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| Peppers growing in the outdoor hydroponic system. |
It would not be possible to pack those plants so tightly without adding oxygen to the nutrient solution. I know, we plant airstones in the reservoir, in grow beds and anywhere else we can.
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| Bell filter is under the rock, on the left. |
I found something I like better. Last summer, I dabbled in aquaponics, in an effort to cut cost on nutrient solutions and produce additional food (tilapia). One of the greatest discoveries was how to constantly flood and drain an system, with the use of a bell siphon. The siphon allows the table to flood slowly, and drain quickly. I had no problems with roots rotting, which means there's is plenty of oxygen in the solution. It eliminated timers, and allowed me to operate with a very small (and inexpensive) pump.
Check out this link to Affnan's Bell Siphon. Easy to build (hmm, maybe I'll blog about it). The key is to get the nutrient solution flowing at a rate that allows the proper overflow start, but not so fast as it doesn't allow the system to "choke" off. It's a delicate science, but once it's working correctly, there's no longer need for timers. the system runs continuously, and adds a significant amount of oxygen, to the solution.
You've heard it from me before. Dissolved oxygen to the roots yields significant hydroponics/aquaponics success.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteSorry your aquaponics didn't pan out. I've been reading up on aquaponics a bit and the promise of closed loop fish farming and hydro veggies on a budget is awesome, but it seems like it takes a fair amount of skill & experience to actually make it work, especially if you're doing the full bore, self-sufficient 'let them eat duckweed' route.
Anyway -- could you share some details about your new organic hydro nutrient regimen? I'd love to be able to do some hydro in my garden, but I'm not up to making nutrients from elemental salts and it's not worth buying commercial solutions for veggies.
Thanks much, keep growing and keep blogging!
I recently made a shift to using a worm tea filter, in-line in my aquaponics system. I should probably blog about it, but it seems to be working great. I have a bio-filter up very high. I pump water up from the fish tank to the filter and then gravity feed down to a raft system. The one inch line, opens to a two inch line, where I insert a mesh bag full of worm casting/compost. I can open the line and change filters (every few days). Seems to work great. (Note: I need to keep water temp over 70 degrees).
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