Aquaponics System, Passive Solar Greenhouse build - Page 2

pinballlooking · 02-23-15, 11:46 AM

I drove 4 ½ hours round trip to pick up a Fish Tank on Friday it was advertised on Craigslist to be 600 gallon or 2271L that is just about right. Then he emails me and tells me it is 1300 gallon 4921L. I think that is fine I will just not fill it the whole way.

Will I get it home and it is really 425 gallons 1608L.


I might use it for the sump tank.

I got 10 black 55 gallons barrels $10 each for heat collection in the green house. I am getting 10 steel black barrels to be the first row. These will be stacked two high on the back wall in my passive solar greenhouse. 1,100 gallons of water collecting heat and about 9,130lbs of heat collection water weight.

I picked up my stands very strong mig welded repurposed $18 each. I could have built my stands out of wood but I don’t want to use treated lumber and I don’t want to attract termites.

I found out my IBC containers are really 330 gallons not 275 gallons.
My son helped pressure wash the one IBC.

We put it on a stand to start collecting rain water for the project.

Xringer · 02-25-15, 03:09 PM

Hummm, I'm thinking CatFish!

It's a beautiful thing to see, when somebody comes along and sets an example for all of us!

Keep up the good work!

PS:
Do you grow wine grapes too?

pinballlooking · 02-25-15, 05:01 PM

Thanks.
Catfish actually do very well. They can take the cold better than some of the other fish.

My neighbor grows some grapes.

pinballlooking · 02-26-15, 03:04 PM

I just ordered a web monitoring system for my Aquaponics system. It will send you a text message or email when things are not working correct. You can monitor 6 different things a set alerts based off them. I picked it up off eBay to save some money.

Sensaphone Web600 Monitoring System

I got it with 2 weatherproof temperature sensors.
I will need a flow detection
and low water level detection.

I know there are home grown solutions but I have enough going on and this system is mature has data logging and only uses a few watts of power.

My wife thinks it is funny I have system monitoring before I have my system done. but it is important to keep the fish alive for this all to work.

I collected 120 gallons of rain water last night.

Xringer · 02-26-15, 03:23 PM

I have email notification on my CAI controller. It works pretty well, and it's low cost.
Remote Monitor Control Temp Humidity I O Webcontrol X10RF | eBay
It can handle 8 temperature sensors. I've got six of them monitoring a bunch of items..

I also figured out who my tracfone carrier is (AT&T) for our area and found
the address suffix (781nnnxxxx@txt.att.net) to use so we could send text messages to our phones..
So, I have a choice of email or text, or both..

We also have a loud digital voice module we can trigger using X10 from the CAI board. Just in case we're asleep.

pinballlooking · 02-26-15, 03:34 PM

That would have been much more cost effective.
This system is very cool but too expensive for me.

https://www.neptunesystems.com/produ...roller-system/

I knew I could save some money on monitoring but I am building the system and the greenhouse. So this this one system just bought after a few eBay messages offering less money.

Xringer · 02-26-15, 04:29 PM

I went with the cheapo CAI controller, so I could have a tested, un-used spare, ready to install, just in case lightning revisits us..
Last summer lightning took out two of my outdoor security cameras.

I think it was the long cables, picking up the EMP.

There are all kinds of network cables around here, and one of these days...?.
Just hope it doesn't toast the whole house network..

It seems like every 5 or 10 years, we take a small jolt and a few items get blasted.

pinballlooking · 02-26-15, 11:36 PM

Ordered my fish feeder it is Fish Mate Auto Pond Fish Feeder P7000. This is the feeder they use at Clemson and they have four of them. They have been using them for a long time and tried many brands he said this is the only that worked well and never messed up. It was on sale with free shipping so I grabbed it.

We go away for weekends a lot in the summer and the fish still need feed.

pinballlooking · 03-01-15, 06:53 PM

My neighbor had a friend that had some black barrels I could have. He needed to pick up some pallets. So we used my 16’ trailer and I was able to get 16 black plastic for free.

I have been paying $10 each for them so this helped out.

Here is a picture of how the barrels will be stacked on the back wall in the greenhouse with water in them.

The front stands are 4’ but the front grow beds are going to be 3’ x 20’ so I cut a foot off the stand and welded it back together. I just got a Hobart 140 mig welder so this will give me a lot of practice welding.

Hopefully I will be a better welder when I and done with this project.

pinballlooking · 03-03-15, 11:22 AM

I had to get a new 7” grinder to cut these stands. I used a 4” grinder to cut this one and I am sure it would kill it to cut them all with the 4” grinder.

I would like a plasma cutter but a $35 after 20% off grinder will have to do.

I ordered this float valve. I hope to use it auto fill my sump tank with rail water. $6.68 shipped from China.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/G3-4-Size-Pl.../231280075411?
Other have use it on their systems. I wont be ready for it for a while so no big deal it is shipping from China.

02-23-15, 11:46 AM	#11
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I drove 4 ½ hours round trip to pick up a Fish Tank on Friday it was advertised on Craigslist to be 600 gallon or 2271L that is just about right. Then he emails me and tells me it is 1300 gallon 4921L. I think that is fine I will just not fill it the whole way. Will I get it home and it is really 425 gallons 1608L.  I might use it for the sump tank. I got 10 black 55 gallons barrels $10 each for heat collection in the green house. I am getting 10 steel black barrels to be the first row. These will be stacked two high on the back wall in my passive solar greenhouse. 1,100 gallons of water collecting heat and about 9,130lbs of heat collection water weight. I picked up my stands very strong mig welded repurposed $18 each. I could have built my stands out of wood but I don’t want to use treated lumber and I don’t want to attract termites. I found out my IBC containers are really 330 gallons not 275 gallons. My son helped pressure wash the one IBC. We put it on a stand to start collecting rain water for the project. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by pinballlooking; 02-25-15 at 05:17 PM..

02-25-15, 03:09 PM	#12
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Hummm, I'm thinking CatFish! It's a beautiful thing to see, when somebody comes along and sets an example for all of us! Keep up the good work! PS: Do you grow wine grapes too? __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

02-26-15, 03:04 PM	#14
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I just ordered a web monitoring system for my Aquaponics system. It will send you a text message or email when things are not working correct. You can monitor 6 different things a set alerts based off them. I picked it up off eBay to save some money. Sensaphone Web600 Monitoring System I got it with 2 weatherproof temperature sensors. I will need a flow detection and low water level detection. I know there are home grown solutions but I have enough going on and this system is mature has data logging and only uses a few watts of power. My wife thinks it is funny I have system monitoring before I have my system done. but it is important to keep the fish alive for this all to work. I collected 120 gallons of rain water last night. Attached Thumbnails

02-26-15, 03:23 PM	#15
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I have email notification on my CAI controller. It works pretty well, and it's low cost. Remote Monitor Control Temp Humidity I O Webcontrol X10RF \| eBay It can handle 8 temperature sensors. I've got six of them monitoring a bunch of items.. I also figured out who my tracfone carrier is (AT&T) for our area and found the address suffix (781nnnxxxx@txt.att.net) to use so we could send text messages to our phones.. So, I have a choice of email or text, or both.. We also have a loud digital voice module we can trigger using X10 from the CAI board. Just in case we're asleep. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

02-26-15, 03:34 PM	#16
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	That would have been much more cost effective. This system is very cool but too expensive for me. https://www.neptunesystems.com/produ...roller-system/ I knew I could save some money on monitoring but I am building the system and the greenhouse. So this this one system just bought after a few eBay messages offering less money. Last edited by pinballlooking; 02-26-15 at 04:59 PM..

02-25-15, 05:01 PM	#13
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Thanks. Catfish actually do very well. They can take the cold better than some of the other fish. My neighbor grows some grapes.

02-26-15, 04:29 PM	#17
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	I went with the cheapo CAI controller, so I could have a tested, un-used spare, ready to install, just in case lightning revisits us.. Last summer lightning took out two of my outdoor security cameras. I think it was the long cables, picking up the EMP. There are all kinds of network cables around here, and one of these days...?. Just hope it doesn't toast the whole house network.. It seems like every 5 or 10 years, we take a small jolt and a few items get blasted. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

02-26-15, 11:36 PM	#18
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Ordered my fish feeder it is Fish Mate Auto Pond Fish Feeder P7000. This is the feeder they use at Clemson and they have four of them. They have been using them for a long time and tried many brands he said this is the only that worked well and never messed up. It was on sale with free shipping so I grabbed it. We go away for weekends a lot in the summer and the fish still need feed. Attached Thumbnails

03-01-15, 06:53 PM	#19
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	My neighbor had a friend that had some black barrels I could have. He needed to pick up some pallets. So we used my 16’ trailer and I was able to get 16 black plastic for free. I have been paying $10 each for them so this helped out. Here is a picture of how the barrels will be stacked on the back wall in the greenhouse with water in them. The front stands are 4’ but the front grow beds are going to be 3’ x 20’ so I cut a foot off the stand and welded it back together. I just got a Hobart 140 mig welder so this will give me a lot of practice welding. Hopefully I will be a better welder when I and done with this project. Attached Thumbnails

03-03-15, 11:22 AM	#20
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I had to get a new 7” grinder to cut these stands. I used a 4” grinder to cut this one and I am sure it would kill it to cut them all with the 4” grinder. I would like a plasma cutter but a $35 after 20% off grinder will have to do. I ordered this float valve. I hope to use it auto fill my sump tank with rail water. $6.68 shipped from China. http://www.ebay.com/itm/G3-4-Size-Pl.../231280075411? Other have use it on their systems. I wont be ready for it for a while so no big deal it is shipping from China. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by pinballlooking; 03-03-15 at 11:21 PM..