Shade for the Fish Tank

I built this temporary shade for the tank  to help slow down the algae bloom.

fixing leaks

I had an idea about the dripping leaks when the system runs and quits and drains. I decided to add a 45 degree fitting in the drain to stop the drips when it is nearly finished draining.

Update today

This morning I decided to put a pressure control valve on the recycle line back into the Fish Tank and cut it back a little. Gives me more flow on the line to the Grow beds. Seems to work better. However I did have some leaks and lost about 10 or 12 inches of water in the tank. I tried to do more on the leaks and misses and drips. Still have too many misses and drips. Went on a shopping trip and got some plants  which are in the new photos. I was asked why I decided to do this AquaPonic Garden in "Farm Country"? Well I don't think this is farm country. We hardly have good grass here. The dirt here in my area is so bad it nearly kills tomatoes plants if you don't do major improvement to the soil. My dirt garden is 4 years old and I finally gotten it to grow corn a reasonable height but the tomatoes still don't do well. If this Garden works Ill have vegatables that taste really good and be nutritious.

Pumping Water Now

Now just look at all that water being circulated. Wow. I am happy and so sore I cant stand it. I set the timer for 30 on 30 off and went in for a shower. I am a little surprised at the low pressure in the spray bar as I was thinking it might be a lot but I can take off the caps and make one bed fill real fast and put the cap back on no problem. I have 20 barrels of gravel in the rack now. I have 4 more ready to put in but no gravel till the next trip and I need a break. I tired and sore.

Spray Bar and piping to pump

Here we are seeing the Spray Bar and the pump Piping.

This is a shot of the North side of the barrels which will someday be the center aisle. See the drains.............

Spray bar and Gutters

In this shot I finished the gutters and the spray bar on top. I put in some blocks to hold the gutter up and put some screws in to hold the gutter in place. I need to get a longer gutter for the north side return but it got too late today to got get it.

Drains and overflows

I have trouble getting the pictures in the right order so I will just do them one at a time. this one shows the beds with water in and running out the drains. If you look carefully you can see the water running out the bottom.. in the gutter.

More pics

Here is a shot of the Grow Beds from the far end from the tank. The beds closest to you need to be cleaned. They are full of sand. Forgot something in the rush to get this thing setup. I got some of the PVC fittings installed and used the small filter to pump water into 4 of the barrels on the south side. they fill and drain just fine. Hope they don't overflow too bad till I get all the tanks flowing. I really don't like the Plumbers tape holding up the drain gutter. Probly will do something I like better. Gotta get some more gutter also.

More work on the AP Project

I nearly killed myself cleaning gravel for the Grow Beds. Got 9 clean and setup. I've got to make another trip to the PVC store so I can get water cycling in these beds.

Fixing the rack problem

I noticed that the racks are starting to tilt in a bad way so I am going to fix that problem before it causes a disaster...

picture got lost

First rack finished

I finished the first rack and moved it to the garden area. I also put in the barrels. Hope to get gravel in them today and get the next rack started. Need it done by the 29th.

Building the racks for the barrels

Aquaponics progress

I have now gotten a pump and a float valve for the tank. Had kinda nice day so I dug the hole for the tank and put it in the hole. Little tough digging. It was like digging a well because I hit water at about 15" deep. I just dug faster than the water came in and finally got to about 24" deep and put the tank in the hole. A couple of trys but it fit finally. Now I am filling the tank with river water so the fish will have the enzymes that is needed to start fish. The water is close so I just pumped it in with my old system pump.

Beggining My Aquaponic Garden

Here is the beginning of the new project. An Aqua Ponic Garden. This tank is 1100gallons and will be sunk into the ground so only about 5 or 6 inches will show. Hope the water will hold this one in the ground. My previous garden had problems when the water was pumped out to the garden the tank would float up when it was wet. Arkansas gets soggy when it rains. It is wet now so it is off to build the stands for the barrels. I bought 24 barrels and will split them lengthwise to make gravel beds with. Should make quite a garden.