All,
The prototype AP project continues, and we are continuing to gather data. Here is an update:
The fish seem to be growing and we have removed no dead ones for the last couple months. The fish have been sticking to the bottom and aligning themselves against the inlet current however as I have been feeding in the last couple of week I have noticed that several are leaving the bottom to intercept the food as it sinks. Perhaps they will begin to come to the surface to eat. If so, this will aid us in our tracking their health.
We also have a plan to enable us to weigh and measure a sample of the fish. We have been considering methods but are concerned that handling the fish may lead to stress or injury which may provide a vector for infection. We are going to establish a mini AP system that will hold our sample fish so that as we catch one we can measure and weigh it then place it in the mini-system. If the fish survive and are healthy we can transfer them to a pond or another system. This should work well since we will need to remove many fish over time as they grow due to our limited capacity of 170 lbs in the main tank. We have around 170 fish, if we measure once a month, and select a sample of five each time that's only 25-30 fish. If we can acquire a 60 gal tank- or larger -this will suit us well. We can use the extra tank we have- the one we plan to use for our breeding program -but I would rather have a separate system so that it doesn't interfere with the breeding program once we decide to start. Also, as I've stated before this system doesn't have to be used as a way to mature these fish, only as a way to quarantine the fish so as not to "waste" them. We can always transfer them to other systems or ponds as needed.
The plants we've chosen have done tolerably well given this was our first uncoordinated try. The tomatoes- that were already stunted due mostly to our inability to give them proper nutrition at the beginning of their growth -are looking worse since I uprooted them and replanted them. The plants in our system have developed a veery fine and delicate root structure, probably because there is no need for the strong "beefy" tap roots. As we move rocks around we get into those roots and break them off- it doesn't take much effort -thus it was for the tomatoe plants. However, they have also been hit with the heat for the last few weeks and this has added stress on them. They are starting to look better but I think at least one bin (R2) should be removed and we can replant with something else. The tomatoe that is still growing well, and that I did not replant, is the cherry tomatoe plant in R2. I must say that I also believe that adding the nails to the gravel beneath each plant has added at least a trace amount of iron as a nutrient in that those plants are greening up a bit.
The second wave of cucumbers I planted are also doing well, growing are the correct shade of green, as well as the cantelope in R1, and the Bell peppers in the same bin. Though the Bell peppers produced, the peppers themselves were only about the size of a golf ball so for whatever reason GB L1 is not the healthiest.
As I stated previously many of the plants currently in the bins need to be removed and the beds replanted. I have started some green bean seeds to add after they have sprouted. I think we could also plant several bins with Summer peas. Having plants in the bins should increase the water quality, as well as shade the gravel from the sun. I think the worms in the grow bins like to live in the dense root structures also.
Speaking of the worms, I'm discovering that this is really as whole project in itself. We have worms in the grow bins and I believe that they have done well in eliminating any "hard packed" solids in the grow bins. Even if they are not eating as much as we'd like I think they're movements within the bin aids in proper water flow.
We also have established a small worm bin where we have thought we would breed worms in an attempt to create a fish feeding program using these worms. Since I don't REALLY know how to raise worms I'm not sure we are being successful. Yesterday I opened the bin and noticed large bug larva, then I noticed what I think are red mites- the sworn enemy of worms -so I removed all the worms, fed the larva (which I think are soldier fly larva) to the fish and dumped the bedding. I placed the worms (about 60) in two grow bins. We will need to research further before restarting the worm program. I have been told, and have read that soldier fly larva are also goof for fish food. Perhaps raising them would require fewer challenges, though I suspect they will have their own set. We could easily enough construct a "bug hut" that would keep the flys coraled, allow for a way to feed and let them do the rest. Soldier flys look more like a wasp than a fly, I don't think in fact they they are a "fly".
We are currently developing a parts list for both out DC back-up system, as well as the greenhouse. We also have barrels for the water catchment system but have not added any plumbing.
I spoke with Sandy Carter a few weeks ago and she is still onboard for hosting the pilot site. I told her we were still in the testing phase and would begin gearing up for our first visit to her facility, I hope in 2011.
Please pray for our continual development of this project.
Blessings- Tony
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Prototype Aquaponics Project (Charity Chapel) Update
The project still continues and the system is operating as designed.
The vegetables are growing tolerably well though it is obvious that some vegetables grow better in the aquaponic environment than others. To date our green beans were very productive until the ants started "aphid ranching" on them. We harvested about 412 green beans from only 14 plants. Cucumbers also seem to like the watery environment. The vines are thriving and the blooms are many, and we have harvest 19 cucumbers from just two plants. I have planted two more cucumber vines in another grow bin. I have also planted some cantaloupes in two bins and though it is a little late in the season for planting it will be interesting to see their development.
The corn also seems to be growing well as a plant however I'm not sure I like the look of the ears, they seem thin but its still early and they may fatten up. Because of its size I'm not sure corn is the best thing to grow in our bins though perhaps special low bins could be used for this.
Plants that have grown and produced but have not seemed healthy or have not produced much edible have been the squash. Between the yellow squash and the Zucchini squash the Zucchini has done the best. Both squashes have produced 2-3 squash each however the Zucchini plants have grown and looked the best. Currently there are about four 3" squash on the plants.
Both our Bell and Jalapeno peppers have grown tolerably well, and have produced fruit though they tend to be small and frequently fall off the plant. Currently there are several Jalapeno peppers, and there are about six Bells growing on each of the three plants.
The plants that seems to have struggled from the start are the tomatoes. They are stunted and until recently they were quite lite (yellowish) green. We suspect a nutrient deficiency-maybe iron. I stuck two nails per plant at the base of the plants in one bin to see if the iron oxide produced as they rust will help though one of our members has said that there are several states of iron and only one can be absorbed by plants. I have hopes that the grow bin environment will produce the correct type of iron. I am watching new growth to see if I see any color change. We are also increasing the amount of fish food entering the system so this may help.
A problem I think we will encounter though is that when the average night time temps reach the mid to upper 70s tomatoe fruit won't set so it might be difficult to judge tomatoes this season. Because of the above described issues only about three fruit set so this may be all we get this season, unless we leave the plants until the temperatures cool, though then we may encounter other issues- position of the Sun.
We harvested the five large Channel cats we were using to start our system and replaced them with 176 Channel catfish fingerlings. We actually purchased 200 but some died during transport while a few others died of shock though I imagine that the deaths of many of the later were initially due to problems during transport. Three of the 5 larger fish were egg carrying females which is encouraging to our future breeding program.
Though our tank has kept relatively clean we are seeing some slight piling of solids in one area. One answer to this might be the addition of 1-2 small Carp. They will need to be big enough to not be eaten by the cats, but not big enough to bully them for food. I researched Carp and found that they had inherited a bad reputation and are eaten as a delicacy in several Asian and European countries. On our list of fish to raise we may also consider Carp for our US sites.
One of the challenges we are finding is the high temperatures. We have high temps in the 90s and I suspect our only saving grace is that the temp is not consistently in the 90s in a 24 hour period. So far no massive fish kill so I guess we are holding our own. I suspect however that should we lose power for any amount of time the oxygen will be depleted relatively fast.
The system continues to work tolerably well with little maintenance. One problem we have encountered is that of grow bin L-3 not triggering properly. The larger effect is that it causes the water to overflow the bin until the sump is empty, the pump shuts off, then the tank drains to the bottom of the Supply inlet valve so the system is off. Oddly enough ion the three times this has happened it has always occurred in the late afternoon. I say this because I've arrived and found the water still trickling out of the supply valves. Fortunately for us the Chlorine levels in this part of the city are very low during this part of the day and we have successfully added water straight to the sump and thereby bringing it back online quickly. However this is a good reason to proceed with our water catchment system, and to ensure something like this is part of each system we build.
We do have a question about the solids accumulation in the grow bins where the supply dumps into the grow bin. We have added, and will be adding more worms. They seem to move quickly into the gravel but I'm not sure if they are staying in there after the sun sets. I did find a live worm in a bin as I was digging around so perhaps they are staying. I am preparing to dunp about 50 worms per bin to see if how that works, if there is not a notable change we may begin filtering solids at the supply of each bin.
We are intending to grow worms in bins to use as fish food eventually. We have a small colony crowing in a plastic storage bin under on of the grow bins and they seem to be fairly happy. We might consider other insect larva also. I have heard that soldier fly larva is fairly easy to grow.
Thats the full report as of today. Be blessed!
The vegetables are growing tolerably well though it is obvious that some vegetables grow better in the aquaponic environment than others. To date our green beans were very productive until the ants started "aphid ranching" on them. We harvested about 412 green beans from only 14 plants. Cucumbers also seem to like the watery environment. The vines are thriving and the blooms are many, and we have harvest 19 cucumbers from just two plants. I have planted two more cucumber vines in another grow bin. I have also planted some cantaloupes in two bins and though it is a little late in the season for planting it will be interesting to see their development.
The corn also seems to be growing well as a plant however I'm not sure I like the look of the ears, they seem thin but its still early and they may fatten up. Because of its size I'm not sure corn is the best thing to grow in our bins though perhaps special low bins could be used for this.
Plants that have grown and produced but have not seemed healthy or have not produced much edible have been the squash. Between the yellow squash and the Zucchini squash the Zucchini has done the best. Both squashes have produced 2-3 squash each however the Zucchini plants have grown and looked the best. Currently there are about four 3" squash on the plants.
Both our Bell and Jalapeno peppers have grown tolerably well, and have produced fruit though they tend to be small and frequently fall off the plant. Currently there are several Jalapeno peppers, and there are about six Bells growing on each of the three plants.
The plants that seems to have struggled from the start are the tomatoes. They are stunted and until recently they were quite lite (yellowish) green. We suspect a nutrient deficiency-maybe iron. I stuck two nails per plant at the base of the plants in one bin to see if the iron oxide produced as they rust will help though one of our members has said that there are several states of iron and only one can be absorbed by plants. I have hopes that the grow bin environment will produce the correct type of iron. I am watching new growth to see if I see any color change. We are also increasing the amount of fish food entering the system so this may help.
A problem I think we will encounter though is that when the average night time temps reach the mid to upper 70s tomatoe fruit won't set so it might be difficult to judge tomatoes this season. Because of the above described issues only about three fruit set so this may be all we get this season, unless we leave the plants until the temperatures cool, though then we may encounter other issues- position of the Sun.
We harvested the five large Channel cats we were using to start our system and replaced them with 176 Channel catfish fingerlings. We actually purchased 200 but some died during transport while a few others died of shock though I imagine that the deaths of many of the later were initially due to problems during transport. Three of the 5 larger fish were egg carrying females which is encouraging to our future breeding program.
Though our tank has kept relatively clean we are seeing some slight piling of solids in one area. One answer to this might be the addition of 1-2 small Carp. They will need to be big enough to not be eaten by the cats, but not big enough to bully them for food. I researched Carp and found that they had inherited a bad reputation and are eaten as a delicacy in several Asian and European countries. On our list of fish to raise we may also consider Carp for our US sites.
One of the challenges we are finding is the high temperatures. We have high temps in the 90s and I suspect our only saving grace is that the temp is not consistently in the 90s in a 24 hour period. So far no massive fish kill so I guess we are holding our own. I suspect however that should we lose power for any amount of time the oxygen will be depleted relatively fast.
The system continues to work tolerably well with little maintenance. One problem we have encountered is that of grow bin L-3 not triggering properly. The larger effect is that it causes the water to overflow the bin until the sump is empty, the pump shuts off, then the tank drains to the bottom of the Supply inlet valve so the system is off. Oddly enough ion the three times this has happened it has always occurred in the late afternoon. I say this because I've arrived and found the water still trickling out of the supply valves. Fortunately for us the Chlorine levels in this part of the city are very low during this part of the day and we have successfully added water straight to the sump and thereby bringing it back online quickly. However this is a good reason to proceed with our water catchment system, and to ensure something like this is part of each system we build.
We do have a question about the solids accumulation in the grow bins where the supply dumps into the grow bin. We have added, and will be adding more worms. They seem to move quickly into the gravel but I'm not sure if they are staying in there after the sun sets. I did find a live worm in a bin as I was digging around so perhaps they are staying. I am preparing to dunp about 50 worms per bin to see if how that works, if there is not a notable change we may begin filtering solids at the supply of each bin.
We are intending to grow worms in bins to use as fish food eventually. We have a small colony crowing in a plastic storage bin under on of the grow bins and they seem to be fairly happy. We might consider other insect larva also. I have heard that soldier fly larva is fairly easy to grow.
Thats the full report as of today. Be blessed!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Prototype Aquaponics Project (Charity Chapel) Update
We are closing in on 60 days of continuous operation and the system is holding its own. There have been a couple of challenges, mostly with the young neighborhood kids, but overall the system has been resilient.
Are largest challenge, currently seems to be that of plant nutrition. Many of the plant species are exhibiting light green foliage, and some seem stunted- like the tomatoes. I have noticed, however, a lack of consistency in this. For instance the the zucchini squash seems to be slightly stunted but much greener and producing fruit than its sister Yellow squash in another grow bin. Too, the hybrid tomatoes are slightly greener than the heirloom though both are about the same mall size. The peppers to are not consistent with the Bell peppers being dark green and beginning to bloom, but their brother Jalapenos are tall, light green and bearing fruit.
The cucumbers and green beans seem to be preforming the best of all. We have harvested about 100 green beans from 14 plants (not quite half a grow bin) and the plants are still producing well. We also harvested 4- 10" cucumbers from one plant. Interestingly enough the second plant in the same bin is producing an abundance of flowers but no fruit.
Our theory concerning the plant health is that they lack nitrogen due to small amount of fish in the system. We suspect that when we remove the large fish and add the 100+ fingerlings the nitrogen will increase
There has been a slight buildup of solids in the left side grow bins. We have countered this by adding a few worms to the bins. We should add a significant amount to see any real change. Speaking of... we had a bit of trouble with our worm bin in that fire ants found it and began nesting in it. We cleaned out the bin, replaced all the bedding and reinstalled the worms. We treated the area beneath the grow bin where we located the worm bed with ant killer, then set the worm bed container on an overturned container lid, then filled the lid with water to act as a moat. The worms have not returned. As an added bonus the "moat" lid is catching a drip from the grow bin that is keeping water in it!
The five fish seem to be healthy, in fact they were inspected today and much of the white spots seems to have disappeared so perhaps it was not Ick. There are still several small white marks but these could be attributed to fighting or tank scrapes. I am providing a microscope so that we can eventually look at skin and water samples to see if we can make a better determination. As of today they are active and ate well when they were fed. I increased their food today from about 3 cups to about 6 cups after waiting to see their consumption of the first 3 cups. We will soon be replacing them with the fingerling's.
The system is working as designed. Grow bin R-1 was not cycling when I stopped this week. I found a plug in the siphon tube, cleared and reinserted the bell. It worked fine afterwords.
The system should be monitored at least every other day6 to ensure the bins are cycling and to correct these types of situations. We must remember that the bin is not operating outside a system but it affects the results of the whole. If a grow gin is not cycling, or cycling correctly that means that the plants in the bin may not be getting their nutritional needs met but it also means that full colony of bacteria are not being utilized, which means that the water is not being cleaned, nor aerated which means that the fish are not getting their basic needs met.
We will begin on some of our additional projects soon.
Blessings- Tony
Are largest challenge, currently seems to be that of plant nutrition. Many of the plant species are exhibiting light green foliage, and some seem stunted- like the tomatoes. I have noticed, however, a lack of consistency in this. For instance the the zucchini squash seems to be slightly stunted but much greener and producing fruit than its sister Yellow squash in another grow bin. Too, the hybrid tomatoes are slightly greener than the heirloom though both are about the same mall size. The peppers to are not consistent with the Bell peppers being dark green and beginning to bloom, but their brother Jalapenos are tall, light green and bearing fruit.
The cucumbers and green beans seem to be preforming the best of all. We have harvested about 100 green beans from 14 plants (not quite half a grow bin) and the plants are still producing well. We also harvested 4- 10" cucumbers from one plant. Interestingly enough the second plant in the same bin is producing an abundance of flowers but no fruit.
Our theory concerning the plant health is that they lack nitrogen due to small amount of fish in the system. We suspect that when we remove the large fish and add the 100+ fingerlings the nitrogen will increase
There has been a slight buildup of solids in the left side grow bins. We have countered this by adding a few worms to the bins. We should add a significant amount to see any real change. Speaking of... we had a bit of trouble with our worm bin in that fire ants found it and began nesting in it. We cleaned out the bin, replaced all the bedding and reinstalled the worms. We treated the area beneath the grow bin where we located the worm bed with ant killer, then set the worm bed container on an overturned container lid, then filled the lid with water to act as a moat. The worms have not returned. As an added bonus the "moat" lid is catching a drip from the grow bin that is keeping water in it!
The five fish seem to be healthy, in fact they were inspected today and much of the white spots seems to have disappeared so perhaps it was not Ick. There are still several small white marks but these could be attributed to fighting or tank scrapes. I am providing a microscope so that we can eventually look at skin and water samples to see if we can make a better determination. As of today they are active and ate well when they were fed. I increased their food today from about 3 cups to about 6 cups after waiting to see their consumption of the first 3 cups. We will soon be replacing them with the fingerling's.
The system is working as designed. Grow bin R-1 was not cycling when I stopped this week. I found a plug in the siphon tube, cleared and reinserted the bell. It worked fine afterwords.
The system should be monitored at least every other day6 to ensure the bins are cycling and to correct these types of situations. We must remember that the bin is not operating outside a system but it affects the results of the whole. If a grow gin is not cycling, or cycling correctly that means that the plants in the bin may not be getting their nutritional needs met but it also means that full colony of bacteria are not being utilized, which means that the water is not being cleaned, nor aerated which means that the fish are not getting their basic needs met.
We will begin on some of our additional projects soon.
Blessings- Tony
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Prototype Aquaponics Project (Charity Chapel) Update
Well kids, here's the latest...
Rob visited the system this afternoon and found that some young neighborhood kids (6-10yrs old) have been playing and vandalizing the system. We found footprints in the grow bin gravel, a drain pulled out, our water chemistry kit had been opened and thrown on the ground (fortunately only two sticks were left so no big loss but the one Rob brought for Chlorine and Bromine were gone), we also found a dead fish in the sump tank however we figure that the fish (the smallest one that we had just added) had probably committed suicide, and a cat had found it, then the kids found it and pushed it into the sump. Most of the water valves were shut off too. Overall it took just a few minutes to correct and realign the system.
We will need to seriously think about a different model for access if this doesn't stop. The addition of a green house around the grow bins and some lattice work/fencing around the pavilion will work.
We also took water chemistry (I had purchased another kit) and they were still in tolerance. pH and AK were higher than last time but that might be due to the system being nearly shut down for several hours. Nitrites are 0 while Nitrates are low, say 5. We are converting and using!!
The fish appear to have something wrong with them. We are guessing that its "ick." This can be treated with a little... copper sulfate I think, but if we are going to pull the big cats out anyway, in prep for the fingerlings we can just do it early and allow the ick to die off. It is a type of protozoa that needs a living host to survive. If we pull the fish out and wait a couple weeks the ick will die out with out spending or adding anything. We could also drain the tank and replace the water but why go to the time and expense if its not needed. Rob has recommended adding some hydroponics food while we are treating the ick to keep the plants healthy. With just a small addition of liquid food it should be used up and out of the water by the time we are ready for the fish.
The plants appear to be getting slightly greener so the addition of the three other catfish (though just two now) seems to be working. We also picked about 30 green beans from about 14 plants. Young cucumbers can also be seen on the vines, and the corn is about 10" tall.
The worm bins seem to be OK. I dug through the cool moist bedding and encountered several VERY active worms. We noticed that Grow bins L-1 and L-2 have begun to accumulate solids ao we took about three medium sized worms from the worm bin and added the to each bin. Literally within 3 seconds they were already partially dug into the gravel and with about 6 seconds they were gone! It will be interesting to see how they acclimate to the bins.
Overall the system is still working as designed, and it seems to be tolerant of small children. I know that the neighbors- especially kids -may be a challenge but we will need to walk a line in this area. Winning the neighbors over, walking the line between access, safety and security are practical lessons that we will need to learn.
Blessings- Tony
Rob visited the system this afternoon and found that some young neighborhood kids (6-10yrs old) have been playing and vandalizing the system. We found footprints in the grow bin gravel, a drain pulled out, our water chemistry kit had been opened and thrown on the ground (fortunately only two sticks were left so no big loss but the one Rob brought for Chlorine and Bromine were gone), we also found a dead fish in the sump tank however we figure that the fish (the smallest one that we had just added) had probably committed suicide, and a cat had found it, then the kids found it and pushed it into the sump. Most of the water valves were shut off too. Overall it took just a few minutes to correct and realign the system.
We will need to seriously think about a different model for access if this doesn't stop. The addition of a green house around the grow bins and some lattice work/fencing around the pavilion will work.
We also took water chemistry (I had purchased another kit) and they were still in tolerance. pH and AK were higher than last time but that might be due to the system being nearly shut down for several hours. Nitrites are 0 while Nitrates are low, say 5. We are converting and using!!
The fish appear to have something wrong with them. We are guessing that its "ick." This can be treated with a little... copper sulfate I think, but if we are going to pull the big cats out anyway, in prep for the fingerlings we can just do it early and allow the ick to die off. It is a type of protozoa that needs a living host to survive. If we pull the fish out and wait a couple weeks the ick will die out with out spending or adding anything. We could also drain the tank and replace the water but why go to the time and expense if its not needed. Rob has recommended adding some hydroponics food while we are treating the ick to keep the plants healthy. With just a small addition of liquid food it should be used up and out of the water by the time we are ready for the fish.
The plants appear to be getting slightly greener so the addition of the three other catfish (though just two now) seems to be working. We also picked about 30 green beans from about 14 plants. Young cucumbers can also be seen on the vines, and the corn is about 10" tall.
The worm bins seem to be OK. I dug through the cool moist bedding and encountered several VERY active worms. We noticed that Grow bins L-1 and L-2 have begun to accumulate solids ao we took about three medium sized worms from the worm bin and added the to each bin. Literally within 3 seconds they were already partially dug into the gravel and with about 6 seconds they were gone! It will be interesting to see how they acclimate to the bins.
Overall the system is still working as designed, and it seems to be tolerant of small children. I know that the neighbors- especially kids -may be a challenge but we will need to walk a line in this area. Winning the neighbors over, walking the line between access, safety and security are practical lessons that we will need to learn.
Blessings- Tony
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Prototype Aquaponics Project (Charity Chapel) Update
We had two projects on Wednesday; 1) Experiment with a new type siphon modeled after the Affnan siphon, and 2) Create a worm bed.
The principle physical difference in the Affnan siphon vs our original version (straight standpipe) is that the overall standpipe assembly is taller, and that it uses a "funnel" on top of the standpipe. By Affnan specs the ratio of funnel to standpipe is 2:1 however we found that a 1.5" funnel worked better in our system. This could be due to various factors that will need further investigation and experimentation. The biggest positive feature for us is the ability to easily adjust the height of the standpipe so as to better set the height the water rises in the bed. The larger funnel we tried would not reset. We are not saying the problem lies with the design, more towards our use of this design. If you want to know more about the Affnan system please refer to his YouTube videos, he has quite a few.
We also established our first worm bin. The worm bins will be to grow food for the catfish. The materials we used are a plastic container about 2' long x 18" wide x 18" tall. I trilled holes around the top of the container but under the lip in case it was exposed to water from the top the container would not flood. And though many documents said to drill holes in the bottom of the container we decided not to but to monitor the moisture we placed inside. If we wanted to, we could have drilled holes but then we would have needed to add security to the container to keep the worms from wondering off, or other insects from getting in, or from water getting in from the bottom. The worm bin will be stored under a grow bin away from direct sunlight and weather in general. One possible additional safety measure might be to sit the the container on an upturned lid and add water to it creating a small "moat" around the container. We feel this would limit access by fire ants- if we felt there might be a problem, or discover there is a problem with the ants.
We next used shredded office paper and cheap bagged topsoil to build our bed. The soil is for the grit required by the worm's digestive system. We started with shredded paper, wetted it, then added a large handful of top soil and mixed it together ensureing that it was well integrated. We could have used soil from around the site but I wanted to start with somewhat known and stable ingredients. We then added more paper and started again but integrating the previous batch into the new also. We continued this process until the container was a little less than half full. We then added the worms to the top and allowed them to work their way into the bedding.
Just to be clear, the above description only concerns the worm bedding- were the worms live -not their food supply. Though the worms will eat their bedding one must also add "food to the top about once a week, depending on the number of worms to be feed. I believe the proper ratio is one pound of worms to every 1/2 pound of "food" (waste, garbage, etc.). We are starting with about 20+ red wigglers of various sizes that I dug from my composte pile. I will add more later.
According to the documentation we read we will place the food on top of the bedding and monitoring until it is almost gone. The worms should come up through the bedding to feed. Once the food is gone we will place more on the top. If we had started with 50 worms we should be able to harvest in 2 months so I assume it will take longer for us since we added less, or we will need to add more.
One of the biggest concerns is that of moisture. All the documentation said that the bedding should be damp but not wet. The best description I think is that of a wrung-out spounge, though I suppose everyone has their own notion of what "wrung-out" is. Imagine your a worm, living in an environment... you are not an aquatic animal and your want to be comfortable... go from there.
We will be establishing several worm beds over time and to whatever production level is needed. We will use different materials- hopefully all will consist of "waste" materials -and we will try several methods.
We ended out time by taking water chemistry and found it all was still about the same. Because we have a need for more Nitrogen, and because the bacteria seems to be established to some level, we think the following is a good strategy:
The principle physical difference in the Affnan siphon vs our original version (straight standpipe) is that the overall standpipe assembly is taller, and that it uses a "funnel" on top of the standpipe. By Affnan specs the ratio of funnel to standpipe is 2:1 however we found that a 1.5" funnel worked better in our system. This could be due to various factors that will need further investigation and experimentation. The biggest positive feature for us is the ability to easily adjust the height of the standpipe so as to better set the height the water rises in the bed. The larger funnel we tried would not reset. We are not saying the problem lies with the design, more towards our use of this design. If you want to know more about the Affnan system please refer to his YouTube videos, he has quite a few.
We also established our first worm bin. The worm bins will be to grow food for the catfish. The materials we used are a plastic container about 2' long x 18" wide x 18" tall. I trilled holes around the top of the container but under the lip in case it was exposed to water from the top the container would not flood. And though many documents said to drill holes in the bottom of the container we decided not to but to monitor the moisture we placed inside. If we wanted to, we could have drilled holes but then we would have needed to add security to the container to keep the worms from wondering off, or other insects from getting in, or from water getting in from the bottom. The worm bin will be stored under a grow bin away from direct sunlight and weather in general. One possible additional safety measure might be to sit the the container on an upturned lid and add water to it creating a small "moat" around the container. We feel this would limit access by fire ants- if we felt there might be a problem, or discover there is a problem with the ants.
We next used shredded office paper and cheap bagged topsoil to build our bed. The soil is for the grit required by the worm's digestive system. We started with shredded paper, wetted it, then added a large handful of top soil and mixed it together ensureing that it was well integrated. We could have used soil from around the site but I wanted to start with somewhat known and stable ingredients. We then added more paper and started again but integrating the previous batch into the new also. We continued this process until the container was a little less than half full. We then added the worms to the top and allowed them to work their way into the bedding.
Just to be clear, the above description only concerns the worm bedding- were the worms live -not their food supply. Though the worms will eat their bedding one must also add "food to the top about once a week, depending on the number of worms to be feed. I believe the proper ratio is one pound of worms to every 1/2 pound of "food" (waste, garbage, etc.). We are starting with about 20+ red wigglers of various sizes that I dug from my composte pile. I will add more later.
According to the documentation we read we will place the food on top of the bedding and monitoring until it is almost gone. The worms should come up through the bedding to feed. Once the food is gone we will place more on the top. If we had started with 50 worms we should be able to harvest in 2 months so I assume it will take longer for us since we added less, or we will need to add more.
One of the biggest concerns is that of moisture. All the documentation said that the bedding should be damp but not wet. The best description I think is that of a wrung-out spounge, though I suppose everyone has their own notion of what "wrung-out" is. Imagine your a worm, living in an environment... you are not an aquatic animal and your want to be comfortable... go from there.
We will be establishing several worm beds over time and to whatever production level is needed. We will use different materials- hopefully all will consist of "waste" materials -and we will try several methods.
We ended out time by taking water chemistry and found it all was still about the same. Because we have a need for more Nitrogen, and because the bacteria seems to be established to some level, we think the following is a good strategy:
- We will be adding a couple more large catfish.
- We will monitor the system for 1-2 weeks
- We will check nitrite/nitrate levels to ensure the system handles the added load; 1-2 weeks
- Remove the large fish and add our fingerlings.
Once we have established the system and feel comfortable in its operation we will need to develop a maintenance routine and schedule so that all those that want to can help with the plants and fish. This is not to say that anyone who wants to be involved now can't- just let me know if you're interested and will try to ensure that you know when we are meeting at the site.
Currently either Rob Payne or I are dropping by the site to check on it every other day. We have been trying to meet on Wednesday evenings, and sometimes Friday evenings for system work and experimentation.
Hopefully nobody is feeling left out but if so please be proactive and let me know of your interests so I can add you to eMails and schedules.
Blessings- Tony
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Prototype Aquaponics Project (Charity Chapel) Update
I visited the Charity Chapel site tonight and thought I'd give an update.
The water chemistry seemed OK. pH was drifting towards acidic but still OK. Alkaline was OK, Hardness OK, Nitrites were zero, and Nitrates around 10. I added some water to the system because it seemed a little low. Rob measured the chlorine in the water right from the faucet and it registered zero, however I suspect that it could go up at times depending on how often and the amounts added.
The fish appeared to be OK, active however the largest fish seemed to be... faded, slightly whitish. I don't take this to be a good thing since we culled two fish who began to show signs of this., however the fish was still very active. I notice that one of the smaller fish seems to be a companion while the other tends to keep its distance, though sometimes I have seen them grouped together. Also, the water was cloudy. I wondered if this could be because of the rain we had today stirring up the dust in the grow bins.
Overall, the tank was clean though I see some brown algae or dirt build up on the pipes and the bottom of the tank. I have also noticed that we have lots mof suspended particles in our system which I believe is a good thing and creates a better chance that they will be pulled into the supply manifold and work their way to the grow bins.
Grow bins seemed to be working appropriately. We were having issues with the GB L-3 in that the siphon would either not cycle, or it would drain and not refill, usually the latter. We redesigned the Bell to be a 3" with the same height a siphon tube placement as the previous bell but it still was not working. It was very frustrating in that the bin was built more or less identical to the other 5 but was the only one that was not working consistently. On Monday I stood at the end of GB L-3 and looked down the isle between the right and left bins and noticed the p-traps where they connected to the main drain line. I noticed that all connected to the main drain from the top whereas L-3 connected to the drain through the side since there was no room to connect it through the top. I remembered that not only did it connect through the side but that we had propped the end of the drain up even higher meaning that there was even a more severe angle on the p-trap at the connection point. I removed the prop and allowed the grow bin to run through a cycle. To my pleasant surprise the grow bin cycled without issue. I allowed it to cycle several times and it did so without error. When I returned today it was still cycling correctly. Though it will need further analysis I suggest that the angle on the p-trap interfered with the back pressure or something along that line.
The plants have not changed a lot. Bean plants are growing and beginning to bloom. The first set of seeds did not sprout. I suspect they rotted. Similarly many of the corn seeds in L-3 didn't sprout. I suspect that there are some seeds that lend themselves to sprouting in a GB and many that won't. I replanted the green bean seeds in L-1 to see if I could get some more to sprout.
The tomatoes are still growing but are a light shade of green which I take to be unhealthy. I suspect this light colored vegetation is indicative of a missing nutrient which I will guess is nitrogen. Our water tests indicate no nitrites and very low nitrates meaning little to no nitrogen for the plants. Perhaps we should add a couple more fish now that the bacteria seems top be established. I have been adding fish food... if the fish don't eat it perhaps it will feed the bacteria.
Squash pants are light also but appear to be preparing to bloom. Pepper plants are also light but growing, Bell peppers seem to be doing better than the Jalapeno peppers. The corn is growing, and I added some sprouts that I had planted from extra seeds.
Out of all the plants the two cucumbers in L-3 seem to growing the best. They are blooming and have small cucumbers growing. Cucumbers have always been a good grower in hydroponics systems so no surprise that they are doing well in our AP system.
I am also gearing up to start a worm bed. I've been researching growing worm bins and even dug worms tonight from my own compost pile. Hopefully we should have a start by this weekend, however according to the documentation we won't be ready to harvest for a couple months. I might go buy some sinker pellets to try also why we wait on the worms.
Blessings,
Tony
The water chemistry seemed OK. pH was drifting towards acidic but still OK. Alkaline was OK, Hardness OK, Nitrites were zero, and Nitrates around 10. I added some water to the system because it seemed a little low. Rob measured the chlorine in the water right from the faucet and it registered zero, however I suspect that it could go up at times depending on how often and the amounts added.
The fish appeared to be OK, active however the largest fish seemed to be... faded, slightly whitish. I don't take this to be a good thing since we culled two fish who began to show signs of this., however the fish was still very active. I notice that one of the smaller fish seems to be a companion while the other tends to keep its distance, though sometimes I have seen them grouped together. Also, the water was cloudy. I wondered if this could be because of the rain we had today stirring up the dust in the grow bins.
Overall, the tank was clean though I see some brown algae or dirt build up on the pipes and the bottom of the tank. I have also noticed that we have lots mof suspended particles in our system which I believe is a good thing and creates a better chance that they will be pulled into the supply manifold and work their way to the grow bins.
Grow bins seemed to be working appropriately. We were having issues with the GB L-3 in that the siphon would either not cycle, or it would drain and not refill, usually the latter. We redesigned the Bell to be a 3" with the same height a siphon tube placement as the previous bell but it still was not working. It was very frustrating in that the bin was built more or less identical to the other 5 but was the only one that was not working consistently. On Monday I stood at the end of GB L-3 and looked down the isle between the right and left bins and noticed the p-traps where they connected to the main drain line. I noticed that all connected to the main drain from the top whereas L-3 connected to the drain through the side since there was no room to connect it through the top. I remembered that not only did it connect through the side but that we had propped the end of the drain up even higher meaning that there was even a more severe angle on the p-trap at the connection point. I removed the prop and allowed the grow bin to run through a cycle. To my pleasant surprise the grow bin cycled without issue. I allowed it to cycle several times and it did so without error. When I returned today it was still cycling correctly. Though it will need further analysis I suggest that the angle on the p-trap interfered with the back pressure or something along that line.
The plants have not changed a lot. Bean plants are growing and beginning to bloom. The first set of seeds did not sprout. I suspect they rotted. Similarly many of the corn seeds in L-3 didn't sprout. I suspect that there are some seeds that lend themselves to sprouting in a GB and many that won't. I replanted the green bean seeds in L-1 to see if I could get some more to sprout.
The tomatoes are still growing but are a light shade of green which I take to be unhealthy. I suspect this light colored vegetation is indicative of a missing nutrient which I will guess is nitrogen. Our water tests indicate no nitrites and very low nitrates meaning little to no nitrogen for the plants. Perhaps we should add a couple more fish now that the bacteria seems top be established. I have been adding fish food... if the fish don't eat it perhaps it will feed the bacteria.
Squash pants are light also but appear to be preparing to bloom. Pepper plants are also light but growing, Bell peppers seem to be doing better than the Jalapeno peppers. The corn is growing, and I added some sprouts that I had planted from extra seeds.
Out of all the plants the two cucumbers in L-3 seem to growing the best. They are blooming and have small cucumbers growing. Cucumbers have always been a good grower in hydroponics systems so no surprise that they are doing well in our AP system.
I am also gearing up to start a worm bed. I've been researching growing worm bins and even dug worms tonight from my own compost pile. Hopefully we should have a start by this weekend, however according to the documentation we won't be ready to harvest for a couple months. I might go buy some sinker pellets to try also why we wait on the worms.
Blessings,
Tony
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Prototype Aquaponics Project (Charity Chapel)
We started the maintenance phase of our prototype project on April 24, 2010 when we planted our grow bins with basic vegetables and added 4- 2 lbs plus channel catfish. On Sunday the 25th of April we added 3 more fish and a few more plants.
We planted yellow squash, zucchini squash, Celebrity tomatoes (hybrid), Homestead tomatoes (heirloom), Roma II green beans (seed), Silver Queen sweet corn (seed), cucumbers, Bell peppers, and Jalapeno pepper.
We ran our system without plants and fish and the water tested OK for pH and alkaline. Chlorine was not an issue since it had evaporated from the water in the several days prior to testing.
Below is a short log of the first week in maintenance. It is provided to catch up to date.
We planted yellow squash, zucchini squash, Celebrity tomatoes (hybrid), Homestead tomatoes (heirloom), Roma II green beans (seed), Silver Queen sweet corn (seed), cucumbers, Bell peppers, and Jalapeno pepper.
We ran our system without plants and fish and the water tested OK for pH and alkaline. Chlorine was not an issue since it had evaporated from the water in the several days prior to testing.
Below is a short log of the first week in maintenance. It is provided to catch up to date.
- Saturday 4/24- Tested water, everything in spec. Fish seem OK. Plants fine except for jalapeno peppers which seemed wilty.
- Sunday 4/25- Tested water, everything in spec. Fish seemed OK but wouldn't eat. Lack of appitite OK due to stress. Fish also exhibited slight white marks, probably due to fish agression.
- Monday 4/26- Tested water, everything in spec. Large fish is harassing other fish, establishing territory. Smaller fish have whitish scrapes. Fish seem not to be hungry but perhaps they're not able to "smell" the food because of the quick flow of water in the tank.
- Tuesday 4/27- Quick check of system. All seem OK. Fish are active. Plants look fine. Bean and jalapeno peppers have bounced back and are less wilted.
- Wednesday 4/28- Tested water, pH slightly more acid than previous but still within spec. Nitrite levels climbing as was expected as bacteria begin to colonize and convert ammonia. Some fish look a bit more beat up but still active. All but large fish still not eatting. Large fish comes to top and eats pellets but doesn't respond to sound. Fish seem more active and willing to feed in late afternoon/evening (5PM - 630PM). Plants doing well.
- Thursday 4/29- Quick stop showed little change from previous day. Some fish more beat-up. There is some concern that topping off water (adding chlorine) on Monday may have damaged the fishes slime coat that protects its skin though it was added to grow bin and was not a lot by total volume.
- Friday 4/30- Tested water. Still in spec but Nitrates are climbing into stress level. Tested water with other test kit so chlorine and bromide levels are within spec. Fish show lots of damage, many have leasions and lots of white spots. The fish still are not eatting. Plants are doing well. Beans are standing straight and look healthy.
- Saturday 5/1- In the morning we hung our Sustainable Missions project sign. Water tested OK. Nitrite levels have risen and are getting close to danger levels. We expect the levels to begin to level off as Nitrate levels begin to rise. Nitrate levels are rising. Plants look fine though tomatoe plant leaves are contrasting leaves. Older leaves are a dark green and new growth is a light green. We theorize that the lighter leaves are due to a lack of neutrient. We expect that the leaves will darken as the nitrogen cycle progresses. We expect to see fraster growth once the Nitrate levels increase and level off. In the afternoon I got a call from another member who had inspected the fish and found one dead on the bottom of the tank.
- Sunday 5/2- Arrived at site and removed dead fish. The fish was white and showed several leasions. We inspected the other fish and found two others that seemed to exhibit similar aspects; whiteness, cuts and leasions. We removed those to fish, killed them and buried them next to our in-ground tomatoe plants. This should cut the stress in the tank. We only need these "stunt fish" to colonize the bacteria in the grow bins. The fish still are not eatting but we plan to try worms. We also discovered some of the corn had sprouted, and some beans had sprouted. All the other plants looked healthy.
Anthony Faircloth, 5/2/2010
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