Aquaponics As a Food Source

[GilpinGuy]

Here's Part 2 of the build. Going pretty well so far. I may actually make the 2nd bed a wicking bed instead of ebb and flow. We'll see. I realized that I say "awesome" a lot after a few beers too.

[Irving]

Thanks for the mention. Why not just lay a 2'x4' or two across the bottom of each mixer box lengthwise? Could even toe them in so they are flush, or use a Kreg job (can borrow mine).

I'm impressed with you literally taking stuff from the fridge and having it grow in there. It makes me miss aquaponics for sure. I wouldn't be surprised if that garlic actually grows bulbs like normal.

Finally, thanks for the mention.

[GilpinGuy]

I could throw some 2x4s in. That means removing all the rock and stuff. If I did it all over again I would. Moving the standpipe took about 5 minutes, so it was easy.

I think I will go with a wicking bed on the left side. That will make starting seeds easier and I know some stuff just grows better in soil. It would be cool to have both types going.

I want to put a small raft in on the water also for lettuce. Apparently, that's the ways to go for lettuce.

[Irving]

The fish will probably eat the roots of the lettuce, but I'm sure you're researching all that stuff.

Can you give a short break down of what a wicking system is?

[GilpinGuy]

A wicking bed is a thinner layer of lava rock with a thicker layer of potting soil or compost on top. There's a barrier between the rock and soil: perlite, weed blocker, etc. You keep water trickling into the bed and you have drain pipe buried horizontally just above the lava rock. The soil wicks water up and it stays perfectly moist all the time. You control the amount of moisture by adjusting the flow of water into the bed. No siphon or anything. It just constantly trickles in and out. Slick.

This will be better for starting from seed, for both transplanting outside in the spring and for some stuff that just does better in soil to just stay there.

[Irving]

Interesting. This would be a perfect Science Fair type of experiment if you grow the same thing on each side. I agree that it is easier to start seed in soil, so that makes sense. When I had mine, I'd start from seed in a little dirt cup. I believe I got a piece of pvc and pushed it down into the clay pellets to make a hole, tried to gently knock all the dirt off the roots, slid the whole plant into the pvc pipe in the pellets, then gently pulled the pipe out and held the plant in place. It worked well enough, but I'm sure there is a better way.

Is the drain pipe above the barrier between the rock and soil? How does the water get into the drain pipe? Couldn't you just drill holes in the base of the tray under the rocks? I assume the barrier between the rocks and soil serves the dual purpose of keeping the soil in place, and being just permeable enough to allow the water to slowly drip through, like a coffee filter?

My biggest problem was that I didn't have adequate lighting. What is your light set-up? I'll go look to see if you have a video about the lights right now so no answer necessary if you already covered that.

[GilpinGuy]

Using a piece of pipe to plant in the clay is genius. I'll be using that.

The drain pipe is toward the top of the rock. Theres just a little rock over the top of the pipe. The barrier is over that. And yes, the barrier is to prevent the soil and rock from mixing and it lets the water seep up.

You don't want holes directly on the bottom of the beds. You need to have some water depth there to allow for the wicking action, so you put the drain pipe a few inches up. The pipe just has a bunch of holes drilled in it so the water flows in.

For lighting, I went with a 4 foot flourecent fixture with 4 T5 grow bulbs. For the square footage I have, this was better than LEDs as far as cost and wattage used. LEDs are better for a smaller footprint.

The bulbs I have are for vegetative growth which is all that's needed for the leafy stuff. I will probably plant some fruiting plants (peppers, tomatoes, etc.) in the wicking bed. If I need to get another fixture for that side with different bulbs I will.

[Irving]

I've heard that LED isn't there yet for growig, which surprised me. I used the hood of an Aerogarden. It worked well enough to grow a jalapeño from seed. It grew forever and wouldn't flower. Someone on here told me that I needed to start shortening the light to trick the plant into flowering. I did that and it worked almost immediately. I got two small jalapeños, then couldn't get it to grow again. At some point one of the bulbs in the Aerogarden quit so the plant just maintained.

[GilpinGuy]

The LEDs are great for small applications, but that's it for now. And I saw a few experiments where even the same brand had wildly different lumens between the same model of lights. They'll get there.

Yes, light cycle is important. You're basically fooling the plant into thinking it's fall, so time to fruit, with a shorter "day". I got skilled with this years ago when I was growing, ahem, something else. Back then I had two 1000 watt HP sodium lights. It was a rather large operation. Filled a whole bedroom wall to wall. Did all that 20 years to early.

[Irving]

I have a buddy that was looking to get rid of some commercial grow lights a while ago. I think it was just the lights, and not the bulbs though. Want me to check to see if he still has them?