Dont Overthink or Over Engineer Your Systems

5:44 AM in Aqua, dont, engineer, or, over, overthink, systems, your

It is so easy to get carried away with the physics involved in building your aquaponic grow systems that the  simple becomes unduly complex.  Complex is not good. Complex is rarely if ever easy to maintain. Try to avoid complex as much as possible.

If you think effort goes into designing a large system, just try to re-design a large system after all components are in place but not functioning as they should.  Implementing the re-design means that you have re-do all the previous hard work.  Not efficient use of time or energy.  If you and your garden want  to survive, you need to use your time and energy as efficiently as possible.

The following is a great case in point of over designing a system.  When the a frames for NFT (nutrient film technique) tubes were first designed and built for the Together We Stand project, the designer was greatly concerned that because the water was going to flow through 4 tubes before draining that all the nutrients would be absorbed by the plants on the top row and the plants in rows 2 through 4 would be nutrient starved.  So a complex manifold system was created and installed to give equal feed of the nutrient rich water into the top of the a-frame.  Truly a beautiful design as you can see from here.

Since each A-Frame has two sides, there was a manifold for each side of the frame.  Of course, this system over engineered a problem that didnt exist.  See, the nutrient levels at the top tube of an A-Frame are not significantly lower than the bottom tubes unless your system is extremely nutrient deficient. So, this overly complex design solved a problem that didnt exist.  However what it did do was utilize flow tubing that was so small you didnt get good water flow and it clogged constantly. In addition, since each tube was fed individually, it drained individually.  If you think that manifold was something, then check out this drain system

Looks like some kind of octopus, right?  In addition, note the use of clear tubing.  Well it was clear at the start I am sure.  But because the clear tubing allows sunlight to penetrate, algae growth was a constant problem and because of the design, 8 drain tubes needed to be cleaned on a regular basis.  All to solve a nutrient feed problem that doesnt exist!

The answer was to re-plumb the A-frame so that water enters in one location on each side of the frame and then feeds and drains each tube in sequence.  

So that anyone working on the system in the future will understand how it operates, each tube was marked at the feed and drain points and also with arrows indicating water flow.

 Note the use of dark tubing for the inlet feed tubing.  For the jumper lines between the tubes, in a stroke of genius my husband realized that garden hose would work perfectly and is certainly less expensive than other hosing. 

Since there is now only 1 drain for each side of the frame, only 2 drains are necessary.  That means we can slay the octopus and the task associated with keeping the lines clean.

It was a bit of a pain, but now these A-Frames will perform their NFT tasks much more effectively and will require much less effort to maintain. 

As a side note, you will notice in some of the photos that the tubes are marked with letters and numbers.  This is something that was implemented back when this shade house was first built.  It was done to help keep crop and maintenance records.  Even if your garden is small, if you have more than one grow bed, NFT tube system or multiple raft beds I highly recommend that you develop some sort of identification system to make your record keeping much easier.

So how did you spend your week-end?

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Alternative Aquaculture Systems

2:14 PM in alternative, Aqua, aquaculture, systems

Industry Overview

The Aquaculture industry blossomed rapidly, and became a significant supplier of food over the last couple of decades. Aqua Farming is now practiced worldwide, each year it increases in scope and significance. The aquaculture industry grew out of necessity, the chief reason being that the traditional practice of hunting and gathering of food by fishing became unsustainable in many areas of the world. Read More Here



Growth Trough Innovation

The need for change in seafood supply lead us to Aquaculture and now the need for changes in the way we farm fish has lead us to developing alternative methods to conduct aquaculture in a more sustainable manner. One of new technologies that are having a tremendous impact upon the way we farm fish is land based farming in enclosed tanks using water recycling systems. Read More Here

An innovative combination of fish and vegetable farming methods that is experiencing renewed interest and rapid growth around the world is Aquaponics. This farming method is essentially the rebirth of age old practices and is now used to farm vegetables, herbs and fish synergistically. It is an eco-friendly way to naturally produce quality food for home use or for sale. This scalable farming method is being embraced by many small home growers and even large operations that are using the process and methods as a means of producing sustainable fish and plant crops. Read More Here

Aquaculture Industry Size

Aquaculture, probably the fastest growing food-producing sector, now accounts for nearly 50 percent of the worlds food fish. The reason for this is very simple, aqua farming is the best and most sustainable method to meet the demand for fresh seafood products that our population creates. It is now a widely held view that the worldwide biomass of wild fish and shellfish (stocks) are continuing to be depleted at a rate that surprises even those scientists that made dire predictions a few short years ago. Read More Here.

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3D Aquaponics systems

10:12 PM in 3d, Aqua, aquaponics, systems

3D Aquaponics systems

The internet is full of free resources to use in order to make your life easier. There are many reasons to download models rather than creating one from scratch. To save time, save money or even for testing lighting. As long as you follow the users rules, it is perfectly acceptable to download these models. Below an a linkto 3D aquaponics system

Link 3D Models

D. Koster


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Aquaponics - Commercial aquaponics - Hydroponics - Grow bed

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Aquaponic Systems Growing Methods

3:07 AM in Aqua, aquaponic, growing, methods, systems

 Aquaponic Systems Growing Methods

The way aquaponic systems are built are endless. The two parts that are the same are the fish tank and a plant bed. Some of the differences include filtration techniques, plumbing, the type of plant bed, growing medium, and the frequency of water and aeration. Some of the more popular aquaponic methods emerging in the industry are methods based on a hydroponic system design, and raising fish for filtration.

Raft Methode

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

The raft system method is the first  of our easy aquaponic systems.  The raft system is also known as deep channel, float and deep flow.  The plants are grown on rafts made from Styrofoam boards that float on the water. The rafts are usually in a tank separate from the fish tank. Water flows continuously from the fish tank, through filtration components, through the raft tank where the plants are grown and then back to the fish tank. The beneficial bacteria live in the raft tank and throughout the system.
The water in the raft tank provides a buffer for the fish, reducing stress and potential water quality problems. This is one of the greatest benefits of the raft system. Plus, this method has been improved for over 20 years. The raft system is a well developed method that allows for high plant production per square foot.  Commercial raft systems can cover large areas, best utilizing the floor space in a greenhouse. Vegetable seedlings are best placed on one end of the raft tank. The rafts are pushed forward on the surface of the water over time and then the mature plants are harvested at the other end of the raft. Once a raft is harvested, it can be replanted with seedlings and set into place on the opposite end. The optimizes floor space, which is especially important in a commercial greenhouse setting.

The NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) Method

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

The second setup is hydroponic  NFT (Nutrient Film Technique), which is a method in which long narrow channels are used to grow the plants.  A thin film of water continuously flows down each channel, providing the plant roots with water, nutrients and oxygen. As with the raft system, water flows continuously from the fish tank, through filtration components, through the NFT channels where the plants are grown and then back to the fish tank. In NFT, a separate bio filter is required, however, because there is not a large amount of water or surface for the beneficial bacteria to live. In addition, the plumbing used in a hydroponic NFT system is usually not large enough to be used in aquaponics because the organic nature of the system and “living” water will cause clogging of small pipes and tubes. NFT aquaponics shows potential however,  it is used less than other aquaponic methods.

The EBB (Flood and Drain) Method 

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

Hydroponic EBB and Flow is the third method of aquaponic systems.  EBB and Flow or Flood and Drain uses media filled beds that are periodically flooded with water from the fish tank. The water is drained after the water level rises above the bell siphon and flows back to the fish tank. All waste, including the solids, is broken down within the plant bed. Sometimes worms are added to the gravel-filled plant bed to enhance the break-down of the waste. This method uses the fewest components and no additional filtration, making it simple to operate and naming it one of the best aquaponic system methods. The plant production is less than the two methods described above. The media-filled bed is often used for hobby applications where maximizing production is not a goal.

The Aeroponic Method

 

Aquaponics, ækw??p?n?ks, pisciponics

 








Another method that can be use with aquaponic systems it the basic principle of aeroponics.  Your vegetables and plants are suspended in a closed or semi-closed environment by spraying the plant’s dangling roots and lower stem with an  nutrient-rich fish water. The leaves and crown, often called the “canopy”, extend above the the growing container. The roots of the plant are separated by the plant support structure. Many times closed cell foam is compressed around the lower stem and inserted into an opening in the aeroponic chamber, which decreases labor and expense; for larger plants, a trellis structure is used to suspend the weight of your crops.
Ideally, your system is kept free from bugs, pests and disease so that the plants may grow healthier and more quickly than plants grown in a medium or the soil. However, since most aeroponic environments are not perfectly closed off to the outside, pests and disease may still cause a threat. Controlled environments advance plant development, health, growth, flowering and fruiting for any given plant species and cultivators.

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