Plumbing the new Aquaponics grow beds.

Now to the fun stuff Plumbing! Originally I planned to drill a hole in the side of the grow bed and install a bulkhead fitting connected to my standpipe and return plumbing. After a visit to my friend Bob's blog at Chico Aquaponics and I found a new way to drain the beds without punching a hole in the side. This is a test that may well lead back to my original plan if I don't gain 100% confidence that it will work, oh well nothing ventured nothing gained.

Here is my first attempt at an overflow drain. You are probably asking yourself did it work? Well the answer is yes and no. Yes the drain pulled water from the grow bed and drained it into the tank below. Yes the loop remained primed  after the pump got turned off and the drain stopped. No the drain could not keep up with the pump. I have a 330 gph pump at 1' of head so i did the math and since the pump was was pumping up 3' it should be outputting approximately 200 gph. Since a 1" overflow should drain off 375 gph it made sense to me to go with a 1" pvc overflow.

Where did I go wrong? After review 3 things became clear 1) my lift is actually closer to 1' which means the pump is rated to pump 330 gph 2) this pump actually performs better that its specs indicate it should and it's delivering 400 gph 3) the overflow is probably only draining at 300 gph. Back to the drawing board, I will build a 1.5" overflow which should drain at a rate of 840 gph. Below is a not so good video that I shot in the dark with a flashlight on my phone, not good I know but it gets the point across. I will update when I get the larger overflow built until then I wish you love and happiness.

Grow bed liner installation.

Today is a very exciting day, I am installing the liners in my grow beds. I know that for most people this is probably not the most exciting thing but for me it represents the light at the end of the tunnel. We are so close to growing all our own veggies that I can almost taste them.

First step is to roll out the liner making sure you have enough slack on both ends, measure twice and cut once. This stuff is not cheep but its worth it to not have leaks. If you are interested in learning more about the liner I used then click here.

 The trickiest part is to fold the corners in such a way that you end up with a clean corner that keeps the liner from wrinkling and puckering. In the pictures to the right you can see the folded triangle pocket that is tucked on the backside of the liner.

Here is a view from the front side, note the liner must be cut to allow the excess material to be folded flat on the ledge of the grow bed.

Here is a completed corner, looks pretty good if I do say so myself. Don't be shy with the staples in the corners. It helps a lot to make sure things are secure. This reminds me of wrapping Christmas presents, I'm not very good at that either.

As you can see even when your careful its easy to get some wrinkles. Not to worry though because once its full of water and rafts I'm the only one who will know. Last step is to trim off the excess then cap the edges with a trim piece.

This has taken a lot longer that I thought but its satisfying to know that my hard work will have a great payout for me and my family. Next I will show how I add the plumbing to circulate the water throughout the system. If you want to see a real pro check out Friendly Aquaponics installation videos by clicking here.

Aquaponics Finalizing Construction

This is the final day of construction, I am very excited to get the heavy lifting out of the way so we can start the fun stuff. Today's entry is boring but important, Arizona's extreme temperatures will put high demands on heating and cooling water.

 In an effort to maintain a more consistent water temperature I have wrapped the IBC with 1 1/2" Styrofoam insulation. Then I skinned the tanks with siding to protect the insulation and make things look finished.

  The opening to the top of the IBC will allow full access to the fish. I will build an insulated lid to help reduce heat transfer.

All I have left for construction is to insulate and wrap the back tank. You can see in this picture that I have received my roll of trough liner, the next blog will cover how to install the liner.

Rediscovering my passion for Photography

I have always liked to take pictures and found myself trying to capture that special moment that would deliver an emotional return. Unfortunately my skill level was amateurish and I only had enough knowledge to be dangerous. Equipment seemed to be the logical solution to my inability which has led me to purchase newer better and faster gear but I still lacked the understanding to know how to properly compose and take a great picture. Thats not to say I never captured good pictures, the problem was that when I did I couldn't tell you what I did to get them. This has sent me on a journey to figure it out and let me say its not easy.

My current camera is a Canon EOS 40D which is an entry level DSLR that I thought would be my holy grail when I bought it. Of course I was wrong and even though I managed to get more good shots than before, it was mostly because I could take a lot more pictures faster so I had more to choose from. There are so many features on this camera that I figured if I learn how to use the features it would deliver results. Canon has some decent resources available that explain what each button is and how to use them, now I am armed with more knowledge and must have new skills right! Wrong things went from bed to worse. It seemed like I could use two settings and all would be perfect these are aperture priority and shutter priority. When you read about them and watch the training videos it really produced outstanding pictures, now that is something I can do.

Not being one to give up, my search has continued and the thing I now know is equipment does not make a photographer. I'm not saying good equipment isn't a difference maker, but knowing how to set your shot up and what to do with the equipment is crucial. A great photographer can take outstanding pictures with any camera you put in their hands, an amateur will struggle especially with the best equipment money could buy.

In the coming months I will share with you my experience as I embark on becoming a decent photographer.

P.S. Below is a sample of where I am today, let me know what you think.