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mommyhen42
03-02-2009, 03:20 PM
Ok, here I go
I am in Riverside California
I currently have a 6x8 greenhouse set up as an aquaponics system.... everything is run from one 60 gal fishtank which currently has some koi and goldies in it. I had Pumpkinseed but since I did not have a heater in the tank (and I am guessing here) that they didnt like the temperature fluctuations in the greenhouse last fall and I lost them. I am playing with various systems in the greenhouse. I have a riverbed system that I designed based on several of the systems I have seen online. I am growing strawberries and lettuces in the unit so to maximize space utilization I made it 3 levels and it holds 100 plants. I have 4 flood and drain tubs that are made from 7 gallon cement mixing tubs, and then decided to play with my own twist on a dutch bucket design and they are from 5 tubs I bought at the 99 cents store. Then I have 3 10 gal totes with a kitty litter pan on top of each that I use for seed starters, they have a Procambius Sp. self cloning crayfish in each of those with the hopes that they really do produce as prolificly as reported, should make good fish food for the 4 bass I have in a barrel system that is a modification on the typical barrelponics design, I cut out the flood tub and just run my pump from the fishtank to the grow beds. I have a 300 gal tub pond for fish in the aviary and growbeds under flourescent lighting for more lettuce and seed starting, the fish tub is down to 60-100 gal right now so that I can keep it warm enough for the Tilapia to survive, I have 2 18 gal rubermaid totes with heaters and they have breeding groups of Tilapia in them that just gave me some fry... yippee! They are T. Mossambique, I have some hybrid tilapia on order.
My focus is on the hydroponics part of the Aquaponics in that for me the veggies are more important right now than the fish as I have goldies and koi in some systems right now just to have fish.... I dont as of yet have enough heaters to do much else till I can find a supplier of Catfish fingerlings for a price I can afford.

I mentioned an idea I am working on in another part of the forum, that idea is this.

I have a small aquaponics group on meetup.com at http://www.meetup.com/sustainable-aquaponics/ We are a new group and have I think so far 18 members, some out of the state and one in another country... anyway
Part 1. obtain grant funding is create a 501c3 non profit group
Part 2 provide a portion of what they produce to local food banks, homeless shelters and such and sell some excess in the local farmers market.
Part 3. use funding from the grant and the sale of produce to build other aquaponics systems in the local community in low income family homes.
The idea would be that we set up and maintain the system as far as planting, monitoring fish health and harvesting...
The family will receive a portion of what is produced for their participation in the program, they would be responsible for feeding the fish and paying for the electricity usage of the low wattage pumps.
A portion of what is produced would then go to the local foodbanks
The rest would then go for sale at the local farmers market to provide funding for the next system to be placed into another low income family's home.

Before I can make the proposal, I believe I have to contact the local food banks and homeless shelters to verify that they can receive such donations. Contact the health department to determine what permits we will need and what would be expected in the inspections. Obtain the necessary business license and sellers permits. I still need to find a supplier of catfish fingerlings. (I believe catfish would be easier to raise in the systems due to the poor cold tolerance of Tilapia) I am raising Tilapia myself and will be providing Tilapia fry or fingerlings for these systems. Then comes the fun part.... filing for the non profit status and doing the economic projection reports to obtain the 501c3. Then writing for the grants.

Does anyone know of any such programs that are already running in the US???
Does anyone have any other suggestions of what I need to do that I may have forgotten?
Is anyone good at grant writing that can give me some pointers or perhaps help?
I have a book on how to create a nonprofit corp but would be open to suggestions there also...

JeffW
03-02-2009, 04:58 PM
cement mixing tubs I see a store had them and was thinking they might be nice grow beds. Sure sounds like you have a neat setup :)

Hats off to your endevour's. Just makes my day to see people interested in helping others when it seems life is so full of greed on wall street...anyway I salute you.

badflash
03-02-2009, 05:02 PM
Check http://growingpower.org/Index.htm

They have some dynamite youtubes too.

[video:2246zsci]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k39D2myzRFQ [/video:2246zsci]

[video:2246zsci]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NutSMk2mpdM[/video:2246zsci]

[video:2246zsci]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kENge18wIqg[/video:2246zsci]

mommyhen42
03-02-2009, 08:40 PM
Here are some links to the videos I uploaded in Dec. I have some more that I did recently but havent put them up yet.
The first one is my little greenhouse after it had been up and running for a couple of weeks. Note, this video was taken I think the day after Christmas.
[video:clrz1dtp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBlBpcfMXvc [/video:clrz1dtp]
This video is of the area where I am working on the outdoor riverbed project. This one will have the 2 riverbeds fed by the pond. One will be along the front of the Aviary, the other one will be along the side of the greenhouse. I have potatoes and trees in the planters.
[video:clrz1dtp]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7t-uA9MwqA [/video:clrz1dtp]

This will give you an idea of some of the projects I am playing with.

Yes foodlove is a great program and wonderful community outreach. Not quite what I have in mind though as they are centralized and I hope to get this going on a one on one basis. I feel we all need to be responsible for the food we eat, in our current economy there is a resurgence of the idea of Victory gardens. I feel strongly that the more responsible way to go is Aquaponics instead of traditional gardening in areas where Water conservation is a must. We are talking about the possible need for future water rationing here in Southern California and farms are being threatened about having their water access reduced dramatically.... It becomes obvious that we need to rethink the way we garden and farm in desert communities and in this case some entire states!

TTYL
Sheryl

mommyhen42
03-02-2009, 08:55 PM
BTW, I almost forgot...
My family swears that MGyver had nothing on me....
I just found out that for those cement tubs...
When you set up the auto-siphon using 1/2 pvc tubing...
Take the top portion off of one of those cone shaped air fresheners once they have died... Use some Silicone glue to fill in the little ring in the top of it as there is a tiny hole there... Then use a craft iron to burn in some holes slightly above where the bottom of it bends. It has straight sides for about a half inch, barely preceptable, then the sides taper into a cone... melt your holes slightly above that place...
(Make sure that you wash this really well, bleach or white vinegar in the wash certianly wont hurt...)
Fit this over the top of your PVC drain tube making sure that the "straw" portion inside the cone fits into the inside of the pvc tube...

It works perfectly as an autosiphon!

I use those clear plastic storage cups from the 99 cents store as the outter covering to keep junk out of the autosiphons. The ones I get are round and have a lid. I burn a hole just large enough for the pvc to fit thru and then burn in several smaller holes for water to enter the chamber and a few holes into the lid. I then fit the cup/container over the stand pipe down to the bottom of the planter and then back fill with gravel or hydrotin. Then I adjust the level of the standpipe to be slightly lower than what I want to be my high water level. I then make sure that the air freshener top sits nicely over the stand pipe and that is sits well inside the container. Then I start the water pump to make sure everything works well. If it works the way I want it to, I drain the tub and let it air dry for a day or two, then I seal around the underside of the tub around the pvc pipe and put some sealant on my finger to run around the standpipe inside the cup. Once that drys I start the pumps and make sure everything is still a go...

If everything works like I want it to, then I go ahead and plant the bed and get the system ready for the fish.
Hope this helps someone
TTYL
Sheryl

JeffW
03-03-2009, 11:38 AM
Great post..I actually commented a few days on youtube regards to your green house setup.
You are a thinker and that is cool, new idea's are always worth exploring.

By the way does your turtle get to walk around free like a cat?
omg he is as big as a VW..:lol:

I am use the looped rubber hose siphon method in my hydroponic. It works great for me so far and what i like is the ease of how I can lower or raise the level in the system simply by lifting the hose UP or LOWERING it which then change the fill and drain level. It is Ebb and Flow but I am using a flexible rubber hose instead of the fixed pvc "over flow stack" pipe design.
Will be making a video for explanation of that soon.

I just took step daughter to doctor for health issues then we went out for lunch after that and guess what we talked about at the table? We talked about "being responsible for what we eat. I quit smoking (after 35 years of it) and it changed my life for the better, now I know that anyone can change the way they eat because giving up a smoking addiction was not totally easy "but" with some good support it was doable and I did it and I won. Now I preach healthy eating and as a reformed smoker that was diagnosed at age 49 with mild copd from years of bad choices I know change is not impossible. Eating the wrong foods is no different than someone that smoked knowing it was bad for them. Good news is we ALL have a chance while we are here to go a better route and that includes what we eat and drink. We all know what is good or bad for us because the education has been out there a long time.

There I did my sermon...next! :lol:

mommyhen42
03-03-2009, 08:49 PM
Oh yeah, Mischeif has run of the entire back yard. He has a heated house since he is an African Desert Tortoise. My father in law lives with us and a couple of months ago talked me (again) into allowing Mischeif in the front... we are on an acre and a half with the back yard being the half acre... Anyway last time I did, he got out and it was 3 months before I got him back.... So I swore I would never let him out front again... Well Dad talked hubby into asking me to go ahead and give it a try again, and against my better judgement I did... He wasn't out front 12 hours and he was GONE!!! Luckily someone about a mile down the road found him and gave him to his neighbor to try to find his owner... Well that neighbor is a Veterinarian and he posts to the same internet lost and found I did... So I got him back home 3 days after he disappeared... Frank is Never, I repeat Never talking Dave or I to let him out front again!!!

My tagline on my emails sent from my emailer has 2 sayings on it... the first one is
Service Dogs are Angels who lift us up to our feet when our wings have forgotten how to fly
The other one is my personal motto....
One Person CAN Make A Difference!

When I finally leave this ole mother earth... I will have made a difference!
I founded a reptile rescue 15 years ago that I recently transfered to the local herpetological society... after 15 years it is still going strong... just I am not... Darned Fibromyalgia disabled me in 2001, I may be down for the count as far as gainful employment anymore... but Never count me out...LOL
My latest project if I can get grant funding will be to put Aquaponics units into low income family backyards... They get a share, the local food banks and homeless shelters will get a share and the rest will be sold at the local farmers market to raise money for the next system to go into a low income family's backyard to perpetuate the program with community outreach and education... Yeah, I am sure there will be some bad apples who will take advantage but I plan to make it so that those people will not ruin it for the good ones who will work with the program to keep it going... With luck, a little creative funding and ??? the program, If I can get it off the ground will be around long after I am gone... I am trying to get my neighbors and community churches excited about the project and hope to approach the local high schools and community educational programs to see if I can also teach what I have learned so far to more people who hopefully will also get excited about Aquaponics...
As a community, we have to do something to help each other, as people who live in a desert region of the country where they are talking about water rationing and restricting water to farmers.... Somethings gotta give! Agriculture as we know it will have to change to deal with our changing ecosystem...

Stay safe
Sheryl

jackalope
03-06-2009, 12:02 AM
I quit smoking (after 35 years of it) and it changed my life for the better, now I know that anyone can change the way they eat because giving up a smoking addiction was not totally easy "but" with some good support it was doable and I did it and I won. Now I preach healthy eating and as a reformed smoker that was diagnosed at age 49 with mild copd from years of bad choices I know change is not impossible. Eating the wrong foods is no different than someone that smoked knowing it was bad for them. Good news is we ALL have a chance while we are here to go a better route and that includes what we eat and drink. We all know what is good or bad for us because the education has been out there a long time.

There I did my sermon...next! :lol:

I quit smoking Camel non-filters when the price went from 25 cents to 30 cents a pack ..... I told myself NO ONE would pay that much for a pack of cigarettes, so I'd better quit before they quit selling them ......... Now people are paying almost $5.00 a pack for them :shock: :shock: ............ I'm glad I quit so long ago, even though I ended up with a virus or bacteria that only 1 out of 10 milllion get from tobacco (according to the Vet's Hospital). My lungs are clean and I haven't been diagnosed with cancer.
Now that I've found aquaponics, I will be able to eat fresh organic green vegetables, and mercury-free fish ..... I guess that makes me a happy camper!!

JeffW
03-07-2009, 06:31 AM
WOW..amazing stories...humbling to me.

I am laughing at the turtle though... :lol: :lol: :lol: "3 months before I got him back" :lol: :lol: :lol: omg I can just see your neighbors sipping coffee in the window on Sunday then slowly into view by the back deck a hump appears then a head comes up and wife turns to husband and says to him "you gonna call her or am I"? :lol:

jackalope I am glad you quit I lost a brother at 49 and Dad at 67 from smoking :( But
as you mentioned with some smart eating and smart growing we can help our bodies stay fit.

Sheryl my sister has FM and my other sister has MS. We were a baby boomer family and grew up in 50s and 60s. I wonder at times what we ate back then that helped cause some problems we have now. We ate TONS of fish all our lives and had a huge garden and canned food so we ate well "but" we were also some of those kids that were drinking PBB that was in our milk. They banned it later but we all got a good dose of it back then. Cows ate the food that was sprayed with chemicals then we drank the milk. This is what I love about aquaponics is that there is such a clean process involved in making 2 types of foods.

I wanna see the leach you use on "mischeif" :lol:

mommyhen42
03-07-2009, 10:15 AM
Hello JeffW
My sister also has MS... When she was about 8 I remember her getting that classic bulls eye rash that they now associate with Lyme Disease.... the never looked at that back then... Mom took her to the doctor who just said that she was probally stung by a bee that had bee dosed with DDT

There is something about the northern states according to research that increases our risk of MS and similar auto-immune disseases... Canada has it even worse than we do according to the statistics...

Some researchers feel it is due to our increasing societal phobia of germs and super cleanliness that causes the disease by not exposing us to enough pathogens at an early age.... Mom didnt believe in all the cleanliness hype so I cant see that their thoery holds much weight... No we didnt live in a dirty house nor did we skip a bath but we played in the mud, waded in the creek, went fishing for ? with our hands ect ect ect and didnt get deathly ill from it, if you know what I mean...LOL

I tell you what... you come over here to help me put a collar on the ole boy without getting your fingers torn off when he puts his head back in the shell and I will put a leash on him... :lol: wicked evil grin
This boy is a tank, you should see him walking around the yard pushing a chair along with him... hmm perhaps I should shoot that for a youtube video???

badflash
03-07-2009, 11:25 AM
I tell you what... you come over here to help me put a collar on the ole boy without getting your fingers torn off when he puts his head back in the shell and I will put a leash on him... :lol: wicked evil grin
This boy is a tank, you should see him walking around the yard pushing a chair along with him... hmm perhaps I should shoot that for a youtube video???

Check http://turtletown.giblar.com/turtleleash.html

I saw one of these on a turtle at a mall store one time. Hooked a helium baloon to it so you could see him comming. Pretty neat.

wolfracer
03-07-2009, 01:16 PM
Thanks for the video, looks like your system is doing great! You are way ahead of me. But someday....

JeffW
03-07-2009, 05:14 PM
:lol: a video of that would be funny..I told my wife about him she was laughing.

Well who knows what causes what anymore the world is all twisted into a mass of
utter confusion and "experts" all over the place. I say if man is so smart when why is it
that we want to go to other places when we have a mess here to clean up? As if
we humans will go invade some other planet get it right there? HA HA :lol:

Life is oval anyway it is a circle. We are born and we need help and we drewl spit down
our chin..then later after the have completed the arch of life we end up needing help
and drewling once again down our chin... :lol: Yep we end up right back at the other
end (or beginning maybe?) needing help as we did when we were a baby.

Like I say I think everything is round..it is all 0connected and there is no place to get to we
are already there....or here... :shock:...or I mean here is really there and uh :o....... :?
lost again :lol:

Badflash that is funny!! :lol:
I saw one of these on a turtle at a mall store one time.
Hooked a helium balloon to it so you could see him coming. Pretty neat. :lol: