stucco's system Expansion

[stucco]

Well it’s raining and I tested the water and it’s off the chart acidic :shock: . I wouldn’t have thought there would be a problem with the natural choice. I never considered water hardness or softness before. I just started reading up… oh my… my head is spinning. :?

[dufflight]

What are your readings. Big ph swings can kill fish and ph around 5 will nail your bacteria.

[badflash]

Tilapia need hard water. Marl should be readily available where you are. Percolate the water with lots of chunks of that, and add some crushed limestone to get you nack up to hard water. Estimate the poundage of water you have and add enough for about 150 parts per million. That would be about 2.5 ounces for every 1000 pounds of water.

[Ironfish]

Hi Stucco,

sorry about the fish.
Did you put in a roof washer before the tank?
How close are you to a coal fired power plant or industrial plants?

Ironfish

[stucco]

I’m within 50 miles of a coal plant and two nuclear. I can’t even measure the rain water with my test kit. The system is still around six though. I do not use a roof washer. I’m not sure what that is, but I keep it really clean with my pressure washer.

[stucco]

The marl pit is closed today.

[davidstcldfl]

I can’t even measure the rain water with my test kit.
I just went out, to test the rain water here....My test kit only goes down to 6.2, which is what it was showing.....I waonder how low, it actually is ?

[badflash]

I doubt you'll be affected by the power plants. If you were in Eastern PA it would be a real possibility. A pH of 6 is about par for the course for rainwater. I think hardening it up will fix most of the issues.

[stucco]

Here is a good one considering I just spent a week on the floor with a broken back. I moved the ferrocement bed over two feet and up onto the slab where it could be tied into the monster sump.

[stucco]

I got everything balanced out with the ph and the fish are lookin good, but still no baby fishies. I put four fish … one boy and three girls into their own tank. As I did this one of the girls spit a bunch of eggs out into the bucket. I slowly sunk the bucket with the fish in it into the tank and left it there in hopes of the fish picking them back up. It didn’t work. I think I read somewhere that it’s easy to breed tilapia.

[JCO]

So....was you back actually broken or like mine....just badly bent? :lol: :mrgreen:

[stucco]

Yea, just badly bent. For three days I walked around as crooked as a politician hoping that it would go away like it usually does, but not this time. I spent the next three days peeing in a jar because I just couldn’t get off of the floor. I laid on the floor for ten days. I call that broken, but now it’s like it never happened and I’m runnin around like a young man again. :D

[dufflight]

Be carefull of your back feeling better. I hurt mine pulling a chain out from under a module(cotton) but returned to work the next day as it felt better. Then had it go again while swinging a sledge hammer. But it was fine again so I went back to work. Bonecracker had to put it back in place after sliping a disk changing a truck tyre. :lol:

[badflash]

As far as breeding tilapia being easy, it depends on your system. In my experience, Nile tilapia will not breed well in crowded conditions. I've been told that they put out a pheromone that when it builds up to a certain level, prevents the females from being interested. O. mossambicus, on the other hand, are truly easy to breed. You just need to be satisfied with adult fish that are about the same size as a nile female, males & females about the same size.

Be sure that the breeding group is in at least 300 gallons of water all to themselves, give the male a large pot big enough that he can stand on his head in it with the pot on its side. Give the females a bungle of 12" PVC pipes big enough in diameter for them to hide in. Put the pot opening and PVC pipes at right angles to each other so the male can't see the females if they are in the pipes.

Don't feed them for 5 days, then do a 50% water change and start feeding them again.

[stucco]

Just picked these up at lowes for 62$ each.

[stucco]

Finally… after months and months of breathing toxic fumes and itching, I was able to set up my own backwater system. 8-)

[stucco]

8-)

[davidstcldfl]

I noticed you put the pipes and valves towards the front. Is that just to make them easier to reach ?

[stucco]

My original plumbing design had them all hidden, but for the expo I wanted to make it easier to explain how it all works. I did turn the whole thing around to be able to reach the valves easier. After removing the hydroton from the pipes :) I was able to run the venturi again.

[stucco]

Pictures from today.

[stucco]

pics

[davidstcldfl]

:mrgreen:

[Oldandfound1]

Hi Stucco,
65 year old newcomer to AP here near Seattle. Enjoyed reading this thread. You have some warm veggies and some cool friends. I am going to look up the Montana AP'er and read up on his experiences. Lived in Hamilton a decade and Big Timber. (Where?) It's a Montana Town.
Anyway, todays test was trying with my wife to swing up 4 connected 10 foot 11/2 inch PVC greenhouse hoop rafters. Twice broke the gluing in the middle joint. Nobody hurt. Leaving a glue set overnight tonight and try again tomorrow. May just put a screw or two into the joints.
My underground sump js under construction is also about 600 gallons. Installed hardwalls to keep moles and shrews from eating through to the water. Appreciate the anti-evaporation design. Sorry about the PH issues with that free water supply.
Great family photos, vegetable photos, bug photos, appreciate your participation.
Dennis
Oldandfound1

[stucco]

It’s good to meet you oldandfound1! Thanks for the kind comments on my thread. Please keep us posted on the hoop house and aquaponic adventure.

[stucco]

Here are a couple o photos of the farmers expo display. Sorry the quality is not all that, but my flash broke. :mrgreen:

[JCO]

You and your wife look very young to be putting on such a great show... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

[jackalope]

You and your wife look very young to be putting on such a great show... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

Yeah, and who's the old guy in the baseball cap trying to hog the photo :?: :?:

[jackalope]

Hi Stucco,
65 year old newcomer to AP here near Seattle. Enjoyed reading this thread. You have some warm veggies and some cool friends. I am going to look up the Montana AP'er and read up on his experiences. Lived in Hamilton a decade and Big Timber. (Where?) It's a Montana Town.
Anyway, todays test was trying with my wife to swing up 4 connected 10 foot 11/2 inch PVC greenhouse hoop rafters. Twice broke the gluing in the middle joint. Nobody hurt. Leaving a glue set overnight tonight and try again tomorrow. May just put a screw or two into the joints.
My underground sump js under construction is also about 600 gallons. Installed hardwalls to keep moles and shrews from eating through to the water. Appreciate the anti-evaporation design. Sorry about the PH issues with that free water supply.
Great family photos, vegetable photos, bug photos, appreciate your participation.
Dennis
Oldandfound1

Hi Oldandfound1;

Welcome :!: :!: Good to see you here. I'm the Montana guy (unless a few more joined while I was away ;) ) I know exactly where Big Timber is, I blew up a car there!

Stucco, I'm green with envy over all your veggies .... wish I could have done that this Summer, but I spent all my time in Tennessee with my two Grandchildren. We've already had the first frost here, so I probably won't get my AP setup going this year ..... maybe if I move to Tennessee, I will actually have a growing season ..... Ya Think :?: :?: :lol: :lol:

[stucco]

Wow! Frost already… our heat index even with the sea breeze has been in the triple digests.
It’s good to see you back jacklope. 8-)

[stucco]

I moved the four month old papaya out of the enclosure cuz it was almost touching the roof. I moved it out to the new backwater setup expecting some transplant shock, but it didn’t even notice.

[stucco]

This is one day and then three days later.

[jackalope]

You have great pics ..... you just like to make guys like me jealous ;)

Hmmmmm, those FT/GB systems look familiar ..... you didn't get them from Backwater Provisions did you? :lol: :lol: They look real good stucco, I like the design!

We can't even find Hydroton up here, the closest place it 250 miles away, I have no choice, I have to use pea gravel - what is the cost of a 50 lb bag down in your neck of the woods? Everything I do has to be done by Internet, and shipping becomes a huge factor!

[stucco]

Yes they did come from backwater provisions ;) . Thanks!!! That design took some doing and I/we tried real hard to not make it look like the others, but you can only make a fiberglass aquaponics system look so many ways. With the tank on top type we don’t recommend using river rocks because of the weight.
I’m not sure of the weight, but a 50 litter bag of hydroton is 34$ and a cheap Chinese version is 24$ for a slightly smaller bag. We recommend hygromite with our systems because it is a USA product, but they are usually on back order.

[davidstcldfl]

Lookin' good.... :mrgreen:

[Hotrodmike]

Looks good bro .
I think I asked this before but what is "hygromite" as you are the only one who has talked about this . Bigger beds tend to be cost prohibitive using hydrotron . I have been looking at expanded shale (also USA product ) to keep cost and weight down .
Have A Kind Day
Mike

[stucco]

Higromite is more expensive than hydroton, so not necessarily cost effective either. It is somewhat heavier than hydroton, but not near the weight of local rock. It is harder to breakdown which means more long term. It is basically DE rock (diatomaceous earth) and is inert, but offers micronutrients especially silica- which is extremely helpful for plant growth and health. Even if you add only some to your system, it will be beneficial. We have had issues this year with supply of this product, so other sources for media would be a positive thing.
In the past we had researched expanded shale, but never have found an established source from which to get info or product. Have you found a distributor or a manufacturer? Just curious…if you know…what is the weight of the shale per cft ?

[dufflight]

Do you know how big paw paw's grow in an AP system. When the top of Murrays broke under the weight it had 47kgs(103.4lbs) of green fruit. :shock: :lol:

[stucco]

At this point I’m still hoping its a girl. The ones in the dirt aren’t a foot tall yet.

[stucco]

The dirty stinking coons ate my fish food witch made me a little mad. Then I saw that it took a dump in my grow bed and washed his butt off in my water inlet :evil: . Now I’m thinking raccoon for dinner. Should I be concerned about eating a neighborhood coon?

[JCO]

I don't know about eating a neighborhood coon, but their skin makes a mighty fine head piece as can or could be attested by Daniel Boon and Davy Crockett or you could just fly his tail from you antenna and look COOOooool as we use to back in the 50s. 8-)

Either use of his deceased carcass would be a fitting end to the critter for taking a dump on your grow bed. :evil:

How rude or maybe he was just stating an opinion. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

[Hotrodmike]

Higromite is more expensive than hydroton, so not necessarily cost effective either. It is somewhat heavier than hydroton, but not near the weight of local rock. It is harder to breakdown which means more long term. It is basically DE rock (diatomaceous earth) and is inert, but offers micronutrients especially silica- which is extremely helpful for plant growth and health. Even if you add only some to your system, it will be beneficial. We have had issues this year with supply of this product, so other sources for media would be a positive thing.
In the past we had researched expanded shale, but never have found an established source from which to get info or product. Have you found a distributor or a manufacturer? Just curious…if you know…what is the weight of the shale per cft ?
Stucco
I am not sure on the exact weight but it is a lot lighter than rock and is used as a filler in concrete to make it light weight . I did find a manufacture in Texas but still have not had a talk on if I can get it cost effective . Almost every cement supplier should have it as thats the industy it was made for till the garden guys found it to be a great soil amendment . The company I found is TXI but am finding most concrete companies only have the finer grade (about 9mm) (pea gravel ) I have seen some sites that show 3/4 " which would be great as I do think the smaller stuff is a bit too fine . If I get any firm info I will repost something .
Have A Kind Day
Mike

[Hotrodmike]

Well sad to say coons are nasty lil buggars .Sorry to hear of your encounter. Mine are all gone ,seems the russians took them out :shock: Yup Gen II IR -Made in Russia :lol: Now to finish off the skunk and dillos ;) Now it's on with the Yote's . Now non of the last three would crap in your grow bed so nail that guy now as he will be back ,they always do .
Have A Kind Day
Mike

[Big Al]

hi stucco, id take out that coon asap. i had to take one out 3 weeks ago. they will eat anything. they probably taste like chicken. :lol: good luck Big Al

[stucco]

I picked up a coon trap, but haven’t caught the damn thing yet. I had hoped to be posting photos of a captured coon by now. I saw the thing go right by the trap. I don’t think I will be eating the thing cuz he’s pretty scrawny.
On another note has anyone seen lil red worms like these in an ap system? Earth worms maybe???

[Brier]

Nice! You have bloodworms! Many aquarists would love to have them. They are a midge larvae. The adults look nearly identical to mosquitoes, but do not have blood sucking mouth parts. They will do no harm, and will add some extra fish food.

[stucco]

cool! thanks!

[JCO]

You can feed blood worms to Tilapia fry that are big enough to eat them....very good food for them to. :mrgreen:

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[Big Al]

hi stucco, very nice veggie production great looking fish. thanks for sharing Big Al

[samtheman]

Awesome!!!! 8-)

[stucco]

Friday… I moved one of the three blue tanks off of the system to gain some space. I turned the slo drain up, while I undid the bulk head fitting and reattached it. Next, I had to glue the pipe onto the outside of overflow drain. While the glue was drying and I was on the other side of the yard a tilapia fish bumped the pipe that I had turned up and of course the other end of the pipe wasn’t in the sump yet… I pumped my 300 gallon sump dry. Over the next three hours I added city water treated with vitamin c and got things flowing again. Today I tested the water and nitrate is a brilliant oxblood red on the chart 50 ish. Ammonia is close to 0 and nitrite is the same. Ph is below 6 even though the city water is almost 8 and I have a good hardness reading. I guess the question is… how did I gain nitrates after such a big water change and the city water nitrate tests close to 0???

:?

[stucco]

Ladybug lovin. :mrgreen:

[stucco]

I guess I need a new test kit. I get a different reading every time. :?

[JCO]

Stucco, please not "BUG PORN" :lol: This is a family site :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

[jackalope]

Stucco, please not "BUG PORN" :lol: This is a family site :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
:lol: :lol: :lol:

[stucco]

THANKS, to all who came out to our workshop! You made it a wonderful day.

[davidstcldfl]

Thank You.....and for a great lunch too.
The worms have 'dug in' and the scarddy cats are hidding in a corner..... :)

[urbanfarmer]

Thank You.....and for a great lunch too.
The worms have 'dug in' and the scarddy cats are hidding in a corner..... :)

Wow... now I am really upset I missed the event... I would have met David too :cry: next time for sure!

[samtheman]

I am sorry I missed the workshop. I though you were going to announce which date it was on this site, I knew it was going to be in October but not sure when....maybe next time :(

[stucco]

Sorry I just looked at the link and you are right. :oops: There is no date unless you go to our events page on the website. I guess we will try and do another one in a coupla weeks.

[stucco]

GOTCHA!

[davidstcldfl]

That 'cat' is wearing a mask...... :lol:

[dufflight]

I don't think your new pet likes the cage. Do you let him out anytime. :mrgreen:

[stucco]

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[stucco]

:mrgreen:
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120049.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120169.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120089.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120175.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120273.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120201.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120246.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120208.jpg http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/cc473/stucco/P1120322.jpg

[davidstcldfl]

Hey.....That looks like the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in Cocoanut Groves, FL ... :D

[Big Al]

hi stucco, very nice display everything look's great. you do have something
to be proud of there. best wishes Big Al

[urbanfarmer]

wow those grow beds are awesome!

[stucco]

I had three fish in the breeder tank release babies today at the same time. I think I may have gotten them out a bit early, but the other fish were eating them so I put them in the indoor fish tank. Hopefully they make it. 8-)

[davidstcldfl]

Just use Cat's food processor to grind the fish feed to a powder....they'll be just 'fine'.....you on the other hand... ???...... :lol:

[stucco]

She made me buy my own. I found a good one at a yard sale. 8-)

[stucco]

The tilapia fry are gathering into balls of a hundred fish or so and swimming into the corners of the tank. Is this normal? :?

[badflash]

This is a threat response. I've seen it with new fry, but not ones over a week. They are expecting mama to come scoop them up. What is your water temperature? What size fish are in with them?

[stucco]

I separated these fry from the other fish and put them in a fish tank indoors because they were getting eaten. The first fry I saw were only one or two days old. While I was catching these fish I stressed some of the larger fish that had fry and they spit more out as they were trying to jump out of the tank so I scooped them up to. So I guess this answers my question. I took them out to early. When the fish were spit out I noticed that it made a weird smell in the water. Normal? The fry all seem to be doing well I only lost maybe 2% in the move. It’s hard to guess how many fish are there it could be 1000 it could be 2000 I don’t know, but I’m pretty excited.

[badflash]

It probably wasn't the fry being spit that did it. The fish crap & pee themselves all at once when they freak out. I'm betting that was it.

[Oldandfound1]

Seems like today you have so many small fish fry, that one day you will have a big fish fry. 8-)
Dennis
Oldandfound1

[dufflight]

Wish we could keep tilapia here. Or at least that I can go fishing in an area that has some in the river. A breeding set would be nice. :lol:

[Oldandfound1]

The fish crap & pee themselves all at once when they freak out.
Seems like a good time to check for an ammonia spike.
Dennis
Oldandfound1

[badflash]

Wish we could keep tilapia here. Or at least that I can go fishing in an area that has some in the river. A breeding set would be nice. :lol:

Sorry Duff, you'll just have to come over here ;-)

[stucco]

Out of the 2000 or so fish that I had 1950 or so didn’t make it. :x

[stucco]

I moved all the fish into the sump and removed the fish tanks to make room for a grow bed that I had lying around doing nothing.

[davidstcldfl]

Out of the 2000 or so fish that I had 1950 or so didn’t make it. :x
What happened ...?

[keith_r]

sorry to hear about the loss!
those are some great looking gb's, where did they come from?

[stucco]

I had the fry in an aquarium (30 gal.) that only had an under gravel filter so I was changing out 5 gallons of water every 2 days. After 3 weeks or so the water turned white and cloudy so I did more water changes until I could set up a 200 gallon tank that I had bought. When I took the tank apart I found that the under gravel filter was plugged up solid. I guess that the boys were feeding when I wasn’t looking. I was confident in my water changes so I never did test the water, but my guess is that the rotting food hidden under the gravel was the culprit.
@ kieth_r I know the guy that makes those grow beds and he has an advertisement on the porthole page with a link to the website. Backwaterprovisions.
:)

[rfeiller]

undergravel filters are a nightmare, in my fish business i never recommended them. you have no idea at what point they become anerobic.

for fry always use sponge filters beter nitrification and easy to maintain. squeeze in bucket of tank water once a week.

professional hatcheries would have changed out the water 90% at least once at day. usually twice.

sorry for your loss. i know it hurts. like badflash says until you loose a million fish.

[badflash]

In an aquaponics setup I would agree, but in an aquarium setup I swear by them. They do need mainteneace, and I always use powerheads with them on the lift tubes. This makes it easy to see if they are getting plugged.

They require routine vacuuming of the gravel and a breakdown every 6 months. in an aquarium setup becoming anerobic is actually good. When that happens it starts the de-intrifaction process removing nitrates.


undergravel filters are a nightmare, in my fish business i never recommended them. you have no idea at what point they become anerobic.

for fry always use sponge filters beter nitrification and easy to maintain. squeeze in bucket of tank water once a week.

professional hatcheries would have changed out the water 90% at least once at day. usually twice.

sorry for your loss. i know it hurts. like badflash says until you loose a million fish.

[stucco]

chard, big chard and strawberries.

[stucco]

Strawberries!!! :D

[stucco]

Here are some pics of the systems from yesterday.

[davidstcldfl]

Nice.... :D

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[Big Al]

hi stucco, thing's sure are looking good the weather must of gotten better in florida than it was,
glad to see that. best wishes Big Al

[stucco]

I’m going to be plumbing three grow beds and washing hydroton tomorrow if anyone wants to help. :)

[jackalope]

I'll pass ;)

[davidstcldfl]

I wish I known sooner...... My buddy has been wanting to see your system.
He already made plans to take his girls to Fort Christmas for the day.

[stucco]

Tell him any evening and weekend he is very much welcome and that I was just kidding about the washing the rock part. :)

[JCO]

Maybe we could get some Haitians to wash your rock. They seem to be good at spamming forums :mrgreen:

[stucco]

One of my brothers pet store crayfish has the berries. He brought her over for me to put in one of my aquariums. Hopefully I can keep em alive and add them to an aquaponic system this spring.

[stucco]

This cauliflower grew right next to this cauliflower.

[tecnoblix]

I just wanted to say thanks to stucco and his wife for all the fantastic information and pointing me in the right direction for my garden. The two of you are doing a wonderful job! :mrgreen:

[JCO]

Stucco, I know it's unique but I truly don't think there is a market for pygmy cauliflower (but I could be wrong :shock: ). Takes too many to make a meal! :mrgreen:

[stucco]

It’s not really all that small… I just have big fingers. :)

[JCO]

:shock: :o :lol: :mrgreen:

[stucco]

a photo update :mrgreen:

[jackalope]

Is that a turnip or parsnip I see? We used to grow and eat them when I was young, but I don't see them much anymore ,,,, they seem to have gone out of vogue.

[stucco]

I’m sorry… I wrote rhubarb, but it is a rutabaga. Those are very much out of vogue :)

[badflash]

Don't know why. I love them and their little brother turnips.

I’m sorry… I wrote rhubarb, but it is a rutabaga. Those are very much out of vogue :)

[rfeiller]

driving by the large farms in this area; seems like the variety of crops is limited to quick turnaround leafy types. even brocolli flowers quickly here.

i wonder if it isn't the ease of harvesting and how many crops a year that can be produced on the same piece of property. the market is certainly controlled by big business.

just wondering; is it legal to pick cauliflower when it is that small? :lol:

[stucco]

If you think that cauliflower is small… check out this broccoli!

[stucco]

My sump plumbing mess, a woodpecker visitor and broccoli seeds. We are sick of eating cauliflower so we have planted carrots, mustard greens, beets, pac choi, bac choi, tomatoes ,squash(I don’t know why I has never worked out in the past),bell peppers… lots of bell peppers, cucumbers and lots o beans.

[davidstcldfl]

So the pipe isn't just 'a plie of pipe'....it'd all hooked to 'something', live and running...?
I think one of the lines, is comming from your next door neighbors' washing machine.... :lol:

[stucco]

Eight beds and growing. :mrgreen:

[dufflight]

When I change my system next, I'm putting in a main 100mm pipe back to the sump. All gb's will drain into it. Then I can have gb's all over the place.

[stucco]

[video:ejb6ykqo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9yBgGylcGg&feature=player_embedded[/video:ejb6ykqo]

[stucco]

When I pull a plant out I usually check the roots for worms and worm eggs. Today I found an unidentified creatures egg mixed in with the usual worm egg. Has anyone seen these before?

[dufflight]

pupae. You'll have to wait for them to hatch.

[samtheman]

Every time I look at your system, either on pictures or the couple of times I visited you I get amazed at your setup....Awesome!!! :D




[video:38u75ijq]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9yBgGylcGg&feature=player_embedded[/video:38u75ijq]

[stucco]

Thanks Sam! I’ve been wondering where you’ve been?

Thanks duflight! I’m guessing based off of color that they are june bugs.

[samtheman]

[quote="stucco"]Thanks Sam! I’ve been wondering where you’ve been?

I was on the Caribbean for a while but I am back now, now I'm working on setting up a greenhouse and a CHOP system. 8-)

[frigginchi]

Seriously? 37 friggin pages?



Cool stuff tho. :D

[stucco]

:P And your post just made it 38 8-)

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[swamp creek farms]

Hey man, how are those stucco beds holding out for ya? I see you have some plastic beds set up, whats the cost difference on setting up stucco vs reg plastic.

[stucco]

The stucco beds are doing great. They will be around as long as the pressure treated wood stand holds out. The “plastic beds” are actually fiberglass and a bit more expensive but allot les bs. They are marine grade fiberglass and with cement block stands should last a lifetime.

[swamp creek farms]

you might want to put blocks underneath the table, so when it does collapse, you dont have that big of mess to deal with, just a little bit of leveling.. cause its no fun cleaning up a mess and redoing your work.

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[samtheman]

Your system is incredible!
I have a newbie question: The last time I visited you I saw worms in your growbeds, Did you introduced them or they show up in your growbeds as the system matures?

[stucco]

I added the worms to the beds and they love it in there. It only takes a few to get them going in the system they multiply fast as long as there is enough food for them.
How did you make out on the tilapia? I wasn’t trying to push you away. The other guy has a better selection is all. If that didn’t work out for you let me know.

[urbanfarmer]

I can vouch for this. The worms LOVE the grow beds and they reproduce so fast. I actually only put a dozen or two in my system late last year, and from what I can tell every inch of space is covered by worms now. There are now thousands from a couple dozen.

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[samtheman]

I added the worms to the beds and they love it in there. It only takes a few to get them going in the system they multiply fast as long as there is enough food for them.
How did you make out on the tilapia? I wasn’t trying to push you away. The other guy has a better selection is all. If that didn’t work out for you let me know.


That's good to know. I wanted to do the same for my setup. Where do you get the worms?
In regards of the tilapia, my friend Glen that bough some fish from you gave me a call and made me an offer I couldn't refuse :) I had to re-program his laptop and in return he gave me around 35 fingerlings around 2". He got 2 female tilapias breeding constantly so everything workout good. 8-)

[JCO]

Hey urbanfarmer, looks like samtheman has got a couple dates for you :shock: :o :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:

[samtheman]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I took that picture years ago back in the Islands....

[urbanfarmer]

Hey urbanfarmer, looks like samtheman has got a couple dates for you :shock: :o :lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
Sorry, I'm only into blondes! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[Big Al]

hi stucco, as usual everything look's great. best wishes Big Al

[stucco]

swiss chard ,strawberries and the tomatos are slowing down in the heat i needs some shade :mrgreen: peppes and greens are still good

[davidstcldfl]

Which type of tomatoes did you raise ? If you tried different kinds....which did better as it got warm/hot ?

[samtheman]

Stucco,
I have the same question as David, I visited a couple of nurseries around my area in Orlando and they don't even carry the buttercrunch lettuce, which I though it was kind of odd. I visited the Home depot and they don't carry them either, not even the seeds. My Jetstar tomatoes are doing great so far, not sure if it will change as the weather gets hotter.

[davidstcldfl]

Sam, Johnny's seeds has buttercrunch ( look under bibb lettuce).

[stucco]

The buttercrunch seed that I picked up came from ace hardware or lows, but baker creek and jonny’s both have them. The tomatoes that did the best for me were silver fur and Rutgers. Baker creek has a copula types that were developed in Florida that I want to try (Homestead and floradade)

[samtheman]

Thanks David, I will look into that. :D
Stucco, thanks for the info on the tomatoes :D

[kneedeepinwater]

Stucco your system is awesome! Very motivational. Thanks for all the informative post.

[stucco]

Thanks kneedeepinwater! Id invites you over for a visit but, you’re a bit far. There is a dude in Wilmington that does aquaponic workshops, tours and sales. :mrgreen:

[samtheman]

Cool, I've just ordered the buttercrunch lettuce, the Rutgers; Homestead; and Floradade tomatoes :mrgreen:

[kneedeepinwater]

Thanks kneedeepinwater! Id invites you over for a visit but, you’re a bit far. There is a dude in Wilmington that does aquaponic workshops, tours and sales. :mrgreen:

Thanks man, if I lived closed enough...you would be like who is this guy at my front door :lol: I will be down in florida for a wedding in oct. I will find out the location, if it's close enough I would love to drop by and check your setup out.

I found out about the guy in wilmington while browsing the web. He also has a build thread on byap, I didn't join but I read it :oops: I might try to take a trip down there to check his setup out also. It's about a 3hr drive from where I live so not to bad.

[stucco]

:lol: I will be down in florida for a wedding in oct.


see you in Oct. 8-)

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[davidstcldfl]

It's an aquaponics jungle !..... :D :lol: :mrgreen:

[stucco]

I love to take photos of the system after the rain. :mrgreen:
I have all of the new tanks and troughs finished and I even have the pumps all I need to do now is rub some nickels together and plumb the thing up. I have to pretty much redo the entire system so I don’t have to worry about doing it in a rush.
:ugeek:

[davidstcldfl]

Nice... :D
Did you ever share which pump(s) you ended up buying ?

[rfeiller]

now you have the great grow beds i like to see. dense & productive, that is the way it should be with the proper level of nutrients, it is almost impossible to overcrowd them when fed properly. :D

[stucco]

Those beds went on line in February so it took about six months to get there. I pump all of the solids straight in the beds with worms.
Dave for the addition I’m using the pumps that I picked up from the lows closeout sale last year. I couldn’t beat the price but hopefully the 308 watts it takes to run one doesn’t end up costing more $ in the long…
The replacements I went with danner magdrive.... the failure on those pumps were due to rocks and shells being sucked up into the impeller so my fault... I got replacement parts and the danner folks were helpful. The quiet one 3000 just keeps shutting off but, the quiet one 4000 works awesome.

[davidstcldfl]

I'm using the same lowes pump right now too. I think I figured around 25 $ in electric for the month. :roll:
Glad to hear you got the Danner running again.
I just picked up two of the quite one 4000's, on sale for the farm.

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[rfeiller]

very attractive set up. you have created some beauiful projects shown in your pictures.

looks like that ft could support 3 of those gbs.

[samtheman]

Those pepppers look awesome!!! :D
What else are you growing in this crazy Florida heat?

[cedarswamp]

Nice looking system stucco.

[davidstcldfl]

My 2 cents....I really like the look of the fish tank. Not only is the design 'classy' looking.....it must also add some strength, to the walls of the tank..... :mrgreen:
Do you have any room in your backyard left ?.... :lol:

[stucco]

Thanks everyone!
Actually, rfeiller, you are correct- we can put 3 growbeds on this tank- and it looks like this. We are also considering a larger growbed that can be used as either a floating raft or constantly flooded bed as an addition to the system.
As far as the veggies we are growing… peppers (both hot and sweet) and eggplant top the list, but swiss chard rocks year round and is a staple at our table along with lacinato kale and so far we have some multiple kinds of winter squash that have not been attacked by bugs, malabar spinach, spearmint, slicing onions, green onions and basil, basil, basil. The strawberries are still in the main system, though they are not in season and hopefully will be moved to towers this fall. Okra is great in the heat- and it works in AP, but we have it in our soil gardens this year.

[stucco]

[youtube:84dmmddi]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnpDsdJLaZ8[/youtube:84dmmddi]

[stucco]

[youtube:1jnsykzh]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmlfhU9a2Yk[/youtube:1jnsykzh]

[stucco]

[youtube:2pcfv6zl]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx3At_o4xWk[/youtube:2pcfv6zl]

[davidstcldfl]

Make my order a 'biggie' size of fries.... :lol:

If you got your camera that close when feeding my fish, it better be water proof... :P

[stucco]

[youtube:2leolxza]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQxBbNQ51Kc[/youtube:2leolxza]

[davidstcldfl]

Looking good... :D

[stucco]

Today I started plumbing up the big sump/fish tank. I’m adding the inflow pipes from the new sump while the old is still running. Tomorrow I will tackle the discharge pipes and then make the switch.

[stucco]

[youtube:jwj4xgiy]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQlYb93aCpI[/youtube:jwj4xgiy]:ugeek:

[rfeiller]

always impressive, how long do you wait for curing of the concrete before coating or adding water?

[stucco]

[youtube:3h3q4phr]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4KzE9p1qAA[/youtube:3h3q4phr]

[stucco]

[youtube:peiduvxr]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICwsoXz9xgQ[/youtube:peiduvxr]

[stucco]

We have eggplant coming out of our ears, as do our neighbors.

[samtheman]

I love eggplants!!!
which variety are you growing?

[stucco]

I just ate raw okra right off of the plant and it was the best thing I’ve eaten out of the garden in a while. :mrgreen:

[stucco]

what things are lookin like right now

[davidstcldfl]

Looking like a food jungle.... :D

[stucco]

[youtube:4ci8kkbu]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOc6EPDjCVc[/youtube:4ci8kkbu]

[stucco]

We will be doing an expected 80person tour at our facility (back yard) next sat the 19th and the more the merrier so if you’re in the neighborhood stop by and mingle. :mrgreen:

[stucco]

Some photos from today. I hope the savoy cabbage taste as good as they look. We’ve had our fill of eggplant and sweet peppers.

[samtheman]

Wow Stucco, those pictures are incredible awesome.....You are the man!!!!! 8-)

[stucco]

Thanks sam! How are things growin at your place?

[samtheman]

Right now I am harvesting the last batch of tomatoes. I stil have eggplants with fruits, basil,strawberries, okra, cucumbers. I struggled alot with the peppers this year due to whiteflies and insects. Hopefuly next year the peppers will do better... The tilapia fingerlings I got from you last year grew up to dinner size and we cooked around 12 of them on a family reunion. 8-)

[stucco]

[youtube:1m6opil4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KansEQwzakE[/youtube:1m6opil4]

[foodchain]

Whatever came of the pollination issues? We keep a honeybee hive on our property to help with this....but I have kept bees since I was a kid.
With the ferrocement trough you did, the 16 x 16...how did that finally work out?
I think a design/construction like that may be more effecient than what I am doing now. I am unsure though on how to keep the sides of wire mesh from sagging between the rebar pieces. I probably just need to add more wire to stiffen up. Afraid that once I skin it with the mix that the waves will be carried over. Ideas?

[stucco]

Use rebar for stakes and hog tie or tie wire cattle panel to it for the base structure. Then tie wire lath to both sides. This will make a hollow armature that has to be filled and that is where the strength comes from.
We were making a printed manual but decided that it was cheaper to just do it in YouTube clips so after we get past this tour we are doing and it cools off a bit I will get on it

[foodchain]

On your troughs, and in the first pics in this thread your sidewalls go straight down. Would a tapered side, at say 30-40 degrees or so have been better? This would give maximum surface area, but shrinking down the amount of media needed as well as reducing materials and needed footprint? Just thinking out loud. IF the pond is in the ground, and the troughs are elevated, a simple pump would lift the water, but it doesn't do anything for cleaning the solids that settle off the bottom of the pond. Even a swirl filter won't clean the bottom, though it would remove some chunks suspended in the water column. Does no good to put bottom drain in that tank/pond as the opening would be below ground level...water doesn't go up hill. Does the solids in the bottom matter, if there's enough DO? What am I missing here?

[stucco]

We’ve been toying with the idea of building a tower system for the last year or so. I made an arbor to hang the towers. We can’t afford the cool zipgrow towers at the moment so I went with the web for deb pvc style for now. Still a work in progress….

[foodchain]

Wire feed welding with the boy is fun. However, if you ever switch to stick I feel I should warn you....the UV off of that will cook your skin like a fire does a marshmellow. I built a BBQ from unused oilfield pipe once after coming in from an offshore rig....I wasn't thinking, and just wore my helmet, wife beater T, and cut off's. I did it all in stick... I finished the grill....next day my skin peeled off like an orange. Just an error on caution. With wire feed though you aren't producing quite the same stuff. Fun with the kids....I use my oldest as a clamp on a lot of my projects, my wife is horrified...I just tell her..."don't sweat it, it grows back." She is not amused.

[foodchain]

What is the trellis made from? I am making a similar one from wood. But your's doesn' look like it....to far a span between posts to be wood. Possibly square channel?

[foodchain]

Stupid question: Apoxy is expensive. Water proofing agents in general are expensive, at least the ones I have been looking at. So, would it be more cost effective, though not as nice looking, to built the GB in wood framing, and line with the pond liners than to ferro it? I really like the look of the work you have done here, but when I price it....it just doesn't add up to be something affordable. I have looked at building a cinder block GB and lining it, wood ones, plywood ones, I have used gutters but only good for really shallow roots. Generaly the plastic tubs are too small, livestock troughs are either expensive or galvanized. Maybe I am just being a wuss here and not wanting to crack the budget. Ideas/Advice?

[foodchain]

Your original entries of this thread are of a wood framed GB, skinned in concrete with a strength member. Concrete is cheap enough in thin walls like this. Lumber isn't, but may be possible to reclaim some or just bite the bullet on that part. But we are back at the original problem of water proofing/sealing it. Tiling would help, but you still have to seal at the very least the grout. So that's a no go. Fiber glass resin....but steep price for the amount you need. This is a hard one.

[stucco]

Its square tubing on the top and angle on the bottom… I’m going to hide the plumbing in the angle. I’ve gotten sun burn from the wire feed too.
I use Sherwin Williams’s macro epoxy for potable water. It’s around $100 for a 2 gallon unit.

[stucco]

I have an 8” pipe as a return line for the growbeds and raft tank on the large system. The entire 8 bad system flows through this pipe via bell siphon. The pipe is most of the time submerged in the sump but, I have let the water level go down for days or weeks at a time. The interesting part is… today I noticed that there were some leaves and food sticking through the holes in the strainer so I removed it and around 40 2 inch tilapia fry came pouring out into the sump. These poor little fish spent their entire life swimming against extreme current, flopping between siphon cycles and I guess that they were eating food that made it past the fish in the raft bed. now they have to deal with 95 2 pound channel cats.

[stucco]

[youtube:og07cdiv]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKiO-GKEy9g[/youtube:og07cdiv]


Release the kraken!

[stucco]

I’m almost finished with the tower system.
Today I installed the tank and cover, now I just need to save for 15 bags of hydroton

[urbanfarmer]

[youtube:330zu328]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKiO-GKEy9g[/youtube:330zu328]
Release the kraken!
I thought they pulled you in at the end and you were going to die!!! :lol:

[stucco]

Sorry it’s so dark. They feed way more aggressively at dusk 8-)

[stucco]

[youtube:11m40y9f]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RZlCzD-xdE[/youtube:11m40y9f]

[alex281]

Stupid question: Apoxy is expensive. Water proofing agents in general are expensive, at least the ones I have been looking at. So, would it be more cost effective, though not as nice looking, to built the GB in wood framing, and line with the pond liners than to ferro it? I really like the look of the work you have done here, but when I price it....it just doesn't add up to be something affordable. I have looked at building a cinder block GB and lining it, wood ones, plywood ones, I have used gutters but only good for really shallow roots. Generaly the plastic tubs are too small, livestock troughs are either expensive or galvanized. Maybe I am just being a wuss here and not wanting to crack the budget. Ideas/Advice?


I made my GB out of wood and pondliner and its holding 400 pounds of gravel and looking great! the Liner and wood hardly cost me anything!

[alex281]

Those towers look Stunning! I cant wait to see how well they produce!

[stucco]

[youtube:h9otsxeo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPurAuqn8cA[/youtube:h9otsxeo]

[stucco]

:mrgreen:

[alex281]

Sweet harvest! how did it taste?

[stucco]

Well this is how it went down…tilapia cevechi, pan seared filet of tilapia, raw kale salad, delicata squash, green beans and roasted spudz. It was so good I had to take a photo and boast of it on here.

[davidstcldfl]

We need a smilely face licking it's lips..... :lol:

[stucco]

Just a note to let everyone know, we are having another Brevard County Aquaponics Tour on February 4th. There are two sites on the tour so far- one in Melbourne at David Lindemann's from 10-12pm and then ours from 12-2pm- Let us know if you are interested.
:ugeek:

[davidstcldfl]

I haven't seen Dave's yet...and I wanted to see your new updates in person, But I'm helping with a farm tour at Sahibs on the same day/time.... :roll:

Hope we all have great weather next weekend...but not so warm that I'm starting to sweat, like I was earlier this week.... :lol:

[stucco]

we and dave @ sweet leaf AP will be doing another tour of the garden.... that no one will show up to :P on NOv4. Pm for times and RSVP (for beer count) :mrgreen:

[stucco]

:ugeek: