Aquaponic Greenhouse Grow Using Led Grow Lights in Winter.
- Thread starter tkrimo
- Start date
Yes it does work all you need is a air gap between the water and the bottom of the net pot. that will keep the roots alive. No gap and the roots will rot. DWC is roots growing directly into the reservoir with a air stone hooked to a aquarium air pump. The oxygen is constantly aerating the water and roots and the plant will thrive we all the oxygen. Thanks for the response.
Tip
Tip
In the early 1980's I made my first hydroponic system and was hooked on how easy hydroponics really was. At that time there was a window box design that used a small aquarium pump to deliver air into the bottom of the window box which had water in it. There was a small hole in the tubing at the bottom where the bend was. The tubing went back to the top of the window box and wrapped along the top then terminated. There were holes along the tubing every inch or so along the top. When the pump is on it blew air out of the hole and into the reservoir bottom while picking up water droplets and they would travel along the tubing dripping at every hole wetting the media which was vermiculite. Vermiculite would spread the moisture along the growing area.
I didn't like the system and I don't like vermiculite as it breaks down and doesn't hold enough oxygen. A better media is Coir which is coconut shavings.
The picture below shows plans I made using a 5 gal bucket. I used clay balls in the growing net pot. The system works very well. The air blows into the bottom of the bucket aerating the nutrient solution in the bucket and at the same time lifted the solution up the pump assembly and out the drip ring which constantly drips onto the grow chamber irrigating the plant. The solution falls out the bottom of the grow chamber and into the reservoir further aerating the solution.
The plants like all the oxygen this system delivers and pays you back with lush growth. This is a drip system and DWC system in one. You can chain them together using the same air pump. The more powerful the pump the more buckets you can string together.
I have videos on you tube under tkrimo showing a couple of air driven examples. If enough people are interested in free plans on this very simple system I will give you our plans.
I didn't like the system and I don't like vermiculite as it breaks down and doesn't hold enough oxygen. A better media is Coir which is coconut shavings.
The picture below shows plans I made using a 5 gal bucket. I used clay balls in the growing net pot. The system works very well. The air blows into the bottom of the bucket aerating the nutrient solution in the bucket and at the same time lifted the solution up the pump assembly and out the drip ring which constantly drips onto the grow chamber irrigating the plant. The solution falls out the bottom of the grow chamber and into the reservoir further aerating the solution.
The plants like all the oxygen this system delivers and pays you back with lush growth. This is a drip system and DWC system in one. You can chain them together using the same air pump. The more powerful the pump the more buckets you can string together.
I have videos on you tube under tkrimo showing a couple of air driven examples. If enough people are interested in free plans on this very simple system I will give you our plans.
quietguy420
Well-Known Member
HOLYsmokes! I love this thread, your like a futuristic mad scientist trying to regrow the worlds food supply with nothing more than a few fish and some led lights. VERY INTERESTED in seeing how your veggies and your other girls are doing this week! I have no clue why more people arent posting, there are lots of views. +rep for what your doing sir this is great stuff. I would love a rundown on the bucket design if you get some time.
Here are some picts I took this morning. The light hours are down from the 13 I ran for two weeks. I foiled the growing area and added two clones. All of the plants are from seeds except for 2 small ones just added. There is no dirt so the brown you see is coir. I will be adding air to some systems and set up Aeroponic system both air powered and water pump. Waiting to see which ones I keep.
Thank you for any interest.
Thank you for any interest.
Hi Thank you for your interest I posted some pictures. You are more than welcome to the bucket plans and more if you want. These were written in 2007 but still work as you know hydroponics works.
http://tkrimo.com/hydroponics/bucket/bucket.zip
Here are a couple of movies I made showing air pump used to pump water for irrigating your plants
[video=youtube;sFlIqAmTp70]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFlIqAmTp70[/video]
[video=youtube;qFtYzInmD2w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFtYzInmD2w&feature=related[/video]
http://tkrimo.com/hydroponics/bucket/bucket.zip
Here are a couple of movies I made showing air pump used to pump water for irrigating your plants
[video=youtube;sFlIqAmTp70]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFlIqAmTp70[/video]
[video=youtube;qFtYzInmD2w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFtYzInmD2w&feature=related[/video]
I have added a PVC 1 1/4" support that is hooked to pump. The output is outputting through a 3/4" PVC and is ready to be processed for different hydroponic techniques.
I have included a movie of a simple Aeroponic Grow container that is fed from the pond and falls back into the water. Also a few pictures of the Jan sun coming into greenhouse with the LED lights it makes a complete light solution.
[video=youtube;9q7pQCKRvqg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7pQCKRvqg[/video]
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I have included a movie of a simple Aeroponic Grow container that is fed from the pond and falls back into the water. Also a few pictures of the Jan sun coming into greenhouse with the LED lights it makes a complete light solution.
[video=youtube;9q7pQCKRvqg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7pQCKRvqg[/video]
View attachment 1416163View attachment 1416164View attachment 1416165View attachment 1416166View attachment 1416167
quietguy420
Well-Known Member
Your doing great things sir, I love how healthy and robust your plants are looking. How long you planning on vegging and do you have to supplement any nutes in flower cycle when you flip over or is the fish poop good enough for the npk ballance in flowering too? +rep
Loop Da Loop
Member
I'm very curious about this, it sounds great! I have a pond and use the water to feed my house plants, adjust the ph down as needed. I'm interested in how you manage and/or measure the nutrient levels in the water to ensure there's enough for the plants?
And how would you supplement for flowering?
From what I've read so far, If the water is recirculating then you must keep a naturally balanced system as any added supplements can harm the balance.
Good work and thanks for the info!
haole420
Active Member
keep the thread going!
started a small aquaponic experiment in my grow room with 15gal tank, 10gal ebb/flow with hydroton, 100watt MH, air stone, a few water plants in the tank, and a 150gph pump dialed down to about 50% flow.
i thought i had it cycled, but i don't think so. started with 200ppm tap water, added ammonia to 300ppm, waited for it to come down to 220ppm or so and assumed the bacteria had colonized the tank.
added about 20 small goldfish and 30 tiny feeder fish. probably way overpopulated for 15gal tank. 5 goldfish died off in the first few days. pH then went up to 7.5-8ish, so i hit it GH pH down to bring it back to 7.0. TDS around 500ppm. after being away for 4 days and feeding using a vacation block food, 4 were belly-up when i returned. since then, pH dropped to 6.5, then to 6.0 (which is great for plants) and TDS around 800ppm, but virtually all of the goldfish have died and a few more feeders. might have had something to do with heavy feeding. most of the feeder fish still going strong, probably about 20 of 'em left, which is closer to the "1 inch of fish per gallon" guideline.
looking to grow some duckweed outside if i can get a hold of some. do the fish just eat that stuff? or do you dry it first?
i put 2 rooted clones in the grow bed. i picked the 2 weakest ones from my DIY aero cloner. first clone is about a week ahead and is showing modest new growth, albeit deficient (bright lime green leaves), which tells me that the bacteria still aren't quite breaking down the ammonia and nitrates enough. second one staying alive, but no new growth. lettuce sprout in a root plug also sitting in there and looking awfully lime green, but maybe that's the color of the lettuce. seems like it should be darker though. plenty of light given that the 100watt MH is just inches away. fan keeps temps in grow bed around 85F. ambient room temp and water temp 70-80F.
going to just let things ride and see if the system establishes itself on its own. will post obituaries and ppm readings in a few days.
any suggestions?
started a small aquaponic experiment in my grow room with 15gal tank, 10gal ebb/flow with hydroton, 100watt MH, air stone, a few water plants in the tank, and a 150gph pump dialed down to about 50% flow.
i thought i had it cycled, but i don't think so. started with 200ppm tap water, added ammonia to 300ppm, waited for it to come down to 220ppm or so and assumed the bacteria had colonized the tank.
added about 20 small goldfish and 30 tiny feeder fish. probably way overpopulated for 15gal tank. 5 goldfish died off in the first few days. pH then went up to 7.5-8ish, so i hit it GH pH down to bring it back to 7.0. TDS around 500ppm. after being away for 4 days and feeding using a vacation block food, 4 were belly-up when i returned. since then, pH dropped to 6.5, then to 6.0 (which is great for plants) and TDS around 800ppm, but virtually all of the goldfish have died and a few more feeders. might have had something to do with heavy feeding. most of the feeder fish still going strong, probably about 20 of 'em left, which is closer to the "1 inch of fish per gallon" guideline.
looking to grow some duckweed outside if i can get a hold of some. do the fish just eat that stuff? or do you dry it first?
i put 2 rooted clones in the grow bed. i picked the 2 weakest ones from my DIY aero cloner. first clone is about a week ahead and is showing modest new growth, albeit deficient (bright lime green leaves), which tells me that the bacteria still aren't quite breaking down the ammonia and nitrates enough. second one staying alive, but no new growth. lettuce sprout in a root plug also sitting in there and looking awfully lime green, but maybe that's the color of the lettuce. seems like it should be darker though. plenty of light given that the 100watt MH is just inches away. fan keeps temps in grow bed around 85F. ambient room temp and water temp 70-80F.
going to just let things ride and see if the system establishes itself on its own. will post obituaries and ppm readings in a few days.
any suggestions?
haole420
Active Member
so i got a NH4/NH3 test kit and results were around 1.0ppm. got it down to less than 0.25ppm with ammonia neutralizer. also added bacteria for aquariums.
TDS still up around 850ppm. TDS and NH4/NH3/NH2 not very correlated, apparently. water is a little brown, so maybe it's algae. topped off with 2-day old tap water which bumped the pH up to 6.5 again.
first clone still growing (although not as vigorously as her sisters in aero and bubble buckets). so far, growth seems to be on par with clones in soil. second clone maintaining. we'll see if things pick up once the system is cycled.
heading out of town again for a few days. hopefully the system will take care of itself...
TDS still up around 850ppm. TDS and NH4/NH3/NH2 not very correlated, apparently. water is a little brown, so maybe it's algae. topped off with 2-day old tap water which bumped the pH up to 6.5 again.
first clone still growing (although not as vigorously as her sisters in aero and bubble buckets). so far, growth seems to be on par with clones in soil. second clone maintaining. we'll see if things pick up once the system is cycled.
heading out of town again for a few days. hopefully the system will take care of itself...
