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Jeff
03-15-2012, 04:01 PM
Ok, so I figure I would make an official thread documenting my first aquaponic system. I still have LOTS of questions, but I may ask them in separate posts so that this thread stays on topic of documenting the progress.

As of right now, I have three 45 gallon tubs for the grow beds, and one 110 gallon tank for the fish. All were purchased at Tractor Supply Company. I highly recommend their Tuff Stuff brand, because it's been the most affordable I could find (compared to Rubbermaid which is twice the cost).

I then went to Home Depot and purchased 32 basalite concrete blocks: 8x8x16. Those are supporting two boards measuring 2x8x10.

Finally, I have a lot of the PVC purchased. I assembled the PVC manifold which will pump water from the tank to all three grow beds. Here is a photo of what the project looks like so far:

http://diyaquaponics.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=1686&sid=7a73845408b565353243a7f80a397b3a

NEXT TO DO: Drill the holes in the grow beds to make bell siphons.

keith_r
03-16-2012, 05:30 AM
great start!

Eleven11
03-16-2012, 06:37 AM
Nice looking setup.

I had a hard time finding affordable tubs too. I would have gone with the RM Stock tanks but didn't like the price or the dimensions for using as grow beds. I ended up using Rubber Maid 55 gallon totes from Home Depot ($20) but they needed heavy reinforcement.. wasn't expecting the huge amount of outward force caused by the water and grow media sitting in the tote.

For the fish tank, I found a local guy selling IBC's.

That Tractor Supply Company looks like a great option.
What is it? Where is it? How durable are these containers?

For grow media, I would suggest finding a local quarry if you can and ask if they have expanded clay. It won't be pretty like hydroton but will do an excellent job at a nice price.

Jeff
03-16-2012, 07:48 AM
Nice looking setup.

I had a hard time finding affordable tubs too. I would have gone with the RM Stock tanks but didn't like the price or the dimensions for using as grow beds. I ended up using Rubber Maid 55 gallon totes from Home Depot ($20) but they needed heavy reinforcement.. wasn't expecting the huge amount of outward force caused by the water and grow media sitting in the tote.

For the fish tank, I found a local guy selling IBC's.

That Tractor Supply Company looks like a great option.
What is it? Where is it? How durable are these containers?

For grow media, I would suggest finding a local quarry if you can and ask if they have expanded clay. It won't be pretty like hydroton but will do an excellent job at a nice price.

Hopefully it's OK to post links here, since it relates to the topic and could help someone else.

These are the tanks I purchased:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-tank-110-gal--2229862
http://www.tractorsupply.com/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-tank-110-gal--2229862

I used their website and was delighted to see that they had a store about 30 minutes from my house! One thing to note though. Those 40 gallon tanks you see above were actually 45 gallons in the store. I believe they were the same price, but the dimensions were slightly bigger. I couldn't find any 40 gallons when I went there.

Now, at this point, I haven't filled them with media or water yet, so I can't say how they hold up, but since they are stock tanks normally used to hold water, I don't anticipate it being a problem. These saved me a lot of money instead of going with the rubbermaid brand.

As for grow media, I think I am going the Hydroton route. I want the lightest weight media possible (at least in this start up system), and it's more convenient for me to get Hydroton delivered than shale. I have tried looking for local sources for shale and I can't find any. I may just not be doing the right kind of searches, but since I don't have any sort of truck, I need stuff delivered to me, and shipping/transportation of the heavier rock is really expensive.

urbanfarmer
03-16-2012, 10:07 AM
Nice work! I was just showing my friend what can be done with some simple items. Very good :-)

Jeff
03-21-2012, 03:37 PM
I have drilled the grow beds to begin fitting the bell siphons in there. And just in time too, because look what arrived today:

http://diyaquaponics.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=1694&sid=5dd7bc566f23a62ddd5cbe7b5ab92304

Now I just have to come up with a good way to clean it all. I was thinking of putting it inside a cooler (with the little drain hole on the bottom). That way, as I wash them, the dirty water will just constantly drain out.

I thought about doing it in the grow beds themselves, but they're much heavier to move and I don't want to drain the dirty water directly underneath them (which will create a lot of muddy dirt in the area).

bsfman
03-21-2012, 08:29 PM
I have drilled the grow beds to begin fitting the bell siphons in there. And just in time too, because look what arrived today:

http://diyaquaponics.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=1694&sid=5dd7bc566f23a62ddd5cbe7b5ab92304

Now I just have to come up with a good way to clean it all. I was thinking of putting it inside a cooler (with the little drain hole on the bottom). That way, as I wash them, the dirty water will just constantly drain out.

I thought about doing it in the grow beds themselves, but they're much heavier to move and I don't want to drain the dirty water directly underneath them (which will create a lot of muddy dirt in the area).

Get a cheapo 5 gallon plastic bucket and drill a few dozen 3/16" holes in the bottom. Prop the edges of the bucket bottom on a couple of blocks, fill with media and blast it with a garden hose. It helps to reach down with your free hand and agitate the media while you're hosing it off. Once the water drains from the bucket clear, dump, refill, repeat!

commander
03-21-2012, 08:35 PM
Has anyone ever tried tumbling media in a cement mixer while running water in it to clean?

Eleven11
03-21-2012, 08:41 PM
I never cleaned mine. I just let the system take care of it and it settled in the sump.

Bioritize
03-21-2012, 10:12 PM
After washing 2 + yards of rocks I will second that. I am leaning toward not washing and then perhaps vacuuming the sump tank.

Now that may be different for river rocks. That nice hydroton which is baked in an oven and then packaged and therefore pretty "clean" already, at this point I would not wash that stuff haha.

foodchain
03-22-2012, 07:22 AM
Why wash it? That's work. The most it will do is make your water cloudy. Take a couple of eggs, seperate the white from the yolk, put the white in, and it forces the suspended particles together. Like a glue. It will cause an amonia spike....which was okay for me as it got me on my way to cycling. More than one way to skin a cat though.

Jeff
03-22-2012, 08:52 AM
Why wash it? That's work. The most it will do is make your water cloudy. Take a couple of eggs, seperate the white from the yolk, put the white in, and it forces the suspended particles together. Like a glue. It will cause an amonia spike....which was okay for me as it got me on my way to cycling. More than one way to skin a cat though.

Should I do that egg trick ANYWAY whether I wash the hydroton or not? I am wondering if that's a good way to get a jump start on the cycling process.

As for washing, right now I don't think I will mind it. I spend all day working inside, and I am in desperate need for some manual labor. (I can only watch my ass get bigger in this office chair for so long before I go stir crazy). So in part, this whole aquaponics project has been therapeutic for me because it's getting me active and doing something physically productive!

keith_r
03-22-2012, 10:12 AM
i used a couple of scrambled up eggwhites to help clear up my system early on.. i don't think it really made much of a difference in cycling, it acts as a flocculent and all the bits of dirt stick to it so it sinks.. it did clear up the water pretty well.. one thing i found with the black tubs is that it's almost impossible to see your fish and what's going on with them.. i found some thin sheets of white shower liner pvc i was going to use in the bottom of the tank but ended up moving the system and don't have that issue at the moment
washing gravel isn't that big of a deal unless you've got to move a few yards..could get a bit tiring.. i'll probably rinse the load i'm getting with a hose outside while it's still piled up

Eleven11
03-22-2012, 10:58 AM
I'm with you on theraputic aspect of this hobby. I only recently heard about AP and I sort of stumbled my way around but have been really amazed by the whole experience.

Cheers

Jeff
04-04-2012, 05:42 PM
Ok, I thought I would share a video of my system thus far. NOTE: I smoke a pipe as a hobby and for relaxation (hence my avatar), and my YouTube channel is fairly popular with that crowd. So I am speaking to a crowd that knows little to nothing about aquaponics. This would explain why I don't talk too technical about the system, and also why I am smoking a pipe. :) It should still give you an idea of what my setup looks like and see it in action!

[youtube:2sx25dup]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJD508UMAVM[/youtube:2sx25dup]

I have some annotations on the video which are very small when embedded in the forum, so if you want to read them, just click the video to launch it on YouTube in a larger size.

Eleven11
04-04-2012, 07:08 PM
Looking good so far. Nice job!

davidstcldfl
04-05-2012, 02:35 AM
Looking nice.. :) Now, lets see some plants !

When the video started, I had to laugh, the ad that came up was for 'A Smoke Free Florida'

Jeff
04-05-2012, 11:30 AM
Thanks for the comments, guys! As for the ads in the beginning, I have to laugh as well. I don't consider myself a "smoker" simply because I don't inhale, and I may only smoke a pipe once a week or so. But since advertisers put ads on my videos, they zero-in on the keywords of smoking, and display whatever the heck they want on there!

Anyway, I take 1-2 pees inside the tank every day or so. I am going away to visit family over the weekend, and when I come back, I will check the water chemistry to see how things are doing. I will keep you updated!

Jeff
04-09-2012, 03:59 PM
Ok, so the system has been cycling a little over one week now. The only thing I've done to the water is pee in it. Usually it's a couple of times a day, although I haven't done anymore for the last couple of days due to being away for the Easter holiday.

So today, I took my first water test (PH, PH High, Ammonia, Nitrites), and I wanted to share it with you. Feel free to chime in and confirm or refute my assumptions:

[attachment=0:13jcl0m9]photo.JPG[/attachment:13jcl0m9]

PH (low and high test)- Looks to me like it's a little high. Anyone had any success on the "lemon juice" remedy? I read that this will help lower the PH levels. From what I can see, it looks like my PH is probably around the 8.2 range.

AMMONIA - Looks like its a whopping 8ppm. That tells me that I don't need to piss in there anymore! :lol:

NITRITES - Still looks like the nitrification hasn't kicked in yet, since we're reading 0ppm.

So I guess what I will do is wait a few days and do the test again. I expect to see the ammonia drop as the Nitrites go UP. From what I think I've heard, when the ammonia drops back down, perhaps pee in it again to spike it up again, and let it drop one more time. When the Ammonia reads zero, the nitrites read zer0, and the presence of nitrAtes shows up, then the system should be cycled.

Right?

Any other thoughts or suggestions, feel free to chime in!

keith_r
04-10-2012, 06:46 AM
kind of.. you don't want to really let everything get to zero early on..
after the ammonia drops, the bacteria that convert the nitrites will just be getting started, and you don't want to starve the ammonia loving bacteria..after your first ammonia drop, you'll need to give the system a dose every couple days - you should see ammonia drop within a day or two, but it will take a couple more weeks for the nitrites to start dropping..
seeing the color change on the nitrate test will feel pretty good after wondering if it will every happen
your high ammonia readings will affect the ph, and it will come down on it's own..

Jeff
04-11-2012, 03:39 PM
Keith - Thanks for the feedback! So it sounds like I shouldn't let the Ammonia get to zero. Even though it's high right now, just wait until it drops back down to possibly .25ppm, and then add a little bit of pee every couple of days while the nitrites are reproducing and increasing. Then when the nitrites begin to decline, I should probably see some register of the nitrAtes in the system, and then my system will be just about complete. That's when I would add my goldfish and plants.

Is that the gist of it?

foodchain
04-12-2012, 04:49 AM
Correct! Ammonia is bad, but typically especially with a new setup I wouldn't let it get to 0. Once established you want zero. This is the cycling process, if you rush it you could end up with new tank syndrome. Print yourself off a copy of the nitrogen cycle I think it's pretty cool when you stop and think about it.

You can add your goldfish now....that's basicaly gotten you the same results by peeing in it. Your pee replaced the goldfish. It's nicer on the fish to do it this way.
My opinion: For what it's worth, let the amonia come down some and then add the goldfish. I wouldn't wait till it hit 0 though as Keith is right this would starve the bacteria...you have to keep them fed. Goldfish produce a lot of waste. So if you wait too long, your bacteria will be low, and then have a big surge from goldfish waste, you will see water parameters spike up, then slowly level off as the bacteria multiply to meet the new waste levels provided.
Nothing happens fast but death.
Make sense?

Jeff
04-20-2012, 03:05 PM
Just an update. I haven't planted anything nor added fish yet, because the ammonia levels are still too high:

http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4645&stc=1

That being said, I am seeing unknown seeds sprouting in the grow beds. I have no idea what they are, so I can only assume they were dropped there by birds, or fallen from the skies during windy days.


http://www.diyaquaponics.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=4646&stc=1

I just wish this ammonia would go down already! Should I just plant in there now since the system obviously works, but just wait on the fish until the ammonia drops? Should I do any water changes? Or just wait?

Madmax478
04-20-2012, 04:45 PM
Bet thats Higher than 8. IMHO that take a month of sundays to come down. Have you consider doing a 1/3 to 1/2 water change.
Yes I'd add some plants.

Richard

bsfman
04-20-2012, 08:13 PM
Just an update. I haven't planted anything nor added fish yet, because the ammonia levels are still too high:

That being said, I am seeing unknown seeds sprouting in the grow beds. I have no idea what they are, so I can only assume they were dropped there by birds, or fallen from the skies during windy days.

I just wish this ammonia would go down already! Should I just plant in there now since the system obviously works, but just wait on the fish until the ammonia drops? Should I do any water changes? Or just wait?


I wouldn't do a water change. The ammonia will come down (and then your nitrites will be thru the roof for a couple of weeks). I would go ahead and plant. The plants will uptake ammonia and nitrites. When nitrites start coming down, then add the fish. It'll all be cool.

urbanfarmer
04-21-2012, 01:34 AM
bsfman is right!

Plants prefer ammonia over nitrate. You can definitely plant (as evident by your weed seed germinating and growing). You see, it takes 5 molecules of ATP for a plant to strip nitrogen from 1 molecule of ammonia, but it takes 15 molecules of ATP for a plant to strip nitrogen from 1 molecule of nitrate. So you see, it's more efficient for plants to get nitrogen from ammonia and why nitrogen fixing bacteria (rhizobia) typically fix nitrogen in the form of ammonia (the customer is always right, aka the plant). Why the hell do I know this?!?!? :ugeek:

Also, if your pH was low enough, the reading you have there is no big deal for the fish either, but that gets a little complicated.

I won't go into it, but the kit you have reads the TAN (total ammoniacal nitrogen). Ammonia is a weak acid in water therefore speciation occurs as a function of the pKa... oops, I'll stop, so... what I'm trying to say is "that you get 2 types of ammonia" one is unionized ammonia and the other is ionized ammonia and the one that hurts the fish is the unionized form. Too much info? ...sorry... :lol:

If you have any questions just ask.

Jeff
04-27-2012, 10:58 AM
UPDATE: Well, my ammonia is still out of control. Hopefully with the weather warming up and the addition of plants, that will come down and my bacteria colony will get established:

[attachment=4:zy93iqxd]ammonia.jpeg[/attachment:zy93iqxd]

The good news is that I actually started to plant a bunch of veggies and seeds! Here's a picture of the entire system:

[attachment=0:zy93iqxd]1.jpeg[/attachment:zy93iqxd]

Here's a close up one the grow bed which has tomato and serrano peppers. I purchased them already as small plants and simply transplanted them into the system. I also spread some seeds in here for radishes:

[attachment=3:zy93iqxd]GrowBedRight.jpeg[/attachment:zy93iqxd]

In this grow bed, I have another type of tomato and cucumber. I also scattered seeds for some cilantro and something else which I can't remember:

[attachment=2:zy93iqxd]GrowBedLeft.jpeg[/attachment:zy93iqxd]

Finally, in the middle grow bed, I spread nothing but seeds. I put in green leaf lettuce, spinach, green onion, and bell pepper I believe. It's been four days but it looks like the green leaf is already sprouting:

[attachment=1:zy93iqxd]GrowBedMiddle.jpeg[/attachment:zy93iqxd]

I may have made a mistake and put the other seeds too far into the Hydroton, because I noticed a few seeds in my water pump! That means they got drained all the way down through the siphon and into the fish tank. Ooops! I hope not all of them are lost! I figure I would wait another 1-2 weeks to see what sprouts and what doesn't. If I see any areas where nothing is coming up, I will assume the seeds are lost and plant more.....only this time, I will just sprinkle on top of the hydroton and not put them too far down.

keith_r
04-27-2012, 12:55 PM
i had the same problem with seeds washing into the ft early on..
one thing i found that helps is to wet the media all the way to the top and then drain before planting, the seeds stick to the wet hydroton a bit better
this isn't foolproof, but it did help, and as you said, in a few weeks, you can sow something else in any bare spots

txdurk
03-03-2013, 03:41 PM
When I got my hydroton I cut a few small 1" holes in the bottom of the bag then a 2" hole on the top. I just stuck a hose in the top hole , ran the water on high, and agitated a little bit. Seemed to clean it up pretty well. I got no sediment in my FT when I cycled the system.

On those 110 gallon tanks, I'm not convinced the sides won't bulge out. They're made with LDPE iirc instead of structural foam. Pls let us know how they perform.

txdurk
03-03-2013, 03:51 PM
Never mind. Looks like this discussion is old. My bad.

keith_r
03-04-2013, 06:34 AM
no worries txdurk..
i've seen a few systems with the rubbermaid 110 gallon stock tanks that held up quite well
i kept fish in one for a summer, but when i moved into the basement, i went a bit bigger

txdurk
03-04-2013, 08:01 AM
Thanks Keith. That report boosts my confidence a lot. Right now I have a small proof-of-concept system using two 45 gallon structural foam stock tanks in a 1:1 ratio. I liked the sturdiness of them so I was attracted to the 100 gallon tank although I was drawn to the ten extra gallons of the ldpe one. I'm trying to figure out system #2 assuming I have success this year so this discussion has helped me. Cheers.

Jeff
03-04-2013, 09:48 AM
Hey guys! Been a long time! I need to update this thread since my system is now almost one year old. To answer the question that was just asked, the 110 gallon tank has worked PERFECTLY! No bowing, no issues at all.

I shall update this thread soon with more pictures hopefully soon. I have noticed that going into my SECOND season with my system, the plants do seem to be growing a lot better now that I have a balanced system. I remember starting out last year, some of my seeds looked a little deformed when they sprouted, but this year, everything seems to look good.

I have made a lot of cosmetic changes to my system, including a covered overhang, a makeshift wind-block, and a custom designed water heater.

txdurk
03-04-2013, 10:37 AM
Thanks Jeff: I may swap out my 45 FT for the 110 so the water level doesn't drop as far when filling the GB as in the 45. I can use the 45 I remove down the line or as a second GB if I can squeeze it in my space. Cheers.

txdurk
03-04-2013, 12:17 PM
Just read throughthe earlier discussion around ammonia levels. I had a bell siphon malfunction that almost sucked my FT dry so I was forced to do a 80% water change. I took a baseline reading. The ph was6.6 and ammonia was .25 so I was pleased. However, today the ammonia is off the chart and nitrites are pretty high too. Nitrates are <=5ppm. I'm doing a fishless cycle and haven't added ammonia for two weeks. I'm confused what why my ammonia level spiked. Any clues?

Jeff
03-04-2013, 05:21 PM
Just read throughthe earlier discussion around ammonia levels. I had a bell siphon malfunction that almost sucked my FT dry so I was forced to do a 80% water change. I took a baseline reading. The ph was6.6 and ammonia was .25 so I was pleased. However, today the ammonia is off the chart and nitrites are pretty high too. Nitrates are <=5ppm. I'm doing a fishless cycle and haven't added ammonia for two weeks. I'm confused what why my ammonia level spiked. Any clues?

You may want to start this as a separate post so it doesn't get off-topic from my backyard system. However, if I had to guess, maybe you had a lot of ammonia tied up inside the grow bed media, so even though you added more water, perhaps there was still a strong concentration of ammonia that was released by the growing media. I really couldn't say though. I know my system went through WILD swings with ammonia in the beginning before it was fully cycled.

txdurk
03-04-2013, 06:12 PM
My thoughts too on both counts Jeff.

Elronmaynard
03-25-2013, 11:31 PM
Nice system! It seems I have a lot to learn about the cycling process before I get started.

GrillingNetwork
07-19-2013, 07:39 AM
Ok, so I figure I would make an official thread documenting my first aquaponic system. I still have LOTS of questions, but I may ask them in separate posts so that this thread stays on topic of documenting the progress.

As of right now, I have three 45 gallon tubs for the grow beds, and one 110 gallon tank for the fish. All were purchased at Tractor Supply Company. I highly recommend their Tuff Stuff brand, because it's been the most affordable I could find (compared to Rubbermaid which is twice the cost).

I then went to Home Depot and purchased 32 basalite concrete blocks: 8x8x16. Those are supporting two boards measuring 2x8x10.

Finally, I have a lot of the PVC purchased. I assembled the PVC manifold which will pump water from the tank to all three grow beds. Here is a photo of what the project looks like so far:

http://diyaquaponics.com/forum/download/file.php?mode=view&id=1686&sid=7a73845408b565353243a7f80a397b3a

NEXT TO DO: Drill the holes in the grow beds to make bell siphons.


Looks great!! Gives me other ideas on how I can add to my system without buying more IBC Totes :)

15mules
07-19-2013, 12:14 PM
Nice looking set up I look forward to seeing it all full of plants and fish soon.

Man I like pictures, can't wait until I can start taking pictures.