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Post by spuds on Aug 5, 2014 9:01:38 GMT -6
The finish date is before winter.
Like in the last week we worked,and work again tomorrow and next day.Then we had rain and its pretty cold and damp,so that slowed me down.
Instead I did some some small repairs on the truck,did some cooking/freezing of BBQ meats.
Today I will replace the 2nd story outdoor auto on lamp out front,recently died,bought the best one I could,heavy metal,made in USA,not China.
Had a neighbor last week....her car at mechanic,looked like she wasnt home,and someone trying to break into her bedroom window at night!!!!Crooks DONT LIKE LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!
Why we have BIG dogs,obviously we are being cased,so case the big dogs!
So have a goal,but its open to heavy defined dates.Actually its almost done,next step is leveling tanks and attaching beds,add grow media to grow beds(clay balls),add in pumps and drains and tack up plastic cover,not much left at all,its 80% done easily.
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Post by spuds on Aug 9, 2014 21:18:41 GMT -6
Finally back at it. Tanks sit on pallets.New thing learned,pallets are really poorly made and leveling with a level doesnt work.Had to put in water in tanks and level that way. Cool,tanks/beds coming along. Time to get my air pumps,PVC for water pumps and bell siphons that will drain the beds,and get my growing medium,going with expanded clay balls if available.
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Post by caveman on Aug 10, 2014 10:46:56 GMT -6
Damn spuds.......great job. tky
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Post by spuds on Aug 10, 2014 20:12:43 GMT -6
Did good on Craigslist today,talked to a fellow at 3pm and by 6pm was home with an air pump that draws 120 watts,its the largest of this style,got for 40 dollars. Then got 5 trashcans full of hydroton expanded clay balls for the grow bed medium.Also half price,and nice thing is they are already washed having been used for one grow of 'tomatoes' LOL,Im guessing. Also got 30 4" net pots,no picture of those,they were 30 dollars. So 270 total,say half price on all,not too shabby at all!
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Post by BestoFour on Aug 10, 2014 20:34:47 GMT -6
how much $$$ have you invest so far
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Post by spuds on Aug 11, 2014 3:06:08 GMT -6
how much $$$ have you invest so far Dont want to add it up,but its getting up there.Not cheap,but not crazy expensive either.And will have a loooong time so......
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Post by spuds on Aug 12, 2014 1:00:38 GMT -6
Plumbing and electric,add 180 dollars and more to come.Waiting on amazon,building a pump now. This is how it will sit in tank.The big doodad on bottom is a check valve,I needed a floppy seat valve and mistakenly got a spring valve,its too tight to open well so I tore it open and cut spring to reduce pressure,it doesnt want to let water in.Ordered proper valve from amazon,see if this works or will replace it also. The horizontal piece has a tee fitting,thats where the air gets pumped to run it all. Air then travels up the 1 inch riser pipe,carrying water with it.It then sprays water out of the sides of the four way fitting on top,each side will feed one grow bed on top of tank,so one pump per 1 tank/2 growbeds. Going to be waiting on amazon,so try to tweak pump function and maybe get a siphon mounted in each tank to drain them.
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Post by BestoFour on Aug 14, 2014 18:42:03 GMT -6
sure will be nice to have fresh vegetables all year long.
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Post by spuds on Aug 16, 2014 2:33:20 GMT -6
Got my first bell siphon to function,should have plumbing and completed bed pictures next couple days.
Add 200 dollars in plumbing,that should do it for plumbing,aerating and filling and pumping beds. Just a few pieces of pipe left to buy.
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Post by spuds on Aug 16, 2014 23:05:38 GMT -6
Bad....then good thank goodness. Started with the Bell Siphon.A piece of pipe comes up thru bottom of bed via a bulkhead fitting. Then you put the bell over pipe,in this case a water bottle,and it creates a vacuum and starts a siphon action,draining the grow bed. Starting suction Full suction going on... When it sucks air from the vents along the bottom of bell,suction breaks and it stops siphoning.This is a prototype so I can see how it works,bottle will be replaced with a piece of pipe. So far ,so good,siphon works. Now the pump,this did NOT do so well! Pump into tank,it isnt functioning,not enough water...I see a problem.... More water,LOUD gurgle,big air slosh,this is just plain unusable at this point,time for a water pump instead? ? This is how the water pumps,in pulses...LOUD splashing too,just wont do at all,sound really travels here on mtn.... OK,much better with a full tank and a downspout,no more splashing sound,but still LOUD!!Not good,a lot of money in these pumps! Last chance,saw a vague picture of a muffler,its an extension on the top with 2 45's and a reducer with a small end pipe with slots in it.Then that is covered with another pipe set over small pipe. These are little cuts with hacksaw in small pipe at bottom,just three cuts about 1/3rd thru is ideal. And......SUCCESS!!!! Cut noise 90%,now just a very quiet gurgle you can hardly hear.In fact,when I covered small pipe with a sleeve it got much louder,go figure. So it WORKS! Still got that droning air pump,but its going into barn and that is end of listening to that!! HOORAY!!!!!
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Post by w8in4dave on Aug 20, 2014 7:31:34 GMT -6
Wow!! Wonderful job!
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Post by spuds on Aug 25, 2014 22:01:38 GMT -6
OK,here it is....now bear in mind these are prototypes to proof system on the bells,final instead of plastic bottles the bell will be 2 or 1.5 inch pipe. It is made of 2 parts,the standpipe on right of 1 inch pipe that goes thru the bed thru the black bulkhead fitting.The clear plastic bottle is the bell part.Ignore the skinny black tubing,another story on breaking siphon but I think I can get away without it.Note water level about 1/2 way up,it needs to get to top then creates a siphon to drain bed. Here is a siphon thats siphoning,sucking water into standpipe and out thru pipe into water tank.When it reaches bottom of bell,it sucks in air and breaks the siphon suction,pump refills bed.The problem was starting suction.It takes 14 lbs of air pressure between top of bell and top of standpipe,with my low volumes I couldnt get a siphon started,it just drained in as fast as pump brought in water.Found 2 tricks,get top of bell to within 1/8 inch or so of bell,making creating that air pressure easier,and putting a slight angle on top of standpipe,why that starts it better,and stops it reliably I dont know,it just does in this setup. The next problem was the pump.The plan was pump would fill one bed... I was going to connect the beds by a pipe side to side on bed,thru black bulkhead fittings,then tee'd over to other bed,as water seeks its own level,using just one pump and one siphon to fill and drain 2 beds but 2 problems....1 it didnt work well,and 2 its exposed to freezing weather and freezing and plastic pipes just wont work...Top and bottom pic of pipes. Ignore white pipe,its just sitting there.The bulkhead fittings will be plugged and pipes removed,just didnt work This is how pump works now,feeding both beds,and a bell siphon per each bed.Dont know if air pump has enough air to run 2 water pumps,1 per tank,we will see. Note downspout has a little water container at outlet,without it you hear the rushing sloshing water as its pumped and also air escaping,it is truly loud and a big muffling effect doing that,so downspouts will have a water seal to drain into. Another 62 dollars... Nice to be moving forward again!
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Post by spuds on Aug 27, 2014 0:16:59 GMT -6
Gotta love it,huh? ========================= Hello,
The following item(s) from your recent order are either currently out of stock or on special order:
ORDER DATE PART DESCRIPTION ORDER QTY B/O QTY 8/25/2014 PF-429-211 1 1/2" x 1" Reducing Coupling Slip x Slip Sch 40 Fitting White- 5
You will receive an item fulfillment email with a tracking number as soon as your item(s) ship. We value your business.
Thank You, Lynn De La Ossa
Irrigation Direct, Inc.
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Post by w8in4dave on Aug 27, 2014 21:36:11 GMT -6
Wow Spuds! You do stuff thats wayyyyyy!!! Over my head! Interesting as it is and I love to watch it unfold! I am waiting to see what eles happens here! Great job!
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Post by spuds on Aug 27, 2014 22:21:05 GMT -6
Hygroton and a little perlite (bought used,is what it is) for media in beds x 2 ,woohoo! Coffee can around the bell to keep hygroton off bell and getting into bell siphon.Best answer has been 2 liter pop bottle with top cut off and bottom up over standpipe.I will tweak them a little more for reliability using 1.5 inch reducer to the top of the standpipe thats 1 inch creating a little funnel on top,supposed to really enhance suction and breaking suction,those parts are on order.
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Post by spuds on Aug 28, 2014 18:14:46 GMT -6
Great progress today,2 beds set up.They still have hydro nutrients on media,tossed in a handful of chicken poo,made a tea and added it.Will start the bacteria growth with that,will take over 2 months for the beds to make the ammonia into nitrates for plant food. Put in some tomatoes,a flower,and some strawberries,they wont do that well but when they really perk up I'll know the nutrients are there.Some toms arent going to live,tiny roots. The grey pipes are just plugs for the bulkhead fittings that didnt get used. Beds are full cycle of 7 minutes fill,3 minutes drain,6 cycles per hour,goal is four,so we are just screaming along. VERY cool!
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Post by spuds on Aug 29, 2014 17:02:58 GMT -6
Today I tossed in a handful of mulch loaded with worms into each bed,worms crawled right in,very cool.Plus the little bit of mulch introduces lots of beneficial bacteria.
Its interesting in that once worms and proper bacteria to convert the ammonia from fish waste to nitrites gets established,then another bacteria grows that converts the nitrite to nitrates that the plants use as food.
Then the system can actually run a couple months without any fish as the beds and worms alone create enough nutrients to feed the plants.This process takes from 6-10 weeks usually to get going. It turns the beds into what they call the bio-filter.Im starting the process without fish to establish the cycle as Ive read on the net.
Sprinkled beds with lettuce and radish seeds,see what happens with those.
Got the siphons totally dialed in,they are functioning great.I drilled a 5 mm weep hole at the bottom of the siphon stand pipes so when power is turned off the beds will drain thru those holes.Its has slowed filling from 7 to 10 minutes per cycle as a small amt of water is continually draining.
Its running beautifully.I need to go to the store and pick up a timer for the pump,and I need to get my air stones hyper oxygenating the beds,according to my friend with the hydro system that oxygenated water is what really makes his system perform.
So thats whats happening,all in all really happy at this point.
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Post by w8in4dave on Sept 1, 2014 6:33:21 GMT -6
Way cool! Absolutely LOVE it!
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Post by spuds on Sept 8, 2014 12:27:40 GMT -6
Time for some updating.I got the grow-beds proofed out.Was a problem with the siphons sucking up the rocks and sending them to water tank.Finally re-did siphons again,this time the bell is 2 Inch pvc over 1 inch standpipes.That didnt work with just water,but water traveling thru the media does something and they work very reliably.So just cut some slits in side of bells,and rocks cant get sucked up.Makes a clean set up too. So its all running,I can get the other side beds going now too. Im very happy with the air powered water pump,quiet and reliable and I dont have any water/electricity mixing,I like that a LOT! Ready to pick up a few goldfish feeder fish to get the tank nutrition running,got some things planted,not doing too well,saw some radishes coming up,but its getting chilly here,so for weather and such,again pleased where the system is at.
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Post by spuds on Sept 8, 2014 12:40:11 GMT -6
Got the duck pond moved up top,1 ponds worth does 2/3rds of the trees watering.
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Post by w8in4dave on Sept 10, 2014 7:21:41 GMT -6
Wow! How cool is that?? Your amazing!
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Post by spuds on Sept 11, 2014 13:33:23 GMT -6
Got some fish,15 feeder goldfish and minnows Got some mosquito fish from the County Vector control,maybe 10-15? Got a male Betta,we shall see,others very water temp hardy,not sure on Betta Got some water plants My very happy fish,nice to see all the life in the system now! A 2 day celery stem,wow! Talk about happy! Happy tomatoes,strawberries and baby radishes. Now that weve got the growing part going on in the next 2 weeks from now can get greenhouse covered....will see.
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Post by w8in4dave on Sept 11, 2014 17:25:09 GMT -6
Very cool Spuds! Love it!
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Post by spuds on Sept 15, 2014 17:28:24 GMT -6
Lost 4 goldfish and a mosquito over the weekend.Put the air bubbler in,maybe that was it? Or there was brown algae on water pump hose,thats gone,maybe they ate it and a problem? The water is certainly clearer. RAB is real happy getting in the bubble stream,his fins all out. Also on a timer now,30 minutes on,30 off during day,4 thirty minute cycles thru the night,to save a little electricity.If my calculations are right,figuring electric at 20 cents a Kw/Hr delivered,will cost 2.80 US a month to run,dang good,and water usage is next to nothing,very efficient.Of course not much growing or heat either at present. Air pump setup Siphons working great! Finally a fish picture,my camera just cant deal with water and reflections Added a couple more celery
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Post by w8in4dave on Sept 15, 2014 21:12:10 GMT -6
Gold fish Pfftt! They are not so hardy! Fish and a new tank and temps and stuff. Your bound to lose a few! Wish we were closer we have some fish in our pond we could give ya! Looks great! Your soing a great job! Looking forward to seeing it all pan out! Good for you sweetie!
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Post by w8in4dave on Sept 15, 2014 22:25:25 GMT -6
OK just wondering... Was this you?? Ohh no your in Ca. A goldfish in Australia is swimming in its tank only days after undergoing a life-threatening surgery to remove a tumor from its head. The goldfish, named George, was brought into the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in North Melbourne, Australia, last week after its owner noticed it wasn’t swimming or eating properly. Dr. Tristan Rich, head of Lort Smith’s exotic and wildlife vet team, oversaw the surgery last Thursday that included putting the goldfish under anesthesia and using tissue glue to sew it back together again. Instead of the operating table and recovery room used for human surgery, and even most pet surgery, the Lort Smith staff set up three buckets for George: one with a full dose of anesthesia, one with a maintenance level of anesthesia and then a clean bucket of water that served as the recovery room. “Once George was asleep, Dr. Tristan ran a tube from the maintenance bucket which was being oxygenated, into George’s mouth, so that the water with the maintenance dose of anesthetic washed over his gills,” the clinic said on its Facebook page. “Dr. Tristan worked quickly to remove the large tumor, although the size of it meant that he had to use a gelatine sponge to control the bleeding during surgery.” Once George was in the recovery tank, the clinic posted on Facebook, he was given injections for pain relief and antibiotics and quickly began breathing on his own. Lort Smith officials, who could not be reached today by ABC News, told the Sydney Morning Herald, that George’s owner is a woman who is “quite attached” to the fish and willing to pay the $200 price of the surgery. The 45-minute surgery on George was the 10th time Rich has performed a similar goldfish surgery in his career, he told the Herald.
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Post by spuds on Sept 24, 2014 16:32:16 GMT -6
Add 95 dollars for redwood strips for tacking on cover. Nothing much happened,life got in the way more less,but things are growing GREAT! Got a strawberry,about 75% of them transplanted well. Have 6 celery roots now,3 big,3 starting Got some plants from grocery store veggie section,watercress,Basil and dill WC and dill,wc on left about 2 weeks planted,dill and wc on right planted today,they need to perk up a bit yet Basil,2 on left planted today,on right in 2 weeks.Check out that growth!! The tomatoes are amazing,that stalk has sprouted 2 stems on bottom,and has a couple flowers up top,tomatoes are astounding! Finally have about 10 spider plant babies,so far so good ,in about 4-5 days Running 30 mins on,30 minutes off from 7am to 7pm,then 30 minutes every four hours at night. I am sooooo pleased with how its doing,just amazing and grows every day.Very successful so far.
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Post by spuds on Sept 25, 2014 16:42:23 GMT -6
Surfing last night ran into a woman who takes her celery and leaves a few of the inner stalks on the root for planting and is getting full size celery in a couple months,then harvests stalks here and there off of them as needed. Next ones I plant I will try that method. Bud says his did great on hydroponics,but I didnt see them,durn it. Cant wait til next spring,Im going to try sweet and regular potatoes,I so want to successfully grow potatoes. Added a couple lettuce,trimmed green leaf roots Gotta treat the Ladies...
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Post by spuds on Sept 25, 2014 18:19:36 GMT -6
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Post by w8in4dave on Sept 25, 2014 18:35:32 GMT -6
Wow! I am soooo very impressed! Very good! Keep it up! Keep up the pics also! Want to know how wonderful all this stuff tastes also! Wow!
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