SnailPowered
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I will be updating this in a few. Here is a teaser.
SnailPowered's Aquaponic Adventures
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ttystikk
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NICE!I will be updating this in a few. Here is a teaser.
SnailPowered
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This is the one that started in soil and the roots are now into the aquaponics. It was really an accident, I wanted the soil one to compare to the AP and the AP was a male. With these small water quantities you would definitely want to start with no more than 2 fish. That was probably my biggest mistake. I have smoked some of the Silver AK that is all seedy and I really don't have any complaints. It tastes fine and it is definitely stoney. I'm hoping to get going on my new build. If this guy doesn't buy it this weekend I think I will put it on CL.
SnailPowered
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A closer look.
SnailPowered
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You can see that the clones I bought were stunted from root burn. My failure to be reasonable when setting up my system. I haven't messed up anything without thinking I was totally right LOL.
SnailPowered
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After all of that was dried and jarred I decided to move my operation into the garage. I built a stand for my 125 gallon aquarium and switched to watering for the first, third, tenth and twelfth hours that the lights are on. Since reducing the pump time to these four hours the plants seem to be much healthier. I think you could do every other hour and it would be fine, though I haven't tested that yet. My full system is now over 150 gallons and it has been absolutely no hassle whatsoever. All I do is feed the fish and watch the plants grow. I had five plants in the tent originally but ended up with 4 males so they all had to go. I'm currently using two 300w Galaxyhydro LED lights in the tent which I would say is not enough. I wish I had the 600w LED lights in the tent, but they were needed in a closet. Pictures to follow.
SnailPowered
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SnailPowered
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SnailPowered
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I kind of feel like I got this aquaponic thing figured out now. This female is growing entirely in the aquaponics and has been since shortly after it got the second set of leaves. I topped her once and she used to be under a 600w Galaxyhydro LED but I moved that to a closet for two other plants. She still seems to be getting plenty of light but the tent looks dim to me. This is Silver AK that I grew from seed. The last time I grew this strain I took it to seed, so this will be the first time I get a real sense of what the strain is like.
ttystikk
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I'm impressed! About the only suggestion I could make for improving your setup would be better lighting. I've been researching just that and I think we could help each other, if you're interested.
SnailPowered
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I have 2x 600w Galaxyhydro LED lights that are being used for two larger plants in soil that are in a closet. They were originally outside but I planted them too late so I had to bring them in and they got the bigger lights. So, the next plants to go in this will actually have at least twice as much lighting. That said, I am actually going to get a HPS or similar because my garage is getting too cold and I don't want to heat the entire garage. That said, I am always interested in improving my system so feel free to message me.
I did want to point out, those latest pics are completely aquaponic grown. They were sprouted in soil then moved to aquaponics with their second leaves. She is the only survivor but she was actually the smallest and youngest by a long shot. I will get an actual height measurement tomorrow. Once I set up this big system it really couldn't be easier! I feed the fish twice a day and clip the shade leaves. Oh, I have to add water maybe once every two weeks. I just put the hose straight into the tank and turn it on. I drained water out right before I went on vacation for ten days and then refilled with the garden hose. Just so that there was fresh water and there is little chance of a nutrient spike. To keep the fish fed I bought two 14 day puck things and dropped those in the tank the morning I left. These pictures are what I came back to. I couldn't be happier!
I did want to point out, those latest pics are completely aquaponic grown. They were sprouted in soil then moved to aquaponics with their second leaves. She is the only survivor but she was actually the smallest and youngest by a long shot. I will get an actual height measurement tomorrow. Once I set up this big system it really couldn't be easier! I feed the fish twice a day and clip the shade leaves. Oh, I have to add water maybe once every two weeks. I just put the hose straight into the tank and turn it on. I drained water out right before I went on vacation for ten days and then refilled with the garden hose. Just so that there was fresh water and there is little chance of a nutrient spike. To keep the fish fed I bought two 14 day puck things and dropped those in the tank the morning I left. These pictures are what I came back to. I couldn't be happier!
SnailPowered
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You can see a dog hair in that one picture hahahah. I need to see if I can get that out.
Yesdog
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holy shit is that cool!
I had early dreams and plans of building an aquaponics herb garden. My monthly thyme expenses didnt really justify the cost in the end tho lol. Would have been cool tho, still have a parts list somewhere...
Is all that sub-tank your own glass/plexi work? And what all you got in there?
I had early dreams and plans of building an aquaponics herb garden. My monthly thyme expenses didnt really justify the cost in the end tho lol. Would have been cool tho, still have a parts list somewhere...
Is all that sub-tank your own glass/plexi work? And what all you got in there?
SnailPowered
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I actually got the tank and filter system for free from the side of the road. The stand was trash and the tank is starting to separate at the top in the back. I supported that with wood all the way around my stand, not sure it will work but it has been doing well so far. The tank has both red lava rock that I assume will add iron (total assumption, never confirmed with any sort of scientific mind) and the rest is either PVC matrix to push fish poop into the sump, or aquarium gravel. The gravel gets really expensive when you need 100 pounds to cover the bottom. I don't think the gravel is necessary but I like the aesthetics. The only work I did on the tank or sump was drilling the holes for the Uniseals and the 1" PVC for water flow between the two reservoirs.
Right now I have the one Silver AK plant, thought the system was supporting 5 plants, 3 of which were the size that the last one is now. All of the nutrients are provided by either frozen blood worms or API Pond Pond Fish Food (that is the exact name, in a 1.56kg tub). There were 20 comet goldfish when I started, the cheapest ones I could find, thought I think I'm down to something like 15 from trying different aquaponic setups and having some nutrient overloads kill some of the early attempts. Those were all the small systems. Once I moved to the garage and got the big system setup, with 1.5 hours of water every 3 hours this system has been flawless. I have spent more time watching the fish and clipping the leaves than anything else.I checked the aquarium nutrient levels 3-4 times in the first week and they never rise even close to danger areas for fish.
If I hadn't gotten the tank I would have used an IBC container.
Yesdog
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Great stuff! Even better with the found materials
SnailPowered
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I'm trying to locate some clones nearby so that I can test the system with some other strains more quickly but when WA changed the laws around they stopped all the farmers markets and stuff that were going on. Now getting seeds or clones seems like it is black market again.
ttystikk
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That's corporate legalisation for you.
SnailPowered
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Nonetheless I managed to get a line on three clones that I picked up. El Fuego, Purple Mayhem and Blueberry for $8 each which seems like a decent price. I have them under a 600w LED right now. That isn't going to last for much longer, but it will hold for now. They are looking good. I also got a response on possibly getting some Green Crack and Durban Poison clones in two weeks. The clones are just in a solo cup with soil for now, they will go into the aquaponics as soon as I harvest the Silver AK plant that is looking so beautiful!