My Aquaponics GH

Rairdog · June 4, 2014

Here are some pics of my deck GH. I use it for starting seeds and some potted plants but mostly for aquaponics. It is framed with galv metal hat channel and ceiling grids scraps (7'x12'). The fish tank is in the basement below.

I got the twinwall poly carb from Menards and have about 300 in the whole GH

Recycled shower door. I replaced glass with polycarb

AP growbeds

Retractable 40% shadecloth. It is suspended from mason string line and snap loops

It will gain up to 50 deg of heat on sunny days and I can open the house windows for supplemental heat. I just built it last summer and had to shut it down for Jan and Feb due to this overly cold winter. I think it will go year round on a normal winter with some supplemental propane heat on colder nights(<20). On sunny 30-50 deg days it will heat the house so I gain some energy. When it gets to warm the shower door pops out and there is a 4x4 window on opposite side.

Here is youtube walk through

Her is a garden walk through. Tomatoes do better in dirt IMO.

heirloomtomaguy · June 4, 2014

Nice setup i especially like way you have it all plumbed to the basement to keep the fish haply through the winter.

Rairdog · January 24, 2015

I have been working out the bugs on my new seed chamber. It's basically a hillbilly garden window. So far it has kept the temp above 60 when the GH is in the low 30's and the outside temp is in the mid 20's. The goal is to start toms and peppers etc in Jan. The plant will then move to GH (some in AP beds) beds in March and into the dirt in May. It will also allow me to grow greens all winter and overwinter some herbs and misc plants.

Here is the view from inside the house. It gets good sun from 10 am to 4 or so this time of year. The light is on in the early am and late pm to give them 16 hrs of light.

Here is the heat mat. It is the stuff reptile breeders use and sold by the ft. I have another 4 ft of mat that can be tied in. The plan is to keep DE (Optisorb) between 70 and 80 to germinate peppers and toms. Once germinated the dome can come off and heat mats removed. I could also use the heat mats to keep media from dropping below 60 on cold nights.

Here are some peppers and toms germinating. The temp does not show up on camera correctly. I am still experimenting with Hydofarm temp probe placement. When placed in the media the mat gets fairly hot (90ish). When placed directly on mat the media is slightly cooler. So far when thermostat is set at 83 the media is around 78.

Here is the view from outside from in the GH.

The door is a double layer of poly which helped get the temp up to 60.

Here are some lettuce, spinach and chard just coming up.

The only issue thus far is excess heat. When it's sunny and 40+ the GH can reach 90 if not ventilated. I am planning to use a themo-outlet that will kick the fan on at 78 and blow excess heat into the house.

Salsacharley · January 24, 2015

Very nice setup. It seems that if you let your toms and peppers grow in the GH from March to May they will be gigantic and difficult to move.

I'm planning on moving tomatoes from 4" pots indoors to a hoop house on March 15, and then
fully outside on April 15 (or so).

Rairdog · January 24, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Very nice setup. It seems that if you let your toms and peppers grow in the GH from March to May they will be gigantic and difficult to move.

Probably so...it's more of an experiment to see if I can get stable temps with minimal artificial light and heat. The GH can go from 30 to 90 on any given day in March when I would normally start stuff. I was constantly bringing stuff in and out when night temps drop. I also wanted to experiment with DE and ferts before season. But then again....who doesn't like fresh sprouts in Jan zone 5 with a possible place to keep them going.

Next will be a watering issue. Coming home to a 90 degree GH and dried out starts is a bummer.

Salsacharley · January 24, 2015

Have you looked into automatic venting? Here's one that's under $45:

http://www.agriculturesolutions.com/...-15-lbs-detail

Rairdog · January 24, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

Have you looked into automatic venting? Here's one that's under $45:

http://www.agriculturesolutions.com/...-15-lbs-detail

I have thought about one of those for the 4x4 window on the West end for summer. I could switch it back and forth with the seed rack....hmmm.

Tapout · January 25, 2015

Looks like your seedlings are a little "Leggy".

Make sure they are getting enough lite or they will stretch to much. I place my lights about 3 inches above my plants, keep in mind they are T8 32 watt 6500k florescent bulbs and dont put off hardly any heat.

Rairdog · January 25, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tapout

Looks like your seedlings are a little "Leggy".

Make sure they are getting enough lite or they will stretch to much. I place my lights about 3 inches above my plants, keep in mind they are T8 32 watt 6500k florescent bulbs and dont put off hardly any heat.

I had the light directly over them but it blocks out the natural sun light so I tilted it. It's been cloudy most of the week also. The fixture were on clearance for $ 14 reg 60. They are recessed mount and I took a bunch of stuff off them. I am thinking of stripping them down and making an open top fixture to allow natural sun through.

Tapout · January 26, 2015

Use a 6500k spectrum bulbs I use 10 bulbs per tray. All you can do is watch your plants if they tend to be tall skinny plants they need more light. A fan helps make the plants stronger and thicker but if the plants dont have enough light they will grow and stretch so fast all the fan will do is blow them over. They grow up a lot faster then they do across. Also that plastic you are using blocks sun rays by about 20% the same thing with panels on the outside of your greenhouse. I doubt you will need the shade cloth to reduce sunlight. The shade cloth would help with trying to keep the green house cooler though. The better option would to try and cool / heat the green house without sacrificing light. Someone suggested using thermostatically controlled vents.

Rairdog · January 30, 2015

Tapout, 10 bulbs wow. Mine are 6500k also but just for supplement on cloudy days and to add some morning and afternoon light. The shade cloth is stored for the winter. I will bring it back out around mid April or early May. It's only the second year with GH and so far I don't have much problem with leggy plants. They tend to stretch because sun in weak and I am starting cool weather crops earlier... I used to just start plants inside in the window and that made them really stretch. It's more of a challenge to me to utilize the sun and make things work at minimal operating costs. The AP pump (1 amp), light (60 watts) and fans I'm around 10 to 15 $/month. It more than pays for itself in salad, veggies and fish. The thermo/gas/wax vent opener has always been in the plans but waiting for the price to be right. What I'm trying to minimize is opening/closing the GH at both ends each day due to temp fluctuations and a watering system for while I'm at work so they don't dry out. It's more about tweaking the system to give me an affordable veggie system for an extra few months and greens year round. The system has already extended my garden season by 3 months....I just want a little more.

LOL, it would be easier to just set up a light rack inside but I don't have a warm place or room.

Tapout · January 31, 2015

Ahhh, ya I use 10 bulbs per tray but its just how I have the tray positioned. I have the tray going against the bulb rather then going with it. So I have 4 trays in all sitting under 10 bulbs. but each tray has 10 bulbs over it. The fixtures im using are very slim the bulbs are practically right next to each other.

This is just for the seedlings. After they get their first set of true leafs I will transplant them into red solo cups the big ones. They stay in the solo cups till its time to go out into the garden.

I have to time it a lil better then I did in the past because 7 weeks my plants were massive. like some were around 3ft tall.

Rairdog · February 2, 2015

I have been looking for a diy EF for quite a while. Ideally it would be temperature controlled and have louver that open. They are just too expensive for my application. I finally decided it was time to go with one of my original ideas. It is just and replacement thermostat controller used for attic fans. I wired it to an extenstion cord and plan on putting a duplex outlet with a switch on the same cord. Then I can add more than one fan if needed in summer heat. I already have a few cheap fans and plan on just making a cheap plastic hood with screen. The thermostat can be found at most big box stores for about 26 bucks.

I changed out the plastic on the seed chamber to a high clarity plastic also.

Right now it is 20 deg out. The GH is 75 and with a fan sucking air through the top of the chamber and into the house the chamber is 67 deg. The GH is heating my whole house today as long as the sun stays out.

Tapout · February 2, 2015

lol nice nice nice idea of having the green house vent into the house for supplemental heating.

Rairdog · February 10, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tapout

lol nice nice nice idea of having the green house vent into the house for supplemental heating.

It's still a work in progress. Keeping the seedlings above 55 has not been a problem when it drops to single digits. Today it got up to 32 outside. The GH got to 88. The thermostat kicks the fan on at 75 and blows into the house. The air coming into the house was around 72 deg for 4 hrs.

Whats is nice is they are hardened off from the start with minimal elec use and no moving in/out. The fan is 17 watt and only runs for a few hrs above 75 deg. The heat mat is 40 watts and runs about 50% of the time just for the peppers. The light is 60 watts and runs for 10 hrs (5 am and 5 pm). I have over 300 plants going as of now but only 160 of them get the extra light.

Keeping them from frying will be the next issue and require a lot of manual input.

June 4, 2014	#1
Rairdog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Noblesville, IN Posts: 112	My Aquaponics GH Here are some pics of my deck GH. I use it for starting seeds and some potted plants but mostly for aquaponics. It is framed with galv metal hat channel and ceiling grids scraps (7'x12'). The fish tank is in the basement below. I got the twinwall poly carb from Menards and have about 300 in the whole GH Recycled shower door. I replaced glass with polycarb AP growbeds Retractable 40% shadecloth. It is suspended from mason string line and snap loops It will gain up to 50 deg of heat on sunny days and I can open the house windows for supplemental heat. I just built it last summer and had to shut it down for Jan and Feb due to this overly cold winter. I think it will go year round on a normal winter with some supplemental propane heat on colder nights(<20). On sunny 30-50 deg days it will heat the house so I gain some energy. When it gets to warm the shower door pops out and there is a 4x4 window on opposite side. Here is youtube walk through Her is a garden walk through. Tomatoes do better in dirt IMO.

June 4, 2014	#2
heirloomtomaguy Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: glendora ca Posts: 2,560	Nice setup i especially like way you have it all plumbed to the basement to keep the fish haply through the winter. __________________ “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

January 24, 2015	#3
Rairdog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Noblesville, IN Posts: 112	New seed starting chamber I have been working out the bugs on my new seed chamber. It's basically a hillbilly garden window. So far it has kept the temp above 60 when the GH is in the low 30's and the outside temp is in the mid 20's. The goal is to start toms and peppers etc in Jan. The plant will then move to GH (some in AP beds) beds in March and into the dirt in May. It will also allow me to grow greens all winter and overwinter some herbs and misc plants. Here is the view from inside the house. It gets good sun from 10 am to 4 or so this time of year. The light is on in the early am and late pm to give them 16 hrs of light. Here is the heat mat. It is the stuff reptile breeders use and sold by the ft. I have another 4 ft of mat that can be tied in. The plan is to keep DE (Optisorb) between 70 and 80 to germinate peppers and toms. Once germinated the dome can come off and heat mats removed. I could also use the heat mats to keep media from dropping below 60 on cold nights. Here are some peppers and toms germinating. The temp does not show up on camera correctly. I am still experimenting with Hydofarm temp probe placement. When placed in the media the mat gets fairly hot (90ish). When placed directly on mat the media is slightly cooler. So far when thermostat is set at 83 the media is around 78. Here is the view from outside from in the GH. The door is a double layer of poly which helped get the temp up to 60. Here are some lettuce, spinach and chard just coming up. The only issue thus far is excess heat. When it's sunny and 40+ the GH can reach 90 if not ventilated. I am planning to use a themo-outlet that will kick the fan on at 78 and blow excess heat into the house.

February 2, 2015	#13
Rairdog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Noblesville, IN Posts: 112	Cheap easy temperature controled EF I have been looking for a diy EF for quite a while. Ideally it would be temperature controlled and have louver that open. They are just too expensive for my application. I finally decided it was time to go with one of my original ideas. It is just and replacement thermostat controller used for attic fans. I wired it to an extenstion cord and plan on putting a duplex outlet with a switch on the same cord. Then I can add more than one fan if needed in summer heat. I already have a few cheap fans and plan on just making a cheap plastic hood with screen. The thermostat can be found at most big box stores for about 26 bucks. I changed out the plastic on the seed chamber to a high clarity plastic also. Right now it is 20 deg out. The GH is 75 and with a fan sucking air through the top of the chamber and into the house the chamber is 67 deg. The GH is heating my whole house today as long as the sun stays out.

January 24, 2015	#4
Salsacharley Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: New Mexico Posts: 2,052	Very nice setup. It seems that if you let your toms and peppers grow in the GH from March to May they will be gigantic and difficult to move. I'm planning on moving tomatoes from 4" pots indoors to a hoop house on March 15, and then fully outside on April 15 (or so).

January 25, 2015	#8
Tapout Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 355	Looks like your seedlings are a little "Leggy". Make sure they are getting enough lite or they will stretch to much. I place my lights about 3 inches above my plants, keep in mind they are T8 32 watt 6500k florescent bulbs and dont put off hardly any heat.

January 26, 2015	#10
Tapout Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 355	Use a 6500k spectrum bulbs I use 10 bulbs per tray. All you can do is watch your plants if they tend to be tall skinny plants they need more light. A fan helps make the plants stronger and thicker but if the plants dont have enough light they will grow and stretch so fast all the fan will do is blow them over. They grow up a lot faster then they do across. Also that plastic you are using blocks sun rays by about 20% the same thing with panels on the outside of your greenhouse. I doubt you will need the shade cloth to reduce sunlight. The shade cloth would help with trying to keep the green house cooler though. The better option would to try and cool / heat the green house without sacrificing light. Someone suggested using thermostatically controlled vents.

January 30, 2015	#11
Rairdog Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2014 Location: Noblesville, IN Posts: 112	Tapout, 10 bulbs wow. Mine are 6500k also but just for supplement on cloudy days and to add some morning and afternoon light. The shade cloth is stored for the winter. I will bring it back out around mid April or early May. It's only the second year with GH and so far I don't have much problem with leggy plants. They tend to stretch because sun in weak and I am starting cool weather crops earlier... I used to just start plants inside in the window and that made them really stretch. It's more of a challenge to me to utilize the sun and make things work at minimal operating costs. The AP pump (1 amp), light (60 watts) and fans I'm around 10 to 15 $/month. It more than pays for itself in salad, veggies and fish. The thermo/gas/wax vent opener has always been in the plans but waiting for the price to be right. What I'm trying to minimize is opening/closing the GH at both ends each day due to temp fluctuations and a watering system for while I'm at work so they don't dry out. It's more about tweaking the system to give me an affordable veggie system for an extra few months and greens year round. The system has already extended my garden season by 3 months....I just want a little more. LOL, it would be easier to just set up a light rack inside but I don't have a warm place or room.

January 31, 2015	#12
Tapout Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 355	Ahhh, ya I use 10 bulbs per tray but its just how I have the tray positioned. I have the tray going against the bulb rather then going with it. So I have 4 trays in all sitting under 10 bulbs. but each tray has 10 bulbs over it. The fixtures im using are very slim the bulbs are practically right next to each other. This is just for the seedlings. After they get their first set of true leafs I will transplant them into red solo cups the big ones. They stay in the solo cups till its time to go out into the garden. I have to time it a lil better then I did in the past because 7 weeks my plants were massive. like some were around 3ft tall.