My aquaponics system

and maybe a link to your exact filter model would help us brainstorm screen ideas? just a suggestion.

Sam

 

No. 8" PVC cut in 12" section. Lie on side. Drill hole through top. Insert pump into pipe. Run outflow pipe through hole in 8" pipe to pump inside. Cover open ends of 8" PVC with nylon window screen. Take a coupling, cut in half, then slip over ends and edges of screen to hold into place. Ends could be easily cleaned off and debris wouldn't have the chance to suck into the pump. Would need to drill another hole for the power line and then silicone the gaps so it wouldn't allow for more junk to suck in.
Did this real fast on Tinker CAD.

Saw a guy doing that on Youtube. I guess it'd be ok with one or two, would think any more would just overload it with urine. Rather keep them where they are and just use fish.

 

No reason why a second grate could not seperate the liquids from the solids.

 

I found some information on a different forum: Bunny poo-ponics vs. Aquaponics - Homesteading Today

There are a few people there doing bunny ponics, and basically what I found out is that there is no biological filtration needed because plants can grow directly in bunny poo. And the urine apparently is completely necessary to add N to the system, so you wouldn't want to seperate solids from liquids. In fact, N supplementation might be necessary. Seems all too simple actually.

 

I get your meaning. However, flat screens always have the ability to get clogged, especially by broad, flat leaves, though your idea does make it easy to clean. Perhaps try making a 3D screen like this one.

It prevents clogging by allowing liquid to flow through slits all throughout the cylinder. Easy to make out of pvc of any size, almost impossible to clog.

S

 

I have a drain system under my rabbit cages. Earlier this summer I set it up to divert about half the waste to an IBC tote cut in half and mostly full of water. Made bunny poo tea for my in ground garden. The plants loved it, but since it was open it rapidly turned into a fly orgy. Plus it stank. I'd have to actually smell it in action before I'd want to try it here.

Mimosa leaves aren't broad. They're like a grain of rice that got steam rolled. They go right through those slits.

 

I got 6 rolls of 2'x50' bubble wrap free off Craigslist. That coupled with some 2'x4's a buddy of ours gave us after he finished building his deer blind, some 1/2" PVC, and a $3 plastic drop cloth from Home Depot, and we have the grow beds and sump protected for the winter. Also made a blanket out of the bubble wrap to go around the big fish tank to help insulate it a bit. I'm going to slip some of that clear corrugated siding between the wrap and the frame so it'll be more protected but I can already tell a difference in the inside temperature. The Mr. is supposed to pick up some hinges this week so we can hinge the cold frame to the bed frame along the back side. That way I can lift it to get inside without having it fall off the back.

 

Woke up to 22F this morning. Checked the tanks, fish tank and sump holding at 45F, air under coldframe the same, so looks like it's working!

 

Made a change to the system. Pulled the pump out of the fish tank and switched it to an overflow feed to the beds. Problem solved! Also added a little $14 space heater under a growbed, since we've been in the low 20s for days and no signs of change until towards the end of the week.

 

Just finished setting up a second system in the garage. Got catfish coming in on Tuesday.

 

Thirty baby channel cats! So far all are doing great.

 

Two months later we finally pick a salad!
So far it's come through snow and three straight days under 10F, nights at 0F. In hindsight, I probably should have spaced the rows closer, but I had no idea how much it would sprawl. I went back and seeded some more of the black seeded simpson in between the gaps, as well as transplanted a few other things in the bare spots.

 

Not quite three months after build. The red lettuce was supposed to be red Romaine but it looks more like a butterhead. Those are baby leeks coming up to the left of it. The green onions all came from the bottom ends I cut off of ones I'd bought at the store. The yellow sections on the sugar peas is where the plants have come up against either the coldframe or a board I accidentally left in there for a few days. Not sure what's up with that. I've been doing cut and come again, so even though we pick enough for a couple salads a few times a week, you can't tell where anything was removed.


The lighting in the garage, even with my grow lights, just isn't enough. I finally threw in a bunch of wheat seed, figuring at least it would put in roots and I could trim it every few days to feed to the bunnies. The corner I started took off, so I'm about to rip out the sad lettuce sprouts and just do wheat grass in both trays. At least the catfish are doing great!

 

Too cool for words, I would really like to try this. Maybe one day.

 

Yesterday after we finished cleaning out the garage, we took the AP system that had been in there and set it up in the backyard, adding an extra grow bed. My idea had been to use two IBC beds on this with half on the tank, half off, leaving a 2' gap in the center but I got veto'ed. I think the grow bed space isn't nearly big enough to filter that tank, but we'll see. These are $12 feed tubs from Tractor Supply. Home Depot has concrete mixing tubs that look the same, but they're half as thick and I didn't think they'd hold up. Each bed's supply line has a shutoff valve to regulate the water flow. Without that, the first bed gets flooded while the last one goes too slow to work right. Very simple system, one pump in the 170 gallon stock tank that feeds the beds, which drain directly back to the tank using bell siphons.



He loves when I take pics with him in them, heh.

There's going to be an issue here with getting to the fish. I can see under the trays and reach in with a net, but it isn't ideal. Oh well, was just going to put minnows and blue gills in here anyway. Right now I've got some green basil in it, and also seeded with giant jalapenos. Also ran some sugar baby watermelon and Minnesota Midget canteloup on the edge of one tray. Once they come up we'll set up a stock panel trellis to grow them on, away from the bed.

One thing we changed on this was to bury the incoming water line into the gravel on the beds. This should limit both evaporation in our miserable hot, dry summers and put a stop to the algae that was building up under the water on the other system.

The first system went great all winter! ATM it's growing cabbage, kale, lettuce, strawberries, fennel, green onions, cilantro, mint, tomatoes, and banana and sweet bell peppers. We'll be adding another just like it next month.

 

The melons and 'loups will be 100% supported on the stock panel trellis that will run down the side and be wired onto T posts. But yeah, I'm a little nervous about the weight of the beds. There's probably 100+ pounds of gravel in the three of them. That's one of the reasons I wanted to do the IBC beds, so 2/3'ds of them would be supported with cinderblocks on the ground.

I might argue to run a 2x4 down the side of the bed frames and then legs off of that on either side, to take some of the weight off the tank.

 

You might check out @Seacowboys thread as well.