ask: Why did you not simply just use the water out of the pond and pump it into your grow beds? It seem a natural source for water that already contains fish excrement and other organic nitrates. and would save you the money and time to build and maintain the fish tank?
Remember, this is a closed loop system. The water I got from the pond was just to get things started. The mud, as you put it, is worm castings. Fish poo and worm castings is good stuff! You can never have enough and you'll never have too much because it breaks down and the plants eat it.
Watch the video again. You'll see that I used already established water from my fish pond. I have a master test kit and test my water everyday with a new system. I know when to plant more due to high nitrate levels and what to do with high ammonia levels. I also use organic plant food until the good bacteria gets established. I can't show everything on a video. Unlike Murray, I don't charge for my experience. I have another aquaponics update coming soon.
Very nice
Those are IBC tanks or Totes. They're food grade and are only used once by the industry. Great tank to use for Aquaponics. You can buy them used for $80-125. You may have to search your area somewhat but you'll come across them eventually.
Isn't the water supossed to cycle back to the fish after being cleaned by the plants? I didn't see that part of the system. What do you do avout evaporation?
Aquaponics must be balanced. For example, you can't throw fish into a swimming pool and expect it to work. You would have to have 40,000 grow beds to maintain the balance.
This is an ebb and flow system that just happens to have Aquaponics connected to it. The difference being that Auqaponics explains only where you get the nutrients from. Ebb and flow explains how the system runs, which is what this system is running.
What type of containers are those that you are taking off of the truck at the beginning of the video?
The IBC tanks are used. You can pick them up for $75-$120 each. They're 300 gallon tanks when completely filled.
the fish tank needs as little sunlight as possible to prevent algae growing on the sides. "Bad algae" will take oxygen from the water killing the fish.
Hey, if the pond is on your property, why not just stock the pond with fish, if it isn't already, and then float the plants on top of the pond on foam flats?
Jim,
Really enjoyed the guitar playing over the years. Angry eyes was awesome. But your work with the Springfield is outstanding too. Saw you once in 1970 with Poco. Just great!
Not good Steve! The granite rock turned out to be too alkaline. I'm in the process of switching over to river rock for the summer growth. I did find that after shutting down the system lettuce kept growing in the static water. I just transferred 20 heads of healthy lettuce.
Paul, you started to show the air stones in the pipes, what were they for? Are you pumping using air uplifts instead of a water pump? (much more efficient)!
Awesome video, forget some of these other peoples comments. I always say don't take advice from losers. Some people will sit back and criticize but never actually do anything themselves out of fear of failure.
Nice set up. BTW, I like your music.
did you replace the "white" tank with the green ones? because i bought the white ones and wondering maybe its not suitable for grow beds. thanks.
Think about a push pump run from a windmill or solar, push pumps work better then
pumps that suck up water. The push pump for windmill will push water a long way.
What would be the minimum amount of fill cycles? I know your filling yours at every 10 minutes. Let's say were on solar and battery where saving energy is very important. Could we possibly cut down the fill times with timers to maybe one fill every 30 minutes and still maintain maximum growth?
Do you monitor the water temperature? I'd think freezing and overheating would be something to watch out for.
Hi there Paul,Richard here, very nice simple system, I have lookedat a lot of systems this year,and yours is the best I have seen ,I noticed near the end when you show the green netting that there is a water manifold shown on the back of the grow bed,what is that for?all the best from a brit in Bulgaria
I guess I missed it. How does the water get back to the fish container?
cool video.
Mr. McHugh, at 16:40 it looks like you imply irrigating your planted seeds with pond water increases the rate at which they will germinate. It also looks like you claim pond water is absolutely awesomely nutritious. This however is not the case. Germination is an event that is triggered by the embryo's genes and its major - though not the only one - requisite is that the seed imbibes enough water to trigger the hormonal responses that will produce the emergence of the radicle. In no way can pond water produce a better rate of germination than other sources of water. If you believe the nutrients in the pond water help keep in mind the seed has no need for them because the embryo is selfsufficient up until it becomes a plant and starts its own photosynthetic activity (that's when you see the first real leaves). Different species of fish may produce different inputs into your water but by far the largest contirbution is amonia (plants will take it as nitrate). Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, Molybdenum, Boron, Calcium, Manganese and other secondary or micronutriments may be available at concentrations the plants cannot work with, necessarily. I think it would be awesome if you could run a lab test on your pond water and determine what's actually in it. That way you could complement your system with necessary amounts of fertilizer so you can boost your plants growth. Your system looks amazing and using those plastic containers was really ingenious. It's awesome.
the swirl filters are for plants that don't mind wet feet like lettuce. you have to use filters to keep the solids off the roots. I have done testing and have found that lettuce will grow in stagnate water, high nutrient fish water that is, and they grow fine with clean roots. I will show an updated video of the aquaponics system which I've expanded to an additional two floating raft systems.
ok. I didn't notice that.. That's really cool man.. im building a system that uses gravity and pressure to circulate the system. completely off grid and no pumps. I like your set up.
You should try to grow grapes along with the tomatoes, since you have the same set-up.
Great system.
Well, the idea behind Aquaponics is supposed to be a balanced system. The fish feed the food and the food filter's the water. I'm sure if I used a big pond to circulate the water it would throw any balance off that I create. Like Iron and pot ash. These things along with others must be added because the fish don't provide them. It would be very hard to balance the PH if needed. The plants like one PH and the fish like another. Again, it's a balance.
Great video! And yeah its the boring part when you gotta clean up everything ...
Paul how did the weight of the grow beds hold up by the blocks, did they break?, i'm building something similar to yours.
Why did you choose such a heavy grow medium? I'm designing a backyard aquaponic system that I plan to build in the Spring.
No the down-tubes are to pull tank water from the bottom while adding water at the top. It circulates the goodies. I did use air stones for a lettuce raft system but found that was way too much work. Lettuce will grow in stagnate water. My updated video (uploading right now!) will show a river tunnel which works perfectly. The pump has to run anyway so I wouldn't use the air lifting water. It's not enough water to circulate in the tank. The fish need water movement and air.
Very cool, learned a bunch, thank you! Keep us updated!
Thanks Brodyjoe. I don't let negative comments sway my efforts. There are too many nice people (like yourself) out there that need just a little help.
Interesting video.
Is there such a thing as terraponics? Growing food plants and small food animals together?
I am wondering how one would prepare hamsters for the table.
The grow beds must cycle to bring nutrients to the roots then drain to pull oxygen into the rocks. The system goes through many cycles of ammonia and nitrates. Eventually things fall into balance. Aerobic areas can be prevented by using 3/4 inch medium. Excess roots can also cause an aerobic area in the beds like an older tomato plant. You should be planting and harvesting all the time anyway. BTW best to grow vine tomatoes so you can train them away from the beds.
excellent video. I was wondering why everything was spaced so far apart, but maybe those were your levelest spaces?
brother you think goldfish will do the trick??? was the water chloride treated before you put the fish in?
what 's your pump capacity? one (1) intake from sump tank and got 4 outlet (3 grow bed & to fish tank back)
cool video! how many pumps are you using? what happens if all three grow beds' auto-siphons go at once? wouldn't the sump overflow?
I have changed the medium. Turns out that granite rock is high in PH. I now use river rock. It's very easy on the hands. I've found that the clay really falls apart and when the plants fruit there's too much weight. unless you want to string up all your plants I'd use something heavier. I'm posting another video now (Aquaponics Update) where I explain a vinegar test to insure your medium is neutral.
There is a return to the fish tank. There has to be for a balanced system. I have other food growing systems that only use pond water and I have amazing success. The stand-alone system is just that. It must be a closed loop system to work properly.
SO HOW Did your garden do.. Looks kinda too shady to me to grow good crops like beans ,peas corn or about any summer crop since they require full sun.. just curious . Hopefully what I saw was morning or evening shade
how many fish do you need
what type of fish will be ok to use
will you be eating the fish too
Is there a reason for having the fish tank so far away from the plants? Couldn't you just as easily add the fish to the sump thats in the middle of the system?
How do you filter clean water from the grow beds to the fish tank?
Yes please. I would love to see updates. Great Job !!!!!
Can you make a video to see how the aquaponics system and the plants are doing. Im sure Im not the only one that would to to see the progress. thumbs up if you want to see an update lol