New, and have i got the right forum?

Hi all,

Saying hello to everyone , just wondering if i could get any advice about Aquaponics on here, and also so diy tips.

Im currently 15 and interested in doing this, but i have 1 slight problem, which is cause an even bigger problem than i thought, then i also have a question about cheepnest of greenhouses and polytunnels, so here they are...

1.) As I plan to place it in an orchard, there is no way of getting mains electricity to the shed/glasshouse/poly tunnel. So im trying to find anything, that will power a 700LPH pump system, and last for 24/7 so at night it continues running. Does anyone have any ideas?? are there anything that will do this, any links??

2.) is im not sure between a greenhouse or a poly tunnel. I have a plot of possibly 10x8 but will be more like 6x8, but might push it. Im hoping to have 2 foot growing beds and tanks on both sides, and then have one at the end. In a U shape, with a 2 ft door. But im running on a tight budget. I have £400/£450 to be able to buy these....

Greenhouse or poly tunnel or similar.
Pump and some how electricity :L
Wood for tanks and racks
Plant trays.

Thats it, anyone got any ideas?? anyone done this before??

Thanks
Mike

 

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sorry I can't answer your questions, way out of my limited area of expertise, but I'm sure someone will be along soon enough to help.

 

Hallo Mike,
nice to have young blood on Gardeners Corner. Lots of friendly advice will be along. Can you say what you wish to grow? Apologies, I also have no knowledge of Aquaponics - sounds interesting though,

 

wow , that`s an interesting project , I was reading about a Dutch company who create the perfect Aquaponics system , the gas produced by the fish das illuminate the plants and the pump work with solar pannel .

I`m sure you have a low badget , but you can still buy solar panel water pump wich I think will not work 24 hr a day, or go to a garden center and buy a pond pump with all the cable protection to create an extention and led light to replace the gas light.
solar water pump

or cheap version

 

There Mike,
what did I tell you!1 Someone here already,

 

ps try to search on ebay or similar for a cheap greenhouse and fish tank.

 

Hi everyone!!,

Wow this site is amazing!!, thanks for the fast replys.

I'll try and answer the quesstions you gave me in this, then i'll ad more of my own.

So the system will be like this...
A green house with a U shape wooden tanks. The tanks will be full of water holding around 1220L With a few brown trout, or yellow perch. Which will then produce ammonia and nitrates. Then with a 500LPH pump, the water from the tanks will flow upwards in pvc piping to the next stage. This stage is where, on racks above the tanks, there will be plant trays. in the corner of these plant trays, there are bell siphons. The water from the tanks with the nitrates fills the plant trays until it gets to 3/4 full, when the bell siphon will automatically ( without electricity) open and siphon through gravity, which will then go back into the tanks. The water will be purified by the plants, and the plants will get benefits from the bacteria, and the fish get clean water. As well as the fish give out co2, and the plants will then convert that back into oxygen, and so on. The plants help the fish, and the fish help the plants, without having to feed the plants or do water changes on the fish.

The plants i plan to grow are things like lettuce, Strawberry's and tomatoes, aswell as some peppers ( if it gets hot enough) and some raspberry canes. as we have raspberry's outside, but they die, every time we try it ;L

The problem with it not being 24, and dependant on the sun, will mean the plants will run out of water during the night, and not have anything. It has to be a 24hr process unfortunately. Ive seen the pumps, but all of them cant go for 24. Its impossible to run a cable as its about 400M from the house, and i think my dads reluctant to letting me having a greenhouse anyway atm, so asking that is a no go :L

So need more ideas!! anyone know of any small wind turbines for the roof? for around £100 that will power just a pump and maybe a small light? Would really help as we get far to much wind in lincolnshire :L

Thanks alot
Mike

 

PS: the tanks will be diy, aswell as the racks and trays. Just made out of plywood or mdf sheets, really cheap stuff, nailed together with a bit of pond lining cheap but effective

 

The plants wont need watering through the night, nor will they need CO2, as they will not be photosynthesising in the absence of sunlight. Of course they'll need enough moisture so they don't simply dry out on a warm night, but that's unlikely to happen anyway as there'll be enough moisture in the air inside a greenhouse to keep them happy through the night. I think the 24/7 thing of commercial growers is based on the use of very sophisticated grow lights, which I'm guessing you wont be including?

 

Thanks, nope i dont plan to use any lighting, as cheap as possible hopefully! was going for a full eco system to be honest :L, I'll have a look into that, but i have a feeling it needs to run constantly for the fish swell, Will look into it and tell you . Also, do solar panels work during any day? even if its overcast and raining?

 

just found out you need to run the pumps 24/7 which didn't surprise me, as i have aquariums atm, and the fish die if not run for 24 hours. So will have to get it to run for that length of time :L, this could prove tricky :p

 

Michael , I really love your idea but , you forgot many other factor in your project, plant will need a minimum 12 hr light and 15c to grow , so your project will may work only in summer , then using ply wood for the fish tank , is erratic as contain toxine , will root very quick and fish will need light as well to grow , plus they will jump out as well.
you need a combination of shrimp and fish to keep the alghes under control (I use snail in my pond)

the dutch system I published in the picture is a perfect combination and it work and even more ....is designed to be accomodate indoor .

 

Forgive my ignorance, but are the pumps to pump air or water? I don't know anything about aquaponics, except that aqua is something to do with water

The suggestion that the pumps need to run 24/7 suggests its air that's being pumped, as things die pretty quickly when the oxygen runs out, but I don't know, I'm out of my league.

Its just that it takes less energy to pump air than it does to pump water, so it has a massive effect on your power requirements.

Solar cells work on overcast days, but obviously with a reduced efficiency. Once we work out what your power requirements are, I'd guess you need to take that power requirement and double it when choosing your solar kit, as the solar panel manufacturers rate the panel in terms of its maximum output in perfect conditions that you'll rarely get.

 

Thanks,
The system of the lighting hours, will be enough. It is like growing outside, infact exactly the same outside. I plan to grow threw the summer, then in the winter grow plants that like it, or grow seedlings for the new year The tanks were an idea scientist had for the plywood. I might use plastic for the plants though, but will increase price :S but im still going to use plywood for the tanks. The fish will also be fine without lighting. Fish dont need light at all to grow. Fish will grow happily in pitch black if needed, the aquariums i have only have lights for my benefits. Infact if you dont have lights, the only ting it is stopping growing, is the algae, meaning no light, the fish will be fine, and no algae, Had fish for 10 years now, and i always thought that, but apparently not thank goodness!! lol

I love the dutch idea! infact i could put the in my shed, which has electricity, as its kinda a garage :L, and that will work perfectly, but, and this is a huge but! The price of running the lights and the pumps and the start up cost will be insane! I was thinking about this, and using T5 halide lights, but they are £200 new for the length i need. Aswell as i could only have a 6ft tank, which means not many trout :L

but thank you for the ideas

Mike

 

Though you have not yet told us what you intend to grow
There maybe cheaper ways than you are wishing

Jack McH