Aquaponics System, Passive Solar Greenhouse build - Page 69

pinballlooking · 05-26-16, 10:46 AM

I setup up my fish feeder. I know I can just not feed the fish when I go away but the plants still need to eat. I like that it is battery powered.

This is the fish feeder that Clemson University uses. They tried a few different ones and now have been using two of these for a few years now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LPnTGyilD0

pinballlooking · 05-28-16, 03:53 PM

I picked up a piece of aluminum at the steel surplus shop and mounted the fish feeder.
I have an air stone in the fish tank from my DWC air pump. So if the water pump impeller goes bad the fish will still get air.
I connected up my contractor that has a normally closed contact. I connected my 12 volt dc air pump through the contactor. This is connected to a 12 volt car battery that is changed with a solar panel.
So as soon as my other air pump/water pump has lost power. This 12v dc air pump will start pumping air and as soon as the power comes back the contactor will take power away from the 12v air pump and it will stop.

Backup air supply operation
12v power supply for the relay/ contactor hooked 120 volt AC power to A1 and A2.
The red wire to the pump will go to 21 and the positive side of the 12v batty goes to 22 the normally closed connection.

A1 and A2 120 volts AC
21: pump red wire
22: battery + 12 volt (a fuse is close to the battery)
Battery black – goes to pump – black side.
The contactors are used to run elevators and are very robust.

21,22 are the normally closed contacts so when 120 volt AC power is applied it will open the contacts.
Then when we lose power it will close the contacts giving power to the air pump.

Now even if I am away from home and we loose power the fish will still get air.

Xringer · 05-28-16, 10:12 PM

Good luck with the storm tomorrow! Hope everything is tied down.
And nothing left parked in the low-lands..

MEMPHIS91 · 05-29-16, 11:08 AM

Same exact fish feeder I been using for going on 2 years. Still haven't changed the batteries!

pinballlooking · 05-31-16, 07:11 AM

@ XRinger I am outside Greenville SC that is the North West side of SC. So we just got rain on Saturday.
We were lucky it was not really bad here this time.

@ MEMPHIS91 Good to hear the fish feeder
has been working well for you. This is the kind of thing you just want to buy once.

Home depot send me a $10 off 100 order and they had exterior paint with a $40 rebate. So I bought paint for the outside of the greenhouse. It will be a light brown once I finish the siding.

One of my auto vent cylinders went bad and they are replacing it under warranty. I ordered an extra cylinder to have one on hand incase another one goes bad. We get pretty hot in the summer I would hate to not be able to vent while waiting on a replacement.

I keep an extra water pump on hand and an extra water pump impeller on hand. For when those are needed. It runs 24-7 and it will not last forever.
Good news I inspected and cleaned it after about 1 year running and it looked great.

My DWC (deep water culture) floating bed is not doing very well. It get its water from the sump tank. I think my front bed is taking up all the nutrients. So in need to either get more fish or less plants in the front bed or maybe both.

Here are some of the tomatoes. We ate a couple other bags of them over the weekend with friends.

pinballlooking · 06-03-16, 02:17 PM

Here are the tomatoes. I am still not done with the pruning but getting closer to being done.

pinballlooking · 06-08-16, 12:04 PM

Here are today’s tomatoes. I have not been doing that much on the greenhouse but I need to get back to it and get the siding done.

Here are today’s tomatoes. I have not been doing that much on the greenhouse but I need to get back to it and get the siding done.
The vents are going to be put to the test it is going to be 96 and 97 F this weekend.

pinballlooking · 06-15-16, 08:34 AM

Greenhouse heat performance: It has been 95 F the last couple days and 97 one day on the weekend. The greenhouse has topped at 88 so it stayed 7-9 degrees cooler than ambient temp.
The fish water has stayed under 80 F so far much lower than last summer.

The chimney effect is pretty good between the lower vents and the upper vents. It feels much cooler when you go in the greenhouse.

No fans needed so far.

The fish are eating three times a day and the nitrates are up some.

pinballlooking · 06-17-16, 10:12 AM

Here is the automatic backup air in action. You can clearly hear the contractor kick in when the power comes back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkbRF...ature=youtu.be

pinballlooking · 06-21-16, 09:12 AM

Today’s tomatoes

05-28-16, 03:53 PM	#682
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I picked up a piece of aluminum at the steel surplus shop and mounted the fish feeder. I have an air stone in the fish tank from my DWC air pump. So if the water pump impeller goes bad the fish will still get air. I connected up my contractor that has a normally closed contact. I connected my 12 volt dc air pump through the contactor. This is connected to a 12 volt car battery that is changed with a solar panel. So as soon as my other air pump/water pump has lost power. This 12v dc air pump will start pumping air and as soon as the power comes back the contactor will take power away from the 12v air pump and it will stop. Backup air supply operation 12v power supply for the relay/ contactor hooked 120 volt AC power to A1 and A2. The red wire to the pump will go to 21 and the positive side of the 12v batty goes to 22 the normally closed connection. A1 and A2 120 volts AC 21: pump red wire 22: battery + 12 volt (a fuse is close to the battery) Battery black – goes to pump – black side. The contactors are used to run elevators and are very robust. 21,22 are the normally closed contacts so when 120 volt AC power is applied it will open the contacts. Then when we lose power it will close the contacts giving power to the air pump. Now even if I am away from home and we loose power the fish will still get air. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

05-28-16, 10:12 PM	#683
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Good luck with the storm tomorrow! Hope everything is tied down. And nothing left parked in the low-lands.. __________________ My hobby is installing & trying to repair mini-splits EPA 608 Type 1 Technician Certification ~ 5 lbs or less..

05-29-16, 11:08 AM	#684
MEMPHIS91 Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Oxford, MS USA Posts: 496 Thanks: 69 Thanked 87 Times in 61 Posts	Same exact fish feeder I been using for going on 2 years. Still haven't changed the batteries! __________________ שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד

05-31-16, 07:11 AM	#685
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	@ XRinger I am outside Greenville SC that is the North West side of SC. So we just got rain on Saturday. We were lucky it was not really bad here this time. @ MEMPHIS91 Good to hear the fish feeder has been working well for you. This is the kind of thing you just want to buy once. Home depot send me a $10 off 100 order and they had exterior paint with a $40 rebate. So I bought paint for the outside of the greenhouse. It will be a light brown once I finish the siding. One of my auto vent cylinders went bad and they are replacing it under warranty. I ordered an extra cylinder to have one on hand incase another one goes bad. We get pretty hot in the summer I would hate to not be able to vent while waiting on a replacement. I keep an extra water pump on hand and an extra water pump impeller on hand. For when those are needed. It runs 24-7 and it will not last forever. Good news I inspected and cleaned it after about 1 year running and it looked great. My DWC (deep water culture) floating bed is not doing very well. It get its water from the sump tank. I think my front bed is taking up all the nutrients. So in need to either get more fish or less plants in the front bed or maybe both. Here are some of the tomatoes. We ate a couple other bags of them over the weekend with friends. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 05-31-16 at 08:05 AM..

06-03-16, 02:17 PM	#686
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Here are the tomatoes. I am still not done with the pruning but getting closer to being done. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-08-16, 12:04 PM	#687
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Here are today’s tomatoes. I have not been doing that much on the greenhouse but I need to get back to it and get the siding done. Here are today’s tomatoes. I have not been doing that much on the greenhouse but I need to get back to it and get the siding done. The vents are going to be put to the test it is going to be 96 and 97 F this weekend. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-15-16, 08:34 AM	#688
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Greenhouse heat performance: It has been 95 F the last couple days and 97 one day on the weekend. The greenhouse has topped at 88 so it stayed 7-9 degrees cooler than ambient temp. The fish water has stayed under 80 F so far much lower than last summer. The chimney effect is pretty good between the lower vents and the upper vents. It feels much cooler when you go in the greenhouse. No fans needed so far. The fish are eating three times a day and the nitrates are up some. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 06-16-16 at 07:51 PM..

06-21-16, 09:12 AM	#690
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Today’s tomatoes Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.