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  1. #1
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    Getting Ready for the basement

    When I moved into this house last summer, I built a fishroom - breeding aquarium fish has been a passion of mine for over 20 years. Recently, I've decided to sell off almost all of my breeders and want to convert the room into an aquaponics room. I'm having my electrician friend come over on Monday to help me lay out the ceiling lights and distribute the power load.

    Here's what I have right now:

    Standing on the right side by the crawlspace


    From beside the empty rack


    Where I want to put a big FT


    What's growing in there now


    Jason M.

  2. #2
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    My wife and I have been talking about ways to get more production out of the system... really, it's light limited. I mostly have LEDS (those T8 retrofit bulbs are pretty good!), but if I want more light, I'll have to find another cheap source of fixtures. I have a friend that works electrical for the city, so maybe I can snag some fixture when they upgrade from T8 to T5 or to LED... Meanwhile, we're going to research the cost of moving the system to the the garage. We'll need to insulate it pretty well, and we're thinking of adding 2 or 4 solar tubes. I might look at solar power to run the lights in the winter - we only have about 6 hours of light in December.

    While we do that, why don't you guys enjoy some pics?!

    Room shot


    Herb Garden (parsley still gets ravaged by thrips)


    Beside the herbs is an NFT system... still trying to figure out how to get the tomatoes to bloom


    The near tube never did sprout - a couple different lettuces and echinacea Will try hydroton or lava instead of the rock wool next time


    Backside GBs


    Baby Bell and Medusa Peppers really like the T8 retrofit LEDS!


    Getting some thickness on the celery - more light is the key!


    DWC tanks - I really hacked back the tomatoes, which grew way above the lights. Pretty bare, right now.


    These guys are feeding the DWC... hopefully, in a year or so, they'll be feeding me, too!! Redclaw Crays!!
    Jason M.

  3. #3
    Moderator Jason's Avatar
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    Looking good Jason, love the pictures.

    While it would be nice to move the setup to the garage for the larger space, it would require some major upgrading to the insulation or it will cost an arm and a leg keep it warm in the winder. I like the idea of the solar tubes as they can really add light. I would suggest going with the 21" vs the 13" version as I do not find they throw enough light for my liking. The brand I went with are made right here in Edmonton. They refer to their pipes as Sun Scopes. Here is the link. Sun Scopes - Natural lighting systems. It seems they also make a 17" model now.

  4. #4
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    We are definitely going to beef up the insulation - probably going to get an insulated door. Thanks for the link to Sun Scopes!
    Jason M.

  5. #5
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    I have 2 tomato plants going nuts in an NFT portion of the main system
    Jason M.

  6. #6
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    I lost all but one of the crays w. a trace fert OD, I think.

    But, I have tomatoes growing in my basement!

    Jason M.

  7. #7
    Moderator Jason's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jvision View Post
    I lost all but one of the crays w. a trace fert OD, I think.

    But, I have tomatoes growing in my basement!
    hey Jason,

    Very sorry to hear that you lost almost all the crayfish. Are you still thinking of giving them a try and thinking of buying more. I lost one myself and we could go in again. I have this strange feeling that the one I lost was the only male of the group, so I might be interested in pick up a few more.

    Jason

    PS. The plants look wild.

  8. #8
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    I think I will go for more crays, but it may have to wait a while. My wife's actually taking me seriously about moving up to the garage! We want to have that done by the fall. Once I have the system moved up, I'll be setting up for more crays.
    Jason M.

  9. #9
    Moderator Jason's Avatar
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    If you are planning to wait that long, mine might have bred by then. If your willing to grow them out, you can have a dozen or so. Are you planning on taking over the whole garage or only half?

    Jason

  10. #10
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    If you have young by then, I'll definitely take some. I think we'll end up using most of the garage, eventually. With a 300 gal pond, and probably another 75 or 90 gal sump (going to combine the 2 systems I have), I could grow A LOT! I plan on adding some grow towers, and more NFT. At the University test site, they do a drip system that I'd like to try as well.
    Jason M.

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