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  1. #31
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    Re: Getting Ready for the basement

    When I went to the local university's aquaponics research station last fall, they told me the most expensive part of your system will be oxygen. They saw TREMENDOUS increase in yields when they started adding O2 as opposed to just aeration, so I've spent some time in the last few months trying to get an oxygen concentrator for less than a few hundred dollars.

    Guess what?!
    I got this and another for FREE! They were kicking around at a local hospice for years, never being touched. They were happy for me to just make them away.

    I added a little reactor to help dissolve the O2 before goin to the GBs


    It's been a couple days but it looks to be having a benefit in my herb garden. I plumbed the supply line so that it adds the oxygen-rich water to the bottom of the GB, as I am hoping to prevent as much O2 from gassing off as possible. Since I'm adding O2 directly, and not bubbling in atmospheric air, I want as little splashing and turbulence to and in the GB as possible.
    I'm still letting it splash when the GBs drain into the pond Bc O2 concentrations over 20ppm are lethal to fish.
    Jason M.

  2. #32
    Moderator JCO's Avatar
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    Re: Getting Ready for the basement

    Looking good and great scrounging for parts. Keep us posted.
    JCO
    Irish eyes are always smiling but
    • "In the eyes of the world, you are only as good as your last success"
    so never forget
    • "MAN IS ONLY LIMITED BY HIS IMAGINATION"

  3. #33
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    Re: Getting Ready for the basement

    I shot some pics today:

    First is my lettuce GB, right now it's a Kale and a couple Swiss Char that were moved from the DWC system. There will be a couple more additions this week. I harvested the largest leaves for dinner today, which is why they will all look a bit sparse. I picked up a lot of 10 LED bulbs that pop into my old T8 fixtures - so far so good, and they were only $11ea!


    This is one of my DWC beds. That little pepper plant puts out mini yellow peppers. I am also trying a cutting from an African violet - even just to get it to root before moving it into a F&D GB.


    This is my other DWC bed, just a parsley, oregano and swiss char - the big lettuces from the 1st GB and basil from my herb GB were moved from this one recently.


    This was the first GB I planted. The celery is from a cutting from the grocery store, and most of the little pepper plants are from one of the yellow peppers in my DWC tank. The big plants are spider plants from the living room. This GB has seen a great boost since I started adding O2.


    Here's my herb garden. For some reason, the green onion hasn't done well. Rosemary never sprouted, for some reason, and only one sage came up. Dill, parsely and thyme all sprouted from seed and seem to be doing well. The basil is from the DWC and is doing fantastic.


    I'm running the O2 at about 4L/min and may increase it a bit - I haven't noticed any distress from the fish, so it should be OK to increase it. The proff at the University says that there is no maximum for the bacteria or plant roots. Right now, it's only running on the pond with the F&D GBs, but I'm thinking about T-ing it off and running it to the DWCs.
    Jason M.

  4. #34
    Moderator davidstcldfl's Avatar
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    Re: Getting Ready for the basement

    .....jvision, guess I've been spending too much time on facebook....I was looking for the 'like' button...
    "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same." - President Ronald Reagan

  5. #35
    Moderator JCO's Avatar
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    Re: Getting Ready for the basement

    lOOKING GREAT
    JCO
    Irish eyes are always smiling but
    • "In the eyes of the world, you are only as good as your last success"
    so never forget
    • "MAN IS ONLY LIMITED BY HIS IMAGINATION"

  6. #36
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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.

  7. #37
    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.

  8. #38
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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.

  9. #39
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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.

  10. #40
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    I have 2 tomato plants going nuts in an NFT portion of the main system
    Jason M.

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