Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I feel better thank goodness!
Sometimes it is difficult to make that first cut.

Alrighty then, I got the top cut out just now.
A quick test hole bore in a bucket to make certain the 2 1/2" hole saw is correct for an 1 1/2" Uniseal.
Since this will be a dual flow RFF I need a pattern for the two in-flow 1 1/2" PVCs that keeps the water moving in a gentle curves.
After more deliberations considering tank placements and space for plumbing I have something.

I am considering where the pipes for the upgraded water pump will go here as well.
A couple of issues I've wondered about are using half the water flow from the new pump to go directly back into the fish tank for the trout as well as dropping some water out of the RFF directly into the only DWC currently in this system. The latter item would be a switch from using pumped water to gravity flow in our DWC and I don't know how that would look at the waterfall.
Essentially both of the SLOs come from the same area. I had to change where the SLOs cut across the MBBF barrel from in front to behind. The MBBF is getting raised probably about 16" perhaps more.

This is the same area that was causing me issues when I planned to run the 1" PVC air delivery pipe. I am glad I snapped that these pipes I am now running have priority because both the SLO pipes have bubbles inside.
I imagine that a horizontal run of PVC with a bubbly mix might tend to let the water drop to the bottom of the pipe releasing the air bubbles over the top.
Gravity hydraulics are probably a bit too complicated for my brain, but I'll give that college try.
I think a vertical run above the air-lift pump creates a vacuum behind the water and this keeps it all moving to some degree.
Secondly I'm guessing keep the pipe slanted up as much as possible after it leaves the water...

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

A little somethin' done.



I feel good about this. I simply made very short 1 1/2" pipes through the Uniseals. With little room for plumbing in that corner of the greenhouse, direction changes need to stay close to the tank.
I've got some welding to do on the basketball hoop frame to support the far side from the bracket. 250 pounds right? I've got the outflow levels equal in height and as close to the top of the tank as I could get the Uniseal.
Still it'll be more like 30 gallons of water.

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

That beggar looks like it wants to walk off . I don't know if I'd have slept easy with that in my kitchen, then again, he'd have pretty limited reach

"This is not the droid you are looking for"
From a friend on Facebook

Another friend added:

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

Good morning!

I was able to work for only a few minutes at a time yesterday because of this damn disease
Oh well what are ya gunna do?
I got the Stilling well cut using a heat gun to warm the HDPE to reduce the odds of it cracking as I cut it with scissors.
Super glad that worked!

The other aspect of the internal plumbing is also looking like it'll fit in between the stilling-well and the RFF wall.
I wanted to use the forty-five degree elbows but they made the pipe stick out and hit the stilling-well.

My thinking here inspired by observing the old RFF, is the outflow might pick up less of the floating fish waste if the pickup is further under water. In this regard the pipe turns at ninety degrees before it tees reaching out around the stilling-well. I'll perforate the pipes tees nipples as well as end caps in a radiating pattern of higher density holes as they near the far ends of the pipes.
Something like this

Heehee not quite so intense of course.

Adding a little more color and shade to the greenhouse with Morning Glories

Have a fantastic day!
Down, but not out,
Brian Rodgers

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

That looks very good Brian.

I got the potato, tomato and peppers going in the green house and a potato - tower in the winter garden. The winter garden are deep purple.
I spent most of the afternoon hauling water, 4800 g, and filled all the cisterns and storage tanks.
All the red flag warnings are making me nervous, it is bone dry and extremely windy, up to 60 mph.
This will be a very, very long fire season.

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3 Dogs, 2 Pigs and a Bier

Thanks Gnoib, yeah it is super scary here too. I swear I could hear metal trash cans blowing by every few minutes yesterday. I'd get up to see what the commotion was and nothing. Super happy the roof stayed on, glad I did hurricane hangers on it. The yard is surprisingly clean this morning, lol!

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

Saw the forest service gatherimg up brush piles.

Just glad they did not start a prescrib3d burn yesterday.



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The Forest Service is pretty good about that. I like to create brush berms and let the pine needles rot and hopefully make top soil.
Got a little more done on the RFF.

I left the outer pipe with glued on cap so it can be removed to aid occasional cleaning.

Also replaced the outflow pipes that went through the Uniseals with longer pipes just in case I have to disassemble this filter.Now I can get a hacksaw bland in there without fear of cutting the Uniseal.

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

That red dotty picture is scary if you look at it for too long...

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www.havehomewilltravel.com
Life on the road

*****rest of my reply was cut off and I did not come back to finish in time


Adam


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Hehehe "Don't do that," my mother always said.
Another ridiculously early morning unable to sleep, arg. Today I get to go for another hopefully post bladder-cancer check-up. When I was young I imagined getting old somehow differently than this. It's nice to be able to not recall if this is the two year marker since they got the cancer out using a tuberculous vaccine. I got off lucky indeed, and so the hope continues.

We received our new water pump from Ebay yesterday, wow it looks really good. It does have 2" (50mm) connections.
My wife is struggling with a sinus infection for which she now has antibiotics, so she's a captive audience for my dissertations of aquaponics designs and musings.
I spoke about the PVC union I planned on installing above the pump for easy removal and how I could instead add a rubber band wrap-around seal to change from the 2" fitting on the pump to the slip PVC fittings used in our system and save the union we already bought. Then I remembered that band seal would be below the water line in our 200 gallon sump which I have to lie on my stomach to reach, nah. Today I'll hit the hardware store on the way to Santa Fe and buy a female 2" threaded adapter to go from the pump to PVC slip of the union which will be at a reachable level above the sump.

Every way I can, I'll keep looking for ways to feel positive about our chronically poor health conditions.
Speaking of hope at this early hour. I saw an article yesterday on Permies.com about brush berms https://permies.com/t/56013/Brush-berms
I knew I had a log-on there, but couldn't remember what it was. So this morning I figured it out and logged on.
I see where Gurkan Yeniceri has been https://permies.com/t/65604/Radical-common-sense-concepts-Aquaponics
What peaked my interest this morning is here: https://permies.com/t/68374/long-nitrogen-fixers-fix-nitrogen
I always wondered what the fixer that comes with bean seeds was for.
It's a good day when I learn something new.

Brian

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.

At least yesterday was a nice day, hardly any wind and 60F, I took the day of.
Today Red Flag again, blowing like crazy and than tonight till Friday night chance of snow and winds up to 60 miles, lovely. Sunday 70F and calm.
Crazy

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3 Dogs, 2 Pigs and a Bier

Still crazy......

(Feb 22, proper winter)

Thankfully, all fruit trees have not started to bud yet.



Adam

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Oh man, we missed another storm, damn.



I've been over on https://permies.com/t/68374/long-nitrogen-fixers-fix-nitrogen
I'm learning about nitrogen fixers, fascinating stuff. When it comes to plants everything I know I learned recently.
Apparently Lupine of the legume family is a good N fixer too.
https://www.planetnatural.com/growing-lupine/
Unfortunately this site suggests Lupine won't grow in clay, kind of sad for that's pretty much what our dirt consists of.
Maybe this is why so many of our flowers are stunted.
Again, what do I know?
A: Zip.

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Brian's AP
I don't understand all I know about this
Specs: 2600 gallon (347.56cf) Masonry fish pond. 44cf GBs. 200 gal (26.7cf) ST. 15 gal (2cf) RFF. 50 gal (6.7cf) biofilter. Brook trout and Comets.