Very Nice job! Thanks for the video, I had downloaded Travis Hughey's PDF but had a couple of questions which your video answered! I am curious about your geenhouse, did it extend your growing season by much? What did you do in the winter? I am in New England and facing the same issues. I grew up in Montrose though so I know what the winters are like out there as well.
What was your reasoning for using the toilet flush? An bell auto-siphon would have been just as effective, lowered the head needed for the pump, and less mechanical failure points. It would have also taken less space.
Awesome tutorial, I really appreciate how you showed the mechanism in action, along with all your pipes and the self siphoning system. I have a much more practical understanding of the mechanism behind aquaponics now. Thank you! I would like to see if you could show the inside of the toilet flush mechanism. Have you ever considered using self siphoning or a version of the toilet flush system on the grow beds to give the plants more time to absorb nutrients?
you shouls also try a barrel garden for tamatoes.fill a blue barrel with water burie it 1/3 or 1/2 in ground plant tamatoes 1 foot away all around barrel.in spring the water will heat up during the day and protect them from early mourning frost.in fall this will reverse and cool at night and stay cool do to foliage covering the barrel protecting tem from mid day sun..
I find this system a bit too complex, those that use just a bell siphon to flood and drain, and run the pump off a timer seem a lot simpler and more efficient to me, but I like things to be easy.
Ur vid has motivated me to build my own system. It is bought finish but only have one concern. I live in Arizona and evaporation is tremendous. How do I make up my water in the system to replace the water that has evaporated? If u put a float in the fish tank, won't it overfill? Ur help is aprreciated!!
what do you use to drill holes in your buckets. I am going to steal your genius idea of using the water bottle attached to toilet flap, instead of buying a timer. Good job you need to post an update of what the plants look like now. thanks for the inspiration. Is there a hole on the water bottle lid?
I have a pond in my front yard and I am just asking if I can use your water bottle attached to a toilet flap idea so I don't need to buy a timer? Do you also have a hole in the lid of the bottle? Your system is sick, I will get a video up of mine once it's done. thanks bro. Aloha.
@DancesWithLlamas No nutrient mix. Just fish poop. That's exactly how the thing works. The plants grow on nothing except what the fish leave in the water. the only thing you put in the system is fish food.
@arnolda14 I'm currently building my own aquaponics system, partly inspired by what you have here. Thanks for your response. I still cannot believe that fish poop alone can give plants all the nutrients they require. Would not certain plants, e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, or sage require different proportions of certain nutrients? Would fish provide all of the nutrients needed? I'm afraid finding out would require sending samples to a lab for analysis (too costly), so I think the best way is to use
@arnolda14 an EC meter and experiment with varying quantities of fish and different kinds of fish for the best combination for a certain plant. Thanks for your help and this wonderful design!
@trucklover9 This system was designed by Travis Hughey and is intended as an entry model that anyone can build and use. The point of my vids is to demonstrate how this can work for someone who doesn't have the time nor impetus to become an expert and devote their whole life to the thing and to show that ordinary people can make one of these and maintain it with very little time. As for whether I built mine before or after Condemned Patriot, I think I was first so nyah nyah nyah nyah.
@arnolda14 Yeah, i like your system better. its put together much better and looks much better. what type of pump is that and how many gph does it pump. are you going to get like tilapia or another food fish. i use goldfish because there easy to find and there cheap. I wish i had the money to build a system like that. nice system.
It's not an exact equation since plants and fish grow to different sizes and have different metabolisms. Check out some of my later vids and espeically the 2009 system for a better idea of how this looked later. The general idea is that your ammonia levels will tell you what's going on with the balance of animals and plants in the system.
I put a few smooth rocks in there to give them some structure (see my more recent vids). Believe it or not, castles and plastic pirates are not part of their natural environment but they do like some structure. I would caution folks against using urbanite though (as I initially did) because it seemed like it was a little too rough and may be an easy way for them to damage their scales, which is very bad.
Every now and then I think it's important to mention that this design is not mine but the work of Travis Hughey who is something of a genius and also a true humanitarian. Anyone who is interested in building this system can find his instructions by doing a search on "barrelponics pdf". I would urge everyone to take note of the humanitarian work Travis does around the world. Imo, a truly special person.
Hey man, this is a really well made and functional design. Amazingly simple but effective. I'm gonna try and model my aquaponics system after this one if you don't mind. What would you say is an appropriate pump for it? I assume at least 100 gal an hour?
It really depends on the system you build and how frequently you want it to "flush". I use a Pondmaster 750C, available at petsmart. If you refer to Travis's instructions (which I strongly recommend you follow closely - do a google search on "barrelponics pdf" fo find it), he'll have good information for you on choosing a pump. Remember to pay close attention to the pump height as well as the flow rate - very important.
Aquaponics is an inferior food producing system. To much work...to much technology.Start yourself a square foot garden and get more food for 1/2 the work
An interesting assertion. I was just the other day thinking about trying sq ft. Aquaponics is hard to beat though. I spend less than an hour a week on my system and as far as technology goes, there's nothing in there I couldn't build with my own hands, except the pump so it's not exactly space-age stuff, really. I don't think we can really say this is hard work or high-tech. As for being "inferior", it certainly surpasses traditional gardening so that may also be inaccurate.
Im all for people doing it their own way and i realize back yard inventors rule but its not for me.I could see this as an addition to a primary fish growning operation but not as the main point of effort.That doesnt mean im not all for it. You have a very interesting operation here.I know of one guy that was raising expensive koi fish that he sold for whopper profits and he had a aquaponic system set up.A lot of ppl are using tilapia in their systems.
@onagadoriyogi The argument is irresistible so I built myself a square foot garden last weekend and we'll "race" the two this year. Just because Guns is an asshole doesn't mean that he's wrong. Assholes can be right sometimes too so it's very important to always listen to assholes and then decide for yourself what's true.
So I've got 96 sq. ft. put together and filled with mel's mix. We will plant the same cultivars at the same time and I will have vids updating the whole race.
I'm confused by your statement. In actuality aquaponics is very efficient, and requires much less tedium than soil (ie: weeding fertilizing etc) all aquaponics requires is a little basic pH control, which is not difficult at all
That's mostly correct. If you look at one of my more recent videos from this year, you'll see that I put some very inexpensive valves on there, which allow me to regulate the flow. It would also be possible to speed up the flow by tilting the beds a little bit.
this was an excellent video........My chick would kill me if I tried to make one more thing like this.........I may be knocking on your door to be a sofa surfer!
It holds the water back for a time and then releases it all at once. This gives the roots a chance to have access to the air and its oxygen. Some systems don't use a reservoir and just have a continuous flow of water.
I may try the plastic cover on the grow beds. As for the timer, once the plants grew up, the algae stopped growing there because the sun didn't come through any more.
I might suggest a lid for your top tank with a vent hole to keep algae growth down, while keeping heat from buidling up.
You might also spray the outside of your flush timer bottle with black paint.
You can also cover your grow beds with opaque plastic film and put holes in the film where your seeds are planted. This will cut down on evaporation - a lot.
There is no reason to give any fertilizer to the plants. The fish poop provides the plants with everything they need to grow extremely well. Take a look at some of the videos from later in the year and you'll see that within a few months, it looked like a jungle in there and the vegetables were plentiful. The plants in this system outgrew the plants in my regular garden by a long shot.
I am building one myself and I had a few questions.
I just ran the first test run for my system, and my resivoir fills up after 15 minutes, i have my pump on every third hour, so it will be dumping water 4 times an hour every third hour. I feel like that is too much, is it?
I'd say no. Use aquarium sealant instead. Caulk, even when dry will probably leech nasty stuff. I'll put it this way; would you store leftover soup in a bowl that had been sealed with the stuff? Since you're using this system to grow food, you should use only food-grade materials. That applies especially to your barrels. DO NOT use barrels that were every used for anything but food. VERY IMPORTANT & worth repeating - DO NOT use barrels that were EVER used for storing toxic chemicals.
" DO NOT use barrels that were EVER used for storing toxic chemicals."
You say that, but why? It's not like the plastic barrels are porous enough to hold enough toxic chemicals that,. after a thorough cleaning and through the process of photosynthesis and plant growth that enough toxins could make it to your table to ever harm you.
I guess I'm not seeing the risk that you do. Can you explain?
Okay I am almost completely set up, I just had a few last questions. How often should the flusher be triggered to water the growbeds? And I plan on skipping that top reservoir and just having one main barrel up top, and reason you have two other than growing lettuce? ANd does it matter what type of gravel/pebbles I use? I was just going to collect some from a nearby stream. Thank you for all your help.
The more often you flush, the more often the plants get to "eat" so it's a relationship between how many fish, how many plants, how often you flush, etc. Being a novice myself, I can only tell you that observing your system will be the best bet. You definitely don't want your plant roots to get dry so at least often enough to keep that from happening.
No lettuce, no top tank needed.
Small gravel from the creek, I would think, should be ok.
I am going to build one of these, I actually just got a 330 gallon areator tank today for 10$. I plan on cutting it in half (its 4 feet tall) So maybe I will have a max of 200 gallons in it. Can you give me a link of where I can get a pump that would cover this amount of water? I keep finding ones but they are very expensive. Thanks
I just got a pond pump from PetSmart. I really didn't want to use a submersible model but at this point I think submersible is less trouble because leaks are less of a problem. That may be less true for larger operations.
You need a pump because the water will not run up to the top tank all by itself, not even with a siphon. A siphon does still depend on gravity to make it work.
instead of pea gravel, can we use river pebbles .. can we use any tiny pebbles or stones? I am living in India (third world country). I dont know where to get pea gravel. I really want to make your system work out here for me.
From what I've read, river pebbles should work just fine. The smaller the better because you want to maximize your surface area since that's where your biofilter will live.
i am in India, I dont know where to find Pea Gravel. any ideas? i hope they have it.. in case i am unable to find Pea Gravel, can i replace it with any other Gravel? help!!
It's a valid question. Yes, some fish die. But it's important to keep perspective. Even the food of a vegan kills animals; plows and tractors run over mice, fields destroy animal habitat, fossil fuels required for transport and processing come from wells that kill thousands of animals. A single macadamia nut flown from Hawaii has a greater ecological impact than my little setup here. It's very important to respect all life and that's why I do what I do. I hope nothing dies needlessly.
"Yes, some fish die. But it's important to keep perspective. Even the food of a vegan kills animals; plows and tractors run over mice, fields destroy animal habitat, fossil fuels required for transport and processing come from wells that kill thousands of animals."
Yes, but for this system all you need is pee. The nitrogen cycle does not depend on fish - it depends on ammonia.
Just do a search on barrelponics and/or backyard aquaponics and you can download the full instructions as a pdf. Travis Hughey designed this thing. He's brilliant.
It's a cool setup. even work fro a basement. Did You say you got talapia from the gator farm in colorado? I live in lake city SW CO and have been all ove the net to find brood stock never knew there was somewhere in the state to get them.
I didn't really keep track of the cost. Travis has done workshops where the participants have built these for less than $200. That doesn't include the greenhouse, which probably set me back about $250. If you scrounge and dig and improvise, you can really get these going on the cheap.
Here's an excerpt from an email I received from a friend of mine who is something of a hydroponic expert. I think it might be helpful for us:
Plants 100% definitely need O2 at the root level, and the more the better...That's why houseplants wilt and die if you stick them in a bucket of water. O2 is critical to their metabolism and the creation of carbohydrates...while many plants will grow without needing much additional O2, they will all grow faster and healthier with more.
Not meaning to sound defensive but in the interest of debate I have to say that the timer on this system is certainly not overcomplicated. I dare say that its simplicity is what I find so impressive. I haven't had to adjust it or even so much as look at it in several weeks. It requires no electricity and is so simple that a child could build and/or repair it. Total cost is less than three dollars. Electric timers are fine but I would venture to say they're actually more complicated.
The timer float valve thingy allows the roots of the plants to have periodic soaking rather than a constant stream of water. This gives them access to atmospheric oxygen. Some plants can live with their roots under water continuously but others need some exposure to air.
Some plants, such as lettuce, can do just fine with their roots constantly under water. But most plants like to take in some oxygen from the air through their roots.
Atmospheric oxygen (O2) is a little different from the oxygen in water. Water does have some O2 in it (dissolved oxygen or DO) but in this system, there's not enough DO for good plant health & photosyntheis so the plants need some access to the air.
I would think that just the dropping the water in a constant flow from the height of that top tank would be sufficient to aerate it. I just don't like float valve- it's just me.
i'd eaither let the water just free fall, or use a timer.
But go with what worksd- and yours seems to be working pretty well!!!
Scratches head, I have an aquaponics system and I don't use the over-complicated float valve. I just use a timer set to water 30 mins four times a day. However, it looks like a cool mouse trap though.
Great Job!! I am glad to see the videos and the progress you are making. As far as the genius comment, if you knew me you probably would reconsider. Thanks for the referral at the end. Did you know there is a barrelponics yahoo group? Please feel free to join. Keep up the great work!!
Wow, a comment from the man himself! I am subscribed to the yahoo group but haven't kept up very well. There's just so much information there that it's almost overwhelming. I finally decided to just roll up my sleeves, start hammering and make some mistakes. My personal thinks to you for what you're doing. You have my utmost respect.
The upside-down water bottle is the timer - basically it's like an ancient Chinese water clock. Once again, Travis is a genius for thinking of this. Once the water reaches a certain level, it fills the bottle with water. The weight of the water in the bottle causes it to fall, which opens a toilet flusher. That's the timer - totally mechanical and integrated into the system. If I ever get this thing on solar power, it'll be completely self-contained.
FishAquaMalaspina, who also has a video here, did a better job with this design than I did. I do think Travis Hughey is a genius for coming up with this design.
The pump is a Pondmaster 700 series & it's great. The system runs a full cycle about once every 9 minutes.
Fish casualties, I've had:
1 goldfish got bullied by a bigger fish
2 koi died when the system got clogged by a snail
2 died from an emergency addition of water that was too cold
so whats the going rate for just a few talapia from the gator farm? are they only availible seasonally? are they males and females, or all male. the males are supposed to grow faster and allow for a more even grow out.
we say, "send more tourists the last ones were tasty!" alfred packer. for those of you confused, local humor.
Very Nice job! Thanks for the video, I had downloaded Travis Hughey's PDF but had a couple of questions which your video answered! I am curious about your geenhouse, did it extend your growing season by much? What did you do in the winter? I am in New England and facing the same issues. I grew up in Montrose though so I know what the winters are like out there as well.
choctawfluteman 1 week ago
hiya ich hab was unanständiges entdeckt
SandaAngeleql885 3 months ago
I really like this system and will be building one just for the hell of it. My wife asks me why, my only response is....Because its cool!
TradeMark2003 3 months ago
Have you considered a simpler design?
What was your reasoning for using the toilet flush? An bell auto-siphon would have been just as effective, lowered the head needed for the pump, and less mechanical failure points. It would have also taken less space.
Thanks
Songy23 4 months ago
How fast do the fish grow? If they grow fast I might set this up so I can get more fish.
TheRebelEye 4 months ago
Awesome tutorial, I really appreciate how you showed the mechanism in action, along with all your pipes and the self siphoning system. I have a much more practical understanding of the mechanism behind aquaponics now. Thank you! I would like to see if you could show the inside of the toilet flush mechanism. Have you ever considered using self siphoning or a version of the toilet flush system on the grow beds to give the plants more time to absorb nutrients?
DIYaquarist 5 months ago
Could you possibly explain the toilet flush operation a bit more.
rexmorgan72 6 months ago
You should go solar, once you buy the initial equipment it has zero carbon footprint. I bought my solar system for about $300.
darbee63 7 months ago
OMG, the cost of building this will be enough to buy veggies for like 2 years, plus the constant labor cost is not worth it
lppoqql 9 months ago
This Design is BRILLIANT!!! Good Luck!
We're thinking of giving this a TRY!
I'm going to share this on our website so others can see your AWESOME Design too!
I think you will help Allot of people!
Sunny Side Up Coops.com
4starMH 9 months ago
i downloaded the guide for this as well, good to see that it works! great video man!
Maccaism 11 months ago
Nice, can not wait to start my green house and barrelponics system when all the ice and snow is gone from the yard.
woodturningjohn 11 months ago
Thats real cool :)
TheMagicNumb3r 11 months ago
you shouls also try a barrel garden for tamatoes.fill a blue barrel with water burie it 1/3 or 1/2 in ground plant tamatoes 1 foot away all around barrel.in spring the water will heat up during the day and protect them from early mourning frost.in fall this will reverse and cool at night and stay cool do to foliage covering the barrel protecting tem from mid day sun..
good luck.
fmacdona1 1 year ago
I think you have done a great job.
I find this system a bit too complex, those that use just a bell siphon to flood and drain, and run the pump off a timer seem a lot simpler and more efficient to me, but I like things to be easy.
pippaknuckle 1 year ago
Wow, I'm looking to build a greenhouse just like that!!
If you don't mind, how much did it cost/where'd you get the parts?
Thanks!!!
WizzleThump 1 year ago
nice set up - thanks for posting the video
2007db2007 1 year ago
how long does your reservior to be filled?
JJMBanaz 1 year ago
im setting this up before the economy crashes.
TheTruthoverlies 1 year ago 5
sweeeeeet
TheTruthoverlies 1 year ago
to better distribute water evenly, would it be a good idea to use shower heads on the tubes that release the water?
OrbApps 1 year ago
Comment removed
OrbApps 1 year ago
Ur vid has motivated me to build my own system. It is bought finish but only have one concern. I live in Arizona and evaporation is tremendous. How do I make up my water in the system to replace the water that has evaporated? If u put a float in the fish tank, won't it overfill? Ur help is aprreciated!!
lalokingman 1 year ago
What was your total cost for the system?
johnlvs2run 1 year ago
what do you use to drill holes in your buckets. I am going to steal your genius idea of using the water bottle attached to toilet flap, instead of buying a timer. Good job you need to post an update of what the plants look like now. thanks for the inspiration. Is there a hole on the water bottle lid?
joeinakamama 1 year ago
I have a pond in my front yard and I am just asking if I can use your water bottle attached to a toilet flap idea so I don't need to buy a timer? Do you also have a hole in the lid of the bottle? Your system is sick, I will get a video up of mine once it's done. thanks bro. Aloha.
joeinakamama 1 year ago
what nutrient mix are you using?
DancesWithLlamas 1 year ago
@DancesWithLlamas No nutrient mix. Just fish poop. That's exactly how the thing works. The plants grow on nothing except what the fish leave in the water. the only thing you put in the system is fish food.
arnolda14 1 year ago 5
@arnolda14 I'm currently building my own aquaponics system, partly inspired by what you have here. Thanks for your response. I still cannot believe that fish poop alone can give plants all the nutrients they require. Would not certain plants, e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, or sage require different proportions of certain nutrients? Would fish provide all of the nutrients needed? I'm afraid finding out would require sending samples to a lab for analysis (too costly), so I think the best way is to use
DancesWithLlamas 1 year ago
@arnolda14 an EC meter and experiment with varying quantities of fish and different kinds of fish for the best combination for a certain plant. Thanks for your help and this wonderful design!
DancesWithLlamas 1 year ago
why the flood tank? why not directly to the beds? anyway nice work
Chudstoned79 1 year ago
thats the exact same system design as condemned patriot. why not create your own system.
trucklover9 1 year ago
@trucklover9 This system was designed by Travis Hughey and is intended as an entry model that anyone can build and use. The point of my vids is to demonstrate how this can work for someone who doesn't have the time nor impetus to become an expert and devote their whole life to the thing and to show that ordinary people can make one of these and maintain it with very little time. As for whether I built mine before or after Condemned Patriot, I think I was first so nyah nyah nyah nyah.
arnolda14 1 year ago 17
@arnolda14 Yeah, i like your system better. its put together much better and looks much better. what type of pump is that and how many gph does it pump. are you going to get like tilapia or another food fish. i use goldfish because there easy to find and there cheap. I wish i had the money to build a system like that. nice system.
trucklover9 1 year ago
seems like not enough fish. i'm guessing you added more later? how many fish does it take to support those 2 planters?
Firefly804 2 years ago
It's not an exact equation since plants and fish grow to different sizes and have different metabolisms. Check out some of my later vids and espeically the 2009 system for a better idea of how this looked later. The general idea is that your ammonia levels will tell you what's going on with the balance of animals and plants in the system.
arnolda14 2 years ago
wicked!
predator020304 2 years ago
it's brilliant!good job.
karenbirk 2 years ago
Is this environment fish friendly? it seems a bit bare . You could add a coral castle and pirates chest .
opalfruit999 2 years ago 2
I put a few smooth rocks in there to give them some structure (see my more recent vids). Believe it or not, castles and plastic pirates are not part of their natural environment but they do like some structure. I would caution folks against using urbanite though (as I initially did) because it seemed like it was a little too rough and may be an easy way for them to damage their scales, which is very bad.
arnolda14 2 years ago
Every now and then I think it's important to mention that this design is not mine but the work of Travis Hughey who is something of a genius and also a true humanitarian. Anyone who is interested in building this system can find his instructions by doing a search on "barrelponics pdf". I would urge everyone to take note of the humanitarian work Travis does around the world. Imo, a truly special person.
arnolda14 2 years ago
Well done.!!!!!! Thanks a lot. Now to get independent!
masterix6 2 years ago
Hey man, this is a really well made and functional design. Amazingly simple but effective. I'm gonna try and model my aquaponics system after this one if you don't mind. What would you say is an appropriate pump for it? I assume at least 100 gal an hour?
maddcatone 2 years ago
It really depends on the system you build and how frequently you want it to "flush". I use a Pondmaster 750C, available at petsmart. If you refer to Travis's instructions (which I strongly recommend you follow closely - do a google search on "barrelponics pdf" fo find it), he'll have good information for you on choosing a pump. Remember to pay close attention to the pump height as well as the flow rate - very important.
arnolda14 2 years ago
Arnolda14, congrats! This is a really fantastic homemade aquaponic system. Thanks for sharing your work!
onagadoriyogi 2 years ago
Aquaponics is an inferior food producing system. To much work...to much technology.Start yourself a square foot garden and get more food for 1/2 the work
Gunnarsguns 2 years ago
An interesting assertion. I was just the other day thinking about trying sq ft. Aquaponics is hard to beat though. I spend less than an hour a week on my system and as far as technology goes, there's nothing in there I couldn't build with my own hands, except the pump so it's not exactly space-age stuff, really. I don't think we can really say this is hard work or high-tech. As for being "inferior", it certainly surpasses traditional gardening so that may also be inaccurate.
arnolda14 2 years ago
Im all for people doing it their own way and i realize back yard inventors rule but its not for me.I could see this as an addition to a primary fish growning operation but not as the main point of effort.That doesnt mean im not all for it. You have a very interesting operation here.I know of one guy that was raising expensive koi fish that he sold for whopper profits and he had a aquaponic system set up.A lot of ppl are using tilapia in their systems.
Gunnarsguns 2 years ago
I think you might want to recheck your assertions with some facts...
onagadoriyogi 2 years ago
I assert that you are an asshole....thats a fact
Gunnarsguns 2 years ago
@onagadoriyogi The argument is irresistible so I built myself a square foot garden last weekend and we'll "race" the two this year. Just because Guns is an asshole doesn't mean that he's wrong. Assholes can be right sometimes too so it's very important to always listen to assholes and then decide for yourself what's true.
So I've got 96 sq. ft. put together and filled with mel's mix. We will plant the same cultivars at the same time and I will have vids updating the whole race.
Fun!
arnolda14 1 year ago
I'm confused by your statement. In actuality aquaponics is very efficient, and requires much less tedium than soil (ie: weeding fertilizing etc) all aquaponics requires is a little basic pH control, which is not difficult at all
maddcatone 2 years ago
This is excellent well done.
is the control for draining grow beds just limited by outlet size ?
oggmttkmbbms 2 years ago
That's mostly correct. If you look at one of my more recent videos from this year, you'll see that I put some very inexpensive valves on there, which allow me to regulate the flow. It would also be possible to speed up the flow by tilting the beds a little bit.
arnolda14 2 years ago
toilet flusher was genius
ryanertime 2 years ago
can you gimme a link for blueprints of this, im wanna and gonna try this design :P
VanSneiwder 2 years ago
If you google "barrelponics pdf", you should be able to get a hold of them pretty easily.
arnolda14 2 years ago
so you are going to grow all the plants that you mentioned in that barrel at the same time?
not enough room.
also with a recirculating system integrating aquaculture and olericulture your ratio of fish to plant area is 10 to 1.
google srac bulletins and find the one that deals with integrating plants and fish in a symbiotic relationship.
johnnecron 2 years ago
Very nice project. You have now officially gotten me interested in aquaponics. Oops sorry 'barrelponics'.
Mokojumbiett 2 years ago
Very, very nice, thanks for the info.
MilwName 2 years ago
this was an excellent video........My chick would kill me if I tried to make one more thing like this.........I may be knocking on your door to be a sofa surfer!
hybridracers 2 years ago
What's the purpose of the reservoir?
zuosoft 2 years ago
It holds the water back for a time and then releases it all at once. This gives the roots a chance to have access to the air and its oxygen. Some systems don't use a reservoir and just have a continuous flow of water.
arnolda14 2 years ago
Very creative
dmacosta1 2 years ago
I may try the plastic cover on the grow beds. As for the timer, once the plants grew up, the algae stopped growing there because the sun didn't come through any more.
arnolda14 2 years ago
I might suggest a lid for your top tank with a vent hole to keep algae growth down, while keeping heat from buidling up.
You might also spray the outside of your flush timer bottle with black paint.
You can also cover your grow beds with opaque plastic film and put holes in the film where your seeds are planted. This will cut down on evaporation - a lot.
potlover62 2 years ago
Very creative mechanism...
nectarineblue 3 years ago
Sure, it works but when you haveto give some fertiliser to the "plants" the fish well die
vinny14444 3 years ago
There is no reason to give any fertilizer to the plants. The fish poop provides the plants with everything they need to grow extremely well. Take a look at some of the videos from later in the year and you'll see that within a few months, it looked like a jungle in there and the vegetables were plentiful. The plants in this system outgrew the plants in my regular garden by a long shot.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Very cool indeed. Are the plans to construct this system available?
strawman007 3 years ago
Yes. I found the plans on the internet. Just google "barrel ponics" and I'm sure you'll find them.
arnolda14 3 years ago
I'm using a kiddie pool for my grow bed.
I heard it is good to leave some water on the bottom at all times, but won't that cause root rot?
I feel like I should cut my drainage pipe down to the level of the bottom of the bed.
Should I?
CondemnedPatriot 3 years ago
I can't say I'm completely certain but I would err on the side of better drainage.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Hey, nice system.
I am building one myself and I had a few questions.
I just ran the first test run for my system, and my resivoir fills up after 15 minutes, i have my pump on every third hour, so it will be dumping water 4 times an hour every third hour. I feel like that is too much, is it?
DreamDanceDare 3 years ago
4 times an hour is good. The more times it flushes, the more times per day the plants get to eat.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Saves water, don't have to remember to water your plants, organic, and lots of fun.
Love it!
321gocog 3 years ago
Pretty cool.. I wish i had one for growing marijuana!
werdisitcooltho 3 years ago
This might be a stupid question, but can i use Caulk to seal my pipes? I know its toxic when wet, i dont know if it will hold when dry
CondemnedPatriot 3 years ago
I'd say no. Use aquarium sealant instead. Caulk, even when dry will probably leech nasty stuff. I'll put it this way; would you store leftover soup in a bowl that had been sealed with the stuff? Since you're using this system to grow food, you should use only food-grade materials. That applies especially to your barrels. DO NOT use barrels that were every used for anything but food. VERY IMPORTANT & worth repeating - DO NOT use barrels that were EVER used for storing toxic chemicals.
arnolda14 3 years ago
" DO NOT use barrels that were EVER used for storing toxic chemicals."
You say that, but why? It's not like the plastic barrels are porous enough to hold enough toxic chemicals that,. after a thorough cleaning and through the process of photosynthesis and plant growth that enough toxins could make it to your table to ever harm you.
I guess I'm not seeing the risk that you do. Can you explain?
potlover62 2 years ago
Okay I am almost completely set up, I just had a few last questions. How often should the flusher be triggered to water the growbeds? And I plan on skipping that top reservoir and just having one main barrel up top, and reason you have two other than growing lettuce? ANd does it matter what type of gravel/pebbles I use? I was just going to collect some from a nearby stream. Thank you for all your help.
CondemnedPatriot 3 years ago
The more often you flush, the more often the plants get to "eat" so it's a relationship between how many fish, how many plants, how often you flush, etc. Being a novice myself, I can only tell you that observing your system will be the best bet. You definitely don't want your plant roots to get dry so at least often enough to keep that from happening.
No lettuce, no top tank needed.
Small gravel from the creek, I would think, should be ok.
arnolda14 3 years ago
ALso, based on your pump, being on 25/7. How much does that cost you in electricity?
CondemnedPatriot 3 years ago
Not sure.
arnolda14 3 years ago
I am going to build one of these, I actually just got a 330 gallon areator tank today for 10$. I plan on cutting it in half (its 4 feet tall) So maybe I will have a max of 200 gallons in it. Can you give me a link of where I can get a pump that would cover this amount of water? I keep finding ones but they are very expensive. Thanks
CondemnedPatriot 3 years ago
I just got a pond pump from PetSmart. I really didn't want to use a submersible model but at this point I think submersible is less trouble because leaks are less of a problem. That may be less true for larger operations.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Why do you have to have that pump? That must be very costly to run all the time, why can't you jsut set up a syphon hose?
CondemnedPatriot 3 years ago
You need a pump because the water will not run up to the top tank all by itself, not even with a siphon. A siphon does still depend on gravity to make it work.
arnolda14 3 years ago
looks like travis's design
321gocog 3 years ago
Good eye. It is exactly Travis' design.
arnolda14 3 years ago
nice
Sonyoooo3 3 years ago
thanks!
greenfrog140 3 years ago
instead of pea gravel, can we use river pebbles .. can we use any tiny pebbles or stones? I am living in India (third world country). I dont know where to get pea gravel. I really want to make your system work out here for me.
greenfrog140 3 years ago
From what I've read, river pebbles should work just fine. The smaller the better because you want to maximize your surface area since that's where your biofilter will live.
arnolda14 3 years ago
can i use river pebbles for the grow bed for the plants? would it work?
greenfrog140 3 years ago
i am in India, I dont know where to find Pea Gravel. any ideas? i hope they have it.. in case i am unable to find Pea Gravel, can i replace it with any other Gravel? help!!
greenfrog140 3 years ago
Nice! Good job.
magprob 3 years ago
how much did it cost?
greenfrog140 3 years ago
Not sure. Probably $350 - $500.
arnolda14 3 years ago
how many gold fish you must buy in a month? And how many gold fish in a year are in heaven?
Sonyoooo3 3 years ago
It's a valid question. Yes, some fish die. But it's important to keep perspective. Even the food of a vegan kills animals; plows and tractors run over mice, fields destroy animal habitat, fossil fuels required for transport and processing come from wells that kill thousands of animals. A single macadamia nut flown from Hawaii has a greater ecological impact than my little setup here. It's very important to respect all life and that's why I do what I do. I hope nothing dies needlessly.
arnolda14 3 years ago
"Yes, some fish die. But it's important to keep perspective. Even the food of a vegan kills animals; plows and tractors run over mice, fields destroy animal habitat, fossil fuels required for transport and processing come from wells that kill thousands of animals."
Yes, but for this system all you need is pee. The nitrogen cycle does not depend on fish - it depends on ammonia.
potlover62 2 years ago
If you want to try pee, instead of fish, here's how to do it:
Add 6 - 8 oz. of urine to 50 gallons of water. Then, test the ammonia, nitrites. and nitrates throughout the cycle.
After the cycle is complete, add a couple of ounces of pee every week, while occasionally monitoring ammonia and nitrites.
You may plant after about six to eight weeks.
Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are doing the work, not the fish.
potlover62 2 years ago
thats great!...amazing
freestylze 3 years ago
I'm trying to set up in North Florida.
Any more detailed info on the siphon?
Thanks,
Gary
garcam743 3 years ago
Just do a search on barrelponics and/or backyard aquaponics and you can download the full instructions as a pdf. Travis Hughey designed this thing. He's brilliant.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Great piece of work! But why do you need the delay and flush mechanism? Why not just let the water go direct to the beds?
RonanBarbarian 3 years ago
The plants do better when the roots have periodic access to air.
arnolda14 3 years ago
I love the flush mechanism! About how often does it "flush"?
ccoasterdesigner 3 years ago
About every nine minutes.
arnolda14 3 years ago
I think the toilet flush thing is the best I've seen. I'm clearing out an area to set up a trial run system. I think I'll use your idea. Good move.
guaman1 3 years ago
I can't take credit for that flush system. That was Travis Hughey's design. It's absolutely brilliant imo.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Can you fit another system in your greenhouse or is there just room for that one system?
superpunchy71 3 years ago
That one system barely fits in the greenhouse, hence my plans to build a new greenhouse this spring.
arnolda14 3 years ago
It's a cool setup. even work fro a basement. Did You say you got talapia from the gator farm in colorado? I live in lake city SW CO and have been all ove the net to find brood stock never knew there was somewhere in the state to get them.
nappytedd 3 years ago
Lake City, what a gorgeous place. Nice people too - the kind of folks you'd like to have for dinner, if you catch my meaning.
All jokes aside, yes, the Gator Farm out there by Moffat is the place.
I have a friend who is doing a similar setup to this one in his basement & it's doing really well for him.
arnolda14 3 years ago
your green house is in the shade?
nappytedd 3 years ago
It gets a little shade in the afternoon. With my wife's blessing, I'm hoping to take over a new spot next spring that's a little sunnier.
arnolda14 3 years ago
great set up; how much something like this cost?
jaymeez 3 years ago
I didn't really keep track of the cost. Travis has done workshops where the participants have built these for less than $200. That doesn't include the greenhouse, which probably set me back about $250. If you scrounge and dig and improvise, you can really get these going on the cheap.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Here's an excerpt from an email I received from a friend of mine who is something of a hydroponic expert. I think it might be helpful for us:
Plants 100% definitely need O2 at the root level, and the more the better...That's why houseplants wilt and die if you stick them in a bucket of water. O2 is critical to their metabolism and the creation of carbohydrates...while many plants will grow without needing much additional O2, they will all grow faster and healthier with more.
arnolda14 3 years ago
mass root breakages when you flood especially with young plants
jihaad 3 years ago
Not meaning to sound defensive but in the interest of debate I have to say that the timer on this system is certainly not overcomplicated. I dare say that its simplicity is what I find so impressive. I haven't had to adjust it or even so much as look at it in several weeks. It requires no electricity and is so simple that a child could build and/or repair it. Total cost is less than three dollars. Electric timers are fine but I would venture to say they're actually more complicated.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Interesting, but the timer float valve thingy seems like it's over complicting the system.
Rube Goldberg would be proud.
What the advantage ove just putting a manifold abobve the grow barrels??
YouAdamNazzkl0wn 3 years ago
The timer float valve thingy allows the roots of the plants to have periodic soaking rather than a constant stream of water. This gives them access to atmospheric oxygen. Some plants can live with their roots under water continuously but others need some exposure to air.
arnolda14 3 years ago
There's air/oyygen in the water. H2O.
It would just be NFT style with a constant flow. That's how they usually do lettuce.
Still a way cool vid!!!
YouAdamNazzkl0wn 3 years ago
Some plants, such as lettuce, can do just fine with their roots constantly under water. But most plants like to take in some oxygen from the air through their roots.
Atmospheric oxygen (O2) is a little different from the oxygen in water. Water does have some O2 in it (dissolved oxygen or DO) but in this system, there's not enough DO for good plant health & photosyntheis so the plants need some access to the air.
arnolda14 3 years ago
I would think that just the dropping the water in a constant flow from the height of that top tank would be sufficient to aerate it. I just don't like float valve- it's just me.
i'd eaither let the water just free fall, or use a timer.
But go with what worksd- and yours seems to be working pretty well!!!
Congrats again.
Let's see more vids!!
YouAdamNazzkl0wn 3 years ago
Scratches head, I have an aquaponics system and I don't use the over-complicated float valve. I just use a timer set to water 30 mins four times a day. However, it looks like a cool mouse trap though.
themaddigger 3 years ago
Great Job!! I am glad to see the videos and the progress you are making. As far as the genius comment, if you knew me you probably would reconsider. Thanks for the referral at the end. Did you know there is a barrelponics yahoo group? Please feel free to join. Keep up the great work!!
Travis (the barrel-ponics guy)
barrelponic 3 years ago
Wow, a comment from the man himself! I am subscribed to the yahoo group but haven't kept up very well. There's just so much information there that it's almost overwhelming. I finally decided to just roll up my sleeves, start hammering and make some mistakes. My personal thinks to you for what you're doing. You have my utmost respect.
arnolda14 3 years ago
Oh and is this on a timer ? thanks!
NOSMOJEFF 3 years ago
The upside-down water bottle is the timer - basically it's like an ancient Chinese water clock. Once again, Travis is a genius for thinking of this. Once the water reaches a certain level, it fills the bottle with water. The weight of the water in the bottle causes it to fall, which opens a toilet flusher. That's the timer - totally mechanical and integrated into the system. If I ever get this thing on solar power, it'll be completely self-contained.
arnolda14 3 years ago
I was thinking of building this one. Let us know how the pump works out and how your fish do ok?
Good video !
NOSMOJEFF 3 years ago
I've had some ups & downs to be sure.
FishAquaMalaspina, who also has a video here, did a better job with this design than I did. I do think Travis Hughey is a genius for coming up with this design.
The pump is a Pondmaster 700 series & it's great. The system runs a full cycle about once every 9 minutes.
Fish casualties, I've had:
1 goldfish got bullied by a bigger fish
2 koi died when the system got clogged by a snail
2 died from an emergency addition of water that was too cold
arnolda14 3 years ago
so whats the going rate for just a few talapia from the gator farm? are they only availible seasonally? are they males and females, or all male. the males are supposed to grow faster and allow for a more even grow out.
we say, "send more tourists the last ones were tasty!" alfred packer. for those of you confused, local humor.
nappytedd 3 years ago
Boy, you got me stumped there. Probably best to call them directly.
arnolda14 3 years ago