Hello from Tehachapi, California

[dead_sled]

Not sure your going to want to use that as a tank. The ph of the system will naturally lower and since the water just recirculates your going to built up more and more metals in your water. Not good for fish, plants, or you really. Just throwing it out there. Hope it helps.

X2 ^^^^^

You could line it with a pond liner or maybe find an epoxy coating. What did you have in mind PowerLink?

[PowerLink]

It does have a pond liner! Don't know how it would hold water without it. The football shape presents a bit of a challenge getting all the pleating to fold neatly.

I will get some recent pic's up.

[David - WI]

Not sure your going to want to use that as a tank. The ph of the system will naturally lower and since the water just recirculates your going to built up more and more metals in your water. Not good for fish, plants, or you really. Just throwing it out there. Hope it helps.

Interesting article to today on "metal-eating" plants. The most interesting thing in the whole article is:

The discovery of the new metal-eating plant -- one of only 450 species out of 300,000 known vascular plants that can absorb significant amounts of metal...

http://Read more: <a href="http://ww...z31Wjs0UFU</a>

450 species that could potentially remove metals from a system or supply water.

[PowerLink]

Little update here, the sump has been re-dug and is now a 4X4X5 which gives us a bit over 500gal.


The raft is built!


And we are installing liners.


Hopefully we will be filling with water this weekend.

[Apollo]

Looking GREAT...top QUALITY all the way!

Lots of hard work, but so good to look back on all that you have accomplished at the end of what seems to be a never ending process.

[topz]

Looks great! Keep us up to speed on how your cycle goes. What fish will you be raising?

[PowerLink]

Okay, got water in the system and got all the bell siphons working. I am thinking that this fill will be for leaching and I will drain and refill in a couple days.


Now I am getting ready to plumb the nursery and had thought that it might be a good idea to make it an independent system. Is there any benefit to keeping a totally separate system besides maybe hospice?

[PowerLink]

Drained the system today, sprayed down the interior of the dome and lots of icky yellow stuff came off the structure into the beds. Glad I did this now rather than wait till it started raining in there. Was down in the sump and almost lost my footing! Lots of slime down there after about 5 days of circulation. I am figuring the slime in the main tank will be the same and I shouldn't worry about it.

I am a bit concerned about our well water, it has lots of minerals (very hard water) that solidify everywhere. I am thinking that it is merely dirt just as in a natural environment and shouldn't be a problem. We have used paper element filters in the past and they clog quickly. I may install one of these filters in the system just to see how much clogging occurs and if it continues after everything settles.

Found that my second choice in pumps won't be good enough (Waveline DC1200). It was great with tank and grow beds but once I got the raft flooded, it fell way behind. Ordered a Reeflo Barracuda, with about double the performance of the DC1200, that should do the trick.

Finally found unadulterated ammonia after weeks of searching. Not doing any promotions here but.... Tractor Supply carries it as a regular stocking item.

Thanks

[PowerLink]

Half cup of ammonia and some bacteria went in the system last night! This morning it looks like that brought me to 3ppm. My calculations tell me it should have been 4ppm which only means I was low on my total volume calculations.

Half cup was not nearly enough, I was reading .3ppm rather than 3ppm. At least I was on the low side. I have added 2 full cups and this seems to have brought it up to a full 4ppm.

[PowerLink]

WooHoo! Exactly 30 days to cycle! Been dosing up to 3ppm every couple days and the last couple days, the ammonia has been disappearing every morning leaving me with lots of nitrites and nitrates this morning...Whala! No ammonia and no nitrites. PH has been holding at 8 with no crashes. I dosed back up to 3ppm this morning which about finishes off my second gallon of ammonia.

The banana tree is doing awesome! It has grown 5 new leaves since the beginning of the cycle. The beans are out preforming the ones planted outside as far as growth but seem a little frail.