Aquaponics System, Passive Solar Greenhouse build

[LJKeenan]

how is it going?

[pinballlooking]

Things are doing well. It needs more of my attention but we are hitting the lake every weekend having fun.

Now that I have more fish the DWC is doing much better. I need to plant more plants in it now.

[pinballlooking]

I see some people posting about their greenhouses and getting mold on the plants because of poor air flow. Saying they need to add fans.

I am pleased that I do not have any mold on my plants and they air flow has been good with just vents.

96 yesterday and 88 in the green house. Fish water 83 degrees.
I was so hot outside it felt so much cooler in the greenhouse. 88 is still hot but it had air flow so it did not feel so bad.

[Xringer]

That's 'cool'.. Going into a greenhouse to cool off on a hot day, seems counter-intuitive..
In the afternoon in the summer, we have two 48x48 windows that makes our den really hot!

Our (80% blocker) solar screens are up all summer.. Otherwise, the den would be unusable.
It's great that solar heated air can power the upwards air flow inside the greenhouse,
so much that it keeps it cool inside.. It's Marvelous..

[ksstathead]

pinball,
I just found this thread and read it.
Very impressive.
Thank you for sharing.

We hope to build a passive solar home in Oklahoma, I'd love to use the massive solar battery of a connected greenhouse to also help with the home Hx. While our temperature range is wider than yours, say -10 to 115F, I think your passive approach should still work.

Kudos on the DIY and reuse of materials aspects, and just an overall beautiful result.
I need to review your solar PV thread, as well.

I was surprised you didn't do a drain-back heat collector like those on build it solar, but you then solved your heating issue more simply. I learned a lot in so many areas that I find fascinating. Thanks again!
Glen

[pinballlooking]

Thanks and I am glad you found the information useful.

If I build another house I would use some of these techniques.
It was amazing how much heat I was using to heat my house and my greenhouse was 60+ degrees, just amazing.

[pinballlooking]

I ordered some 200 hundred rockwool starter cubes. I plan on starting some seeds and put them in the DWC. I have never used these but they get good reviews.

[pinballlooking]

I went into the greenhouse this morning to check on things. I reached over for a chair I keep in there and saw something black move fast. Will my first snake was in the green house. I went to get a shovel and when I want back it had moved.

I moved a bucket I keep in there and the snake was back. It was under the front grow bed but I finally got it. If my wife knew that snake was in there I would not get her back in there.

I don’t really like snakes either so it was some excitement.

[Xringer]

Yikes! When I was a kid growing up on the border in SW Texas,
90% of the snakes that I encountered were poisonous.
After you step on a few snakes that can kill people,
you become very aware of snakes and you dislike them..
Or, maybe a fear of snakes is in our DNA from a million years ago..
It took me years to get used to New England grass and black snakes..
They still freak me out, even knowing they are good for the ecosystem..

[pinballlooking]

Over the weekend at the lake we saw a nice black snake in our yard and left it alone.
It will help keep the rodents away. I did not tell my wife about it. But inside the greenhouse is a different story. The greenhouse is a no snake zone.