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aquaarche
04-08-2009, 03:19 AM
I am new to the whole aguaponic gardening and had a few questions I want to ask.

But for now I just wanted to say hello. and introduce myself.

Where do I go to ask questions and learn more about how to pump and regulate the water in a growing bed from the fish tank?

wolfracer
04-08-2009, 06:50 AM
Hello aquaarche ,

Welcome! Aquaponics know how might be good place to start, but you could pm JCO he's a pretty good guy.

JCO
04-08-2009, 11:13 AM
Wolfracer, you need to stop telling people that, you'll ruin my reputation for being a hard nose... :mrgreen:

In answer to your question aquaarche, the best way to find out anything you want to know that isn't covered in the pages of the main site http://diyaquaponics.com is to just start typing out every question you have about aquaponics right here on the forum (be sure to pick the correct category) and you'll have answers from numerous persons who are currently living the dream or are in the process of creating it.

Welcome to the show, lean back in your easy chair and enjoy the ride...most every person here has been where you are and a greater group of individuals you'll never meet on any forum anywhere.

Wolfracer...you owe me a dollar for such a great lead in...now you can take it from here :mrgreen:

JeffW
04-08-2009, 07:47 PM
Welcome Arche,
spent many wonderful moments exploring your good country..nice to see you here :)

mpugh5@aol.com
04-08-2009, 08:45 PM
hello arche, i must agree, phillipine islands, one of the most beautiful place's i've been in my life! 8-)

aquaarche
04-10-2009, 06:23 AM
thanks everyone,

JCO I will take time to figure out the categories and then I will post my questions.

It is very hard to find supplies here so we will be making lots of it. Even the growing Medium is hard to get. I hope after I get my system up and running I can show others here in Palawan how to set up so they to can benefit in rowing and harvesting their own food.

I will call it F.A.I.T.H. Food Always In The House - F.A.I.T.H. :D

wolfracer
04-10-2009, 07:54 AM
I will call it F.A.I.T.H. Food Always In The House - F.A.I.T.H. :D I like that! I have been calling mine the "The Science Project" Yours is better.

JCO
04-10-2009, 08:26 AM
Hey arche,

Take a look at the video under the lettuce section on this forum to see how this system works. They are using rafting with constant flow which means there is no grow media. The grow tables are actual tanks about 12 inches deep and the water level is controlled by being continuously being pumped in and flowing out through the preset overflows maintaining the desired depth.

The rafts are Styrofoam and reusable if handled carefully. I don’t know about where you live, but here in the US you can buy 4’ X 8’ sheets of Styrofoam at building supply stores at a very reasonable price.

With planning and forethought, your can grow almost any veggie you want using this system. Tomatoes for example can be grown this way by running stringer bars in the overhead of the greenhouse and then tying the tomato vines up to the stringers with string taking the weight of the plants and fruits off the floating Styrofoam. The same with cucumbers, beans, peas, okra and on and on. This is the system Codi and I used and it worked like a charm.

We built our grow tables using treated plywood, 2” by 4” and 4” by 4” and covered the table interior with 6mil black plastic. As for the bio-filter we also went to the building supply store and purchased the largest AC filters we could find, the kind you cut to size that has no frame that are about an inch or so thick.

Might sound like a lot of work but we used small nylon line and hand sewed them together until we had a section some 10’ across and 4’ high. We laced this to a section of 1 ½“ PVC pipe capped on one end.

We had drilled small holes in the bottom side of this pipe which faced the filter material. We then laced the PVC pipe to a reinforced stringer bar at the back end of the Green house suspending it in the air and attached it via more PVC to our water pump which was submerged in our sump tank (a blue rubber (plastic) 55 galleon barrel which was partially buried in the ground between the fish tanks. Reason for the sump tank being buried was it had to be below the overflow level of the fish tanks because it was gravity fed from the fish tanks.

The bio-filter was suspended over a 12’ section of 12” PVC capped at both ends which was suspended between two 4” X 4” post. The bottom side was at an elevation higher than the grow tables. We drilled 3” holes in the bottom of it about 12” apart and put in 3” connectors and attached PVC pipes which ran to the flow beds.

The water was pumped from the sump tank to the bio-filter, gravity fed to the flow beds which in turn was gravity fed back to the fish tanks which had overflow pipes to gravity feed the sump tank. Wa-La ….. worked like a charm.

We also mounted fans behind the bio-filter material and turned them on during the summer to add moisture to the air and cool the greenhouse.

I hope this helps if for nothing else if you don’t like the system, maybe some ideas of your own. :mrgreen:

aquaarche
04-12-2009, 01:40 AM
Well if any of you would like to come down here and help me get set up I will give you free room and board. Preferred no smoking, no drinking or drug use. Good practicing Christian if possible. but ok if just fit the requirements

I am having a time just lining up materials to make things. I found 2-1000 liter containers to use for fish tanks. I was planning on cutting them in half to make 4-500 liter tanks. with a single 500 liter grow bed per tank. start with one with many small Black Paku after they grow I can transfer so there are two to four per tank nearing the size for eating.

there is a Talapia aquaculture farm down south I want to visit to see what are the best type of Talapia to use. best to buy them when they are four inches long then you can put 10 or more per tank.

I don't have the funds (living by faith, we are not your traditional missionaries) to buy some books on the subject of Aquaponics. if anyone has any books they would like to share please send them along.

JCO
04-12-2009, 11:13 AM
Hey, Check out the links here:

http://diyaquaponics.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=100

I am in the process of finding more link to help people such as yourself, to self-educate on aquaponics. :mrgreen:

JeffW
04-13-2009, 02:34 PM
Arche,
Ideas:
Find screening material maybe some that were used on old windows?
As for a grow media you could get pebbles or small rocks at river or beach then screen out what you need..I am tossing ideas out.

I bet there is a bunch of unused supplies here and there. you have rivers and streams. Maybe see if old US Navy or Air Force base left any material behind you can get for free? Tell them you are feeding hungry children and stretch it a bit,,,might get response quicker ;) I see your a family of faith so that is a plus on your vision here.

Books...internet is loaded with all kinds of PDF and reading material. I will ask and see if maybe the church would help send a book for you.

I know a young Paster started a neat youthful community based church here in town and they are into "square foot gardening" fro public. Maybe you can Email him? I know he would send a book if you asked. They are a great bunch and he is really into helping out here with Farmers Market and just all around great Pastor (his son is a US Navy Seal too ;)

Serious Arche please Email GORDON the pastor and see if they will get a book for you!
http://www.imaginethisllc.org/

JCO
04-13-2009, 03:03 PM
I know of Travis Hughey and he is a great guy and so I am including a link to his PDM manual which should give you considerable information on what you can use and how to get if started. :mrgreen:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/8766300/Barrel-Ponics-Manual-E-Mail

aquaarche
04-15-2009, 06:28 AM
Thanks JCO I visited the site and at some information that will be helpful to me.

JCO
04-15-2009, 01:45 PM
So, if I come down there, you going to pay for the plane tickets to... :lol: :mrgreen: