-
Tim Miller commented on the blog post FREE Nutrient Solution 2 years, 11 months ago · View
This is basically true on short time scales, but not so much on longer ones. There’s a reason they say you should NEVER reuse a plastic bottle like a water bottle. Most of these types of plastic simply aren’t intended for extended use. Also, it’s a fairly recent discovery that even at temperatures in the [...]
-
Tim Miller commented on the blog post Dripping rate and duration? 3 years ago · View
Thanks for the input, very helpful! I haven’t been using any dedicated 1/2 or 1 gph drippers, i’ve just been using the typical fish tank adjustable valves like in the How-To. Is there a benefit to the drippers? My reservoir only holds a bit over 2 gallons I think (3″ dia pipe, 5 feet long) [...]
-
Tim Miller wrote a new blog post: Dripping rate and duration? 3 years ago · View
Hey all My windowfarm has been happily chugging along for the past week almost now. Everything seems to be doing splendidly after the transplant from the soil (except perhaps the spinach, but it looks like the new leaves are happier than the old ones). Interestingly enough, the chives were ones I thought were going to [...]
-
Tim Miller commented on the blog post Plastic-Free AirLift Window Farm V2 3 years ago · View
That gourd setup is incredibly sexy! Much more attractive than plastic bottles, adds a really unique style to the window. How big around are the necks on those gourds? Seems like it would be too small for most net cups, and filling them all the way with clay pellets would be pretty heavy.
-
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years ago · View
Thanks, that’s helpful. I have been told you shouldn’t really go above 1” of fish for every gallon of water, obviously less dense than 10 3” goldfish you suggested. Is this rule just because ammonia levels would rise too quickly with so many fish (a problem alleviated by the plants in aquaponics) or is this simply because fish don’t like to be crowded? These may be ”working fish” but I’d still like to keep them as happy and low stress as possible.
In reply to - Tim Miller posted an update in the group Aquaponic Window Farms : I’ve finally got my system good to go and all the kinks worked out. I just need to put the plants in and get it started. Unfortunately, my fish got ich a while ago so I’m still treating them for that still, so in the meantime [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted an update in the group
Aquaponic Window Farms: 3 years ago · ViewI’ve finally got my system good to go and all the kinks worked out. I just need to put the plants in and get it started. Unfortunately, my fish got ich a while ago so I’m still treating them for that still, so in the meantime I’m going to use a 5 gallon bucket with some nutrient solution to get the plants going.
My question right now though…I have a 10 gallon fish tank. I heard somebody mention that 10 should be sufficient for your typical window farm, but I’m wondering if it really will be for my 16 plant set up once I switch over to the fish tank? 16 plants is certainly not a huge set up, but seems sort of big for a 10 gallon tank with just a handful of fairly small tetras and a pleco. Any thoughts?
Tetras are probably not great ammonia producers, not a lot of biomass. So I would switch to goldfish. A ten gallon tank with 10 3” goldfish or 20 feeder goldfish should give you plenty of ammonia for 16 plants.
Remember that your system is like wine or yogurt: There is a culturing / maturing process of bacteria. If you start with some unpollluted pond water, that will help jump start your bacteria garden. Fill your tank with it. Aerate it. But even so it takes some weeks before this mini-ecosystem will be stable and all vegetables loving it.
You can also add worm castings to help strengthen the plants. It will turn the water dark, but don’t mind that. This is a working aquarium, not for show.
Remember that your bacterial garden resides throughout the system, even in the tubes, but the major population is in the clay ball or gravel grow media.
Make sense?
Thanks, that’s helpful. I have been told you shouldn’t really go above 1” of fish for every gallon of water, obviously less dense than 10 3” goldfish you suggested. Is this rule just because ammonia levels would rise too quickly with so many fish (a problem alleviated by the plants in aquaponics) or is this simply because fish don’t like to be crowded? These may be ”working fish” but I’d still like to keep them as happy and low stress as possible.
Depending on the fish you can do much more than 1’ of fish per gallon. With tilapia, and other cichlids, you can do one pound for 1.5 gallons of water. That would be maybe 8” long. Many fish love crowding, as you know they have schools? Ammonia levels will be fine if there is enough filtration through the grow beds. I might plug my book here, found at http://www.accesstoaquaponics.com
-
Tim Miller commented on the blog post Pump-to-reservoir Problem: Looking for ideas! 3 years ago · View
I had tried just not shoving it in very far, even strapping it in place with a zip tie to keep it as far out as possible, but it still seemed to drain a lot. I’ve found a solution though! I purchased a small PVC elbow at a nearby Ace hardware store similar if not [...]
-
Tim Miller wrote a new blog post: Pump-to-reservoir Problem: Looking for ideas! 3 years ago · View
I’m on the edge of completing an aquaponics system in my window with 4 rows of 4 bottles each. It’s looking great so far and am excited to finally get my plants in there! I will certainly post pictures as soon as my friend gets me my camera charger back. Anyway, I have only one [...]
-
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years ago · View
Agreed. Honestly, I think a regular forum which be much more effective than this group approach. There, you could have a FAQ section, General Help section, a section for showing off your window farm, an aquaponics section, etc. Maybe something similar to http://www.xbmc.org would be effective, where the news updates they have on their front page could be replaced by the WF ”posts” and then the tabs up at the top could read ”How-Tos,” ”Gallery,” ”Forum,” ”About,” etc. Just my 2 cents…
-
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years ago · View
So snails and/or ghost shrimp get rid of the solid poo? How big do the shrimp get? I have sand for substrate. Would that work for that too? I imagine for shrimp it would be no problem but I wonder about the snails…
In reply to - Emma Lysyk posted an update in the group Aquaponic Window Farms : So, this weekend, I built a 3-bed Window aquaponic farm that’s not.. in the window. It’s utilizing the lights from my main aquaponics system. I’ll post pictures later, but I used a Smartpond 30 – 45 GPH water pump from Lowe’s for my pump and leftover air [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted an update in the group
Seattle: 3 years ago · View
This isn’t specifically related to Seattle, but have any of you gotten one of these set up so far? If so, what size hole did you drill in the bottle lids? The tutorial says 3/8 to 1/2” drill bit for the hole, but even 3/8 seems large and the picture they show of somebody drilling into it looks like they have a drill bit that’s *maybe* half the size of the 3/8 bit I’m looking at in my lap.
So, what sizes did you guys do??
-
Tim Miller commented on the blog post Classroom Window Farm + Living Machine 3 years ago · View
I’d try asking here as well: http://our.windowfarms.org/groups/aquaponic-window-farms/
It’s a group specific to aquaponics (the type of system you described). There are some very knowledgeable people there.
-
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years ago · View
Another question Bevan…I believe you mentioned somewhere here that an air pump isn’t need for the fish tank because the water is sufficiently aerated as it trickles down the plants. However, in the window farm instructions it says to add an air pump to the bottom water cylinder. Do you know why this would be necessary without fish but not with??
In reply to - Tim Miller posted an update in the group Aquaponic Window Farms : I just got a 10 gallon tank set up yesterday with some fish, and am hoping to get the rest of the setup in place in the next week or so. The main blurry spot in my mind though is the pump. All the literature I’ve [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years ago · View
I have one fish that’s about an inch. Should I try to swap him out for another fish then? He’s got some decent girth, probably about 3/4 of an inch, so it’s not one of the little neons, but still pretty small
In reply to - Tim Miller posted an update in the group Aquaponic Window Farms : I just got a 10 gallon tank set up yesterday with some fish, and am hoping to get the rest of the setup in place in the next week or so. The main blurry spot in my mind though is the pump. All the literature I’ve [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years, 1 month ago · View
Also, my fish are quite small tropical fish…Don’t know if that might affect which pump I should choose (don’t want them getting sucked into anything!)
In reply to - Tim Miller posted an update in the group Aquaponic Window Farms : I just got a 10 gallon tank set up yesterday with some fish, and am hoping to get the rest of the setup in place in the next week or so. The main blurry spot in my mind though is the pump. All the literature I’ve [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years, 1 month ago · View
Would any of these be fine? http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicpumpssubmersible.htm
In reply to - Tim Miller posted an update in the group Aquaponic Window Farms : I just got a 10 gallon tank set up yesterday with some fish, and am hoping to get the rest of the setup in place in the next week or so. The main blurry spot in my mind though is the pump. All the literature I’ve [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted an update in the group
Aquaponic Window Farms: 3 years, 1 month ago · ViewI just got a 10 gallon tank set up yesterday with some fish, and am hoping to get the rest of the setup in place in the next week or so. The main blurry spot in my mind though is the pump. All the literature I’ve found regarding pumps and aquaculture are regarding commercial scale situations. Does anybody know a good (and preferably quiet) pump for this particular use? And, assuming these are inline pumps, what sort of attachment should be used for sucking in the water? Do we want to filter out the fish poop, or is that fine trickling down with the water?
Would any of these be fine? http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicpumpssubmersible.htm
Also, my fish are quite small tropical fish…Don’t know if that might affect which pump I should choose (don’t want them getting sucked into anything!)
Go for the EcoPlus 185 submersible. Inline pumps are more expensive and powerful…But wait! The height you are pumping the water, also known as the head, is of most importance. If it’s 6’ above the pump, it may not be powerful enough, so you should account for that. The fish will not get sucked in unless they are tiny, but 2” on up should be fine.
I have one fish that’s about an inch. Should I try to swap him out for another fish then? He’s got some decent girth, probably about 3/4 of an inch, so it’s not one of the little neons, but still pretty small
Another question Bevan…I believe you mentioned somewhere here that an air pump isn’t need for the fish tank because the water is sufficiently aerated as it trickles down the plants. However, in the window farm instructions it says to add an air pump to the bottom water cylinder. Do you know why this would be necessary without fish but not with??
I believe the window farms model uses air to pump pulses of water up to the top, as opposed to a continuous, or timed, water pump. Take a look at their design drawings. I have yet to hear of anyone doing an air pump thing with aquaponics, not to say it wouldn’t work, but I will be honest, it’s new to me. So I am assuming this water pump will be run off a timer, 15 min on, 15 min off.
As far as your fish, it should probably be fine, as the intake on those little pumps is not a single point.
Sufficient aeration should be had if you have a large enough surface area. (Eg your not using a tight topped vase) You should also make sure that there is enough water movement so the water doesn’t stagnant and allow for dead pockets in the tank if your only relying on the drip to provide circulation. A use of a power head might be something you might want to consider? To be honest, as an aquarium keeper for the last two decades, your going to kill your fish long through chemical imbalances (waste, nitrates) way before you kill them by suffocation. And yes, the bubbles moving through the water do more by providing circulation then they do my dissolving into the water to provide aeration.
Filter bags (the kind used to hold activated carbon in your motorized power filter) are enough to keep fish out of your pump mechanisms. The solidified poo can either get sucked up or left in the tank, you’ll just want to watch for fungal growth. Honestly, if you can get a sponge filter to fit over the powerhead, you’d be better off.
I put my pump’s powerhead on the side of my tank about 6 – 8” into the water so that it’s high enough and out of the way that I don’t have to worry about poo getting into it. I do the same for my larger aquaponics system.
-
Tim Miller posted a new activity comment: 3 years, 1 month ago · View
I don’t have a system up and running yet, but I’m working on setting up an aquaponics windowfarm which will hopefully be operational within a week or two.
In reply to - ebenko posted an update in the group Seattle: I’m getting ready to set up an basic air rise system as an exercise for an urban agriculture/vertical farming project in a UW master of architecture design studio. I’d love to talk to anyone in Seattle who’s got a system up and running. Are there good local sources for [...] · View -
Tim Miller posted an update in the group
Aquaponic Window Farms: 3 years, 2 months ago · ViewThis is awesome. I haven’t had fish since I was a little kid but this is just too cool. I was wondering how one might avoid commercial fertilizers with such a setup. I’m really looking forward to getting this set up for next quarter at school!
Once you see a functioning aquaponics system, it redefines the word awesome.
-
Tim Miller joined the group
Aquaponic Window Farms 3 years, 2 months ago · View - Load More
