Ron Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 Well after seeing jvision's fishroom aquaponics thread I decided that I wanted to give it a go. So after a bunch of research on the net, it seemed like a good project to start while I am using up my vacation time. First the spot to put it in, my room is going to be pretty tight once it's set up. My wife said I can set up whatever I want as long as it stays in the room. I went with an Edsal rack, it happened to be on sale when I finally got off my butt to buy it, procrastinating worked out in this case. There was a slight delay on getting my basins due to last Friday's snow storm but they arrived on Wednesday night and I got them yesterday. I had to shut down one of my Fluval Ebi tanks because the stock tank would have been covering it up. I also shut down my PFR tank and will be setting it up for a soon to be released shrimp but that's another story. Here is a pic with the grow bed Now the stock tank is in place, time to start filling it....with RO water...ugh.... I also got a new 100 gpd RO filter. I was just taking out the DI portion to make plain RO but it's become a pain in the butt. My RO/DI on the right and my RO on the left with my 55 gallon storage barrel. My RO water seems to be a pH of 6.8 - 7.0, my RO/DI water is a pH 5.8 - 6.0. In the pic I have the DI cartridge removed as I thought I better get both systems going to fill this thing. I'm not totally trusting my grow bed to do all of the filtration, especially because it's going to be on a timed flood and drain. I am going to use an Eheim 2262 to supply most of the filtration. I used zip ties to secure the intake and discharge. 12 hours later and it's still filling, I am sure glad I got the other system going as well and I emptied my storage tank into it. Thanks for sticking around to the end of this post. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 Well it`s ALIVE!!! I used the media from my old Sterlet tank and added it to the rest of new media for the Eheim 2262. This thing is a beast; 5L of Eheim Mech, 2L of Eheim Fix, 10L of Eheim Substrat Pro all topped off with a couple layers of filter floss. I had to reconfigure the intake and discharge because I decided to place the filter in a Rubbermaid 32 gallon Brute. I was going to drill a hole in the intake to break the siphon in case of a failure but I my water level will change quite a bit depending on what cycle the grow bed in on. So instead in came the Brute; my logic is that if there is a containment failure, the garbage can will fill with water and the siphon will stop when the water levels are equal. I tried to get a good pic of my Sterlets in there but the water is cloudy, the system is moving over 4000 gph in the tank and they never stay still. I`ll start on the grow bed soon, thanks for looking. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 Cool man. For your growing bed I suggest looking for hydroton brand expanded clay,it's out of Germany(available at most grow shops) It's my fav media,better than crushed lava rock(lava rock can cut/hurt the roots) Hydroton is no longer shipping to North America,pretty soon you will only be able to buy hydrocorn brand clay the hydroton is better uniformity and size of media Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 Cool man. For your growing bed I suggest looking for hydroton brand expanded clay,it's out of Germany(available at most grow shops) It's my fav media,better than crushed lava rock(lava rock can cut/hurt the roots) Hydroton is no longer shipping to North America,pretty soon you will only be able to buy hydrocorn brand clay the hydroton is better uniformity and size of media Thanks for the suggestion Steve, it helps justify my decision to buy supplies a while ago. I actually picked up 6 - 50L bags last time I drove through Edmonton, same trip I dropped off your shrimp . The guys at the grow shops here mentioned that Hydroton wasn't available anymore so I got the last 2 bags at Hydro-Lite and 4 bags at All Seasons in Edmonton. I was even thinking of using Zoomed Hydroballs but that would have been very expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted November 19, 2012 Report Share Posted November 19, 2012 That was you!, I had to order in the very last two bags they had in storage at AS.lol just give it a little rinse before use because its a little dusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumpsmasher Posted November 20, 2012 Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 Cool man. For your growing bed I suggest looking for hydroton brand expanded clay,it's out of Germany(available at most grow shops) It's my fav media,better than crushed lava rock(lava rock can cut/hurt the roots) Hydroton is no longer shipping to North America,pretty soon you will only be able to buy hydrocorn brand clay the hydroton is better uniformity and size of media Thanks for the suggestion Steve, it helps justify my decision to buy supplies a while ago. I actually picked up 6 - 50L bags last time I drove through Edmonton, same trip I dropped off your shrimp . The guys at the grow shops here mentioned that Hydroton wasn't available anymore so I got the last 2 bags at Hydro-Lite and 4 bags at All Seasons in Edmonton. I was even thinking of using Zoomed Hydroballs but that would have been very expensive. Did you clean the shops in calgary as well? :P Looks like you are almost out of space in that room.. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2012 Did you clean the shops in calgary as well? :P Looks like you are almost out of space in that room.. lol I would have if they had any. I am also planning another system for outdoors in the spring so I'm sure my 6 bags will be gone fast. I'm sure I can squeeze some more tanks in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) Well the Sterlets seem to be happy, on to the grow bed. The Laguna basins I am using come with a hole already through the side, I had to make the hole a little larger to fit the bulkhead I had. I decided on an Eheim Compact+ 2000, mostly because I had one lying around. I used Loc Line inside so I could adjust the direction of the inflow. Next I had to drill a couple holes for the discharge. I used an ebb and flow kit from a grow shop, it came with a hose barb bulkhead. Here is the stand pipe the kit came with. Here is a media guard to go around the stand pipe I made from some black PVC I had. Got everything flanged up so time for a leak test. Every seemed good, just gotta get growing something. Got a slightly better pic of one of my Sterlets swimming around his garden of moss balls. Now I have to start rinsing all of my hydroton and get my timer for my pump. Hope you enjoyed! Edited November 25, 2012 by Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) Finished rinsing 2 bags of Hydroton, I probably will need another 1.5 bags to fill this grow bed. Even though I rinsed it, I think I'll run the outlet through a filter sock for a while. Edited November 25, 2012 by Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 (edited) Got another bag rinsed this morning and I went out to get a filter sock so I could start cycling water through the grow bed. Went to Concept Aquariums and Dave suggested a Vertex 300 micron nylon filter, so I got 2 and a couple more bulkheads...BTW Concept is the best place for bulkheads, $5 each. Dave didn't have any filter sock holders so I decided to rig my own up since it's only temporary. I used a spare piece of 1/2" plywood which was 48" x 24" and cut a hole for the sock. Got another 3/4 of a bag of Hydroton rinsed and my grow tub is full. Time to get lights and find some plants. Hmmmm probably not the best time to find plants, anyone have a suggestion of where I could source some herbs and veggies? Thanks, Ron Edited November 26, 2012 by Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 26, 2012 Report Share Posted November 26, 2012 See if there's a local Aquaponics club - there's one in Edmonton. You could start from seeds - I recently started a bunch, and despite my poor nutrient content are growing well, so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 Decided to take this to the next level; I wasn't planning on taking the plant growth too serious but decided to give them the best I can provide so I got a grow tent Next is the lighting and if my wife will forgive me, it will be LEDs. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 WOW...that is awesome! Good on ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 Thanks, I just sent out the funds for my LED light. Now to get growing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted November 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Got some more gear. The regular digital timers at the grow shop can only be set for 8 cycles/day so I upgraded to one that you just set the on and off timers and it keeps going. Now the LED light I just purchased. It is a used Hydro Grow 336x Pro I got from a friend, he even grew watermelons with it, I can control the 2 banks separately which is good because I don't need all the light to start. And full blast. And finally off, my eyes are sore...LOL I got some rock wool and some seed so I'll be starting slow but since I'm not fully stocked, it's not a bad thing. Thanks for looking. Ron Edited November 30, 2012 by Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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