Hello from California!

[Jeff]

Hi everyone! I LOVE the forum!

My name is Jeff, and I am a self employed business owner. I was born and raised in San Jose, California......but I have lived in Tracy, CA for the last 10 years. I'm 36 and married with two little girls.

So why am I here? I have literally been dreaming...DREAMING.....of aquaponics every night for the past couple of weeks. I knew NOTHING about it two weeks ago, but I've been hungrily reading up like a madman day and night ever since!

My goal is start a backyard system - 110 Gallon fish tank, and probably three 40 gallon grow beds. I still am one of those guys you see wandering around a hardware store, looking like a lost boy in a big city. I don't even know how to cut PVC for heaven's sake, but this is something I am determined to do on my own and prove my wife wrong!

She laughed at me when I tried to explain how AWESOME aquaponics was. Of course, she's seen me get excited about things before, so she knows that I get real gung-ho on completely random things!

But anyway, I look forward to your help and support as I design my own backyard system, with literally no prior experience even in gardening. So if I can do this, it will prove that ANYONE can do this!

I am hoping in the next week, I can purchase my stock tanks, and that's about all I have planned out so far! Next would be PVC plumbing, but I honestly don't even know the names of the parts I need (bulk head fitting? gaskets? LOL). I do know that I want to make a flood drain system with Affnan's bell siphon in all three of them. I just don't know if I should also add a separate BIOFILTER to this setup, or if the hydroton will be enough filtering on it's own.

Looking forward to feedback and warm welcomes. HUGS ALL AROUND!

[keith_r]

welcome aboard jeff.. sounds like you're headed in the right direction, starting out with what you outlined, you don't need to add filtration as long as you don't overstock.. add some compost (red wiggle) worms to the growbeds and you'll soon be cycling your system and planning your upgrade!

[alex281]

Welcome !!!

[davidstcldfl]

Hi Jeff....welcome to the forum, AKA as the 'addiction'...

'Hi', my name is 'Jeff' and I'm an aquaponics addict..... :P

Jeff, here's a place to get a 'fix'....search for Aquatic-eco systems. They have all kinds of air and water pumps, special fittings like uni-seals and bulkheads...test kits ...all kinds of stuff...

[Jeff]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I think I found a source for the tanks and grow beds. There is a large store I plan to visit called the Tractor Supply Co., and they have some really inexpensive things like this:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tuff-st...0-gal--2229862

I was going to get that for the tank, and then a few 40 gallon things for the grow bed (unless I see something better when I get there).

I first went to a local Hydroponics store, but as I feared, no one was in there except for a group of about 6 guys, huddled around the counter, and they all smelled like POT. There was a pit bull just guarding the area, and NOTHING had prices on them. It's a shame too, because the place looks like it had some decent stuff, but with the bad vibe I was feeling there, and the lack of pricing, it felt like I would be getting scammed.

Anyway, I will make a separate thread when I actually start my project. Before I do, let me end with a question:

Since the first thing I plan to do is drill a hole in the grow bed to make the siphon, could you tell me the official NAME of the parts I need? Is the plastic part that screws into the hole (on both outside and inside), is that called a CUPLING (or is it a bulkhead fitting)? I just want to make sure I know the NAMES of the actual parts so that when I go to the PVC section of my hardware store, I actually have some kind of checklist!

So if that's called the CUPLING, then I think all I need is the stand pipe (1"), a restrictor (1" - 1.5"), the outer bell pipe (2"), the bell top, and then finally a 3" GUARD to go around the hole thing.

Does that sound about right for starters?

[davidstcldfl]

Jeff, your right, a bulkhead goes through the tank wall....you can also use an 'electical' pvc 'male' and female' coupling to do the same. Electric threads are straight...plunbing threads are tapered.
The couplings have a very small lip to work with, so the hole has to be perfect, so that the coupling has a place to contact and make a seal on the tank.
A real bulkhead is easier to work with, especially if your not using a hole saw to make the hole.

http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories ... gs-Economy


If your growbeds are 40 gallons...a 1 inch stand pipe may be a little big.
If you use a 1 inch bulkhead in the bottom of the bed....you could add a 1 x 3/4 or a 1 x 1/2 'bushing' to the bottom of the stand pipe and experminte with your fill and drain times.
A 'reducing coupling' is what goes on top of the stand pipe, if your doing the 'Affnan' style bell siphon.

[Jeff]

David - Thanks for the response and the link! I really appreciate it.

I am not sure the exact size of the grow bed tanks yet. There is a brand called "Tuff Stuff" at this store (Tractor Supply Co). I looked at this store online for the Rubbermaid tanks, and they were priced cheaper than any place I have seen. However, some of the reviews I've seen on the Rubbermaids was that they were leaking after a few years and needed to be replaced. Well then I saw this Tuff Stuff brand that offered 110 gallon tubs, and 40 gallon tubs. So I assumed that if I got the 110 size for the the fish, then I would want about three of the 40 gallon size for the grow beds.

The reason why I was thinking to have a 1" stand pipe is because that seemed to be the standard size that most systems seemed to have online. I will DEFINITELY be doing the Affnan Bell Siphon, with a reducer on top to help create the suction.

So if I am reading what you're saying correctly, I could still move forward with that plan......and if I find that it drains too quickly, then I could simply add something called a bushing to the bottom of the standpipe which will control the flow of the water even more?

[commander]

Jeff
We use the Tractor Supply tuff stuff products at our ranch all the time. They stand up to heat, cold, sun and cows very well. Wen I upsize my system I am planning on using the same products. Tractor Supply also has trough feeders that come with a galvanized stand. We are looking at using them for grow beds, perhaps even a raft system. I know there was some chatter on hear at one time about using the same troughs for flow tanks to raise trout. When you really get the bug, you will start seeing products like this in a whole new light.

[Jeff]

Thanks for the comment, Commander. I have heard nothing but great things about those Tuff Stuff products, and you are further proving that for me! I may take a ride over there today (it's about 30 miles away from me) to see what they have. I will keep you all posted on what I get.

That trough feeder looks like it may be awesome! Here is a link for it:

http://www.tractorsupply.com/galvanized ... -l-2172497

The only thing is that it's 18 inches deep, where as the 40 gallon ones are only 13" deep. I had planned to keep only about 11" of grow media in the beds, and if I went with the trough, that would leave a lot of space in there. I guess the advantage to the trough is that I would only need to make one bell siphon instead of three......but since it's so deep, I may have too much space in there since it would only be filled 3/4" of the way up.

[davidstcldfl]

The only thing is that it's 18 inches deep

Jeff, the overall height of the tub and the stand is 18 inches. The tub is maybe 10 inches 'deep'