SnailPowered's Aquaponic Adventures

SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
This was my project today. I used two Sterilite 12"x12" 3 drawer plastic drawer sets from my local super market and used a router to cut a big hole in the top of the one that would go on bottom, then I used RTV to join them together.



I then used the router to cut out the bottoms of the drawers, leaving about 1" to attach the plastic mesh I will be adding later. This will allow air to flow through all drawers and out the top of the stack.



Once completed I will cut a 6" hole in the top and attach a dryer hose wall mount then have a $24 Ventech 240 CFM fan to suck the air. I figure this should get my buds good and dried out in about a week. The fan won't be directly on top like it is here, I will use some 6" tube to move the fan a bit away. The whole thing will sit on top of my brewing burner to allow air through the bottom without being near something that will collect a lot of dust.
 
CannabisNerd

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
SnailPowered said:
Thanks 'Nerd! I appreciate that! This is fun for me, but I'm glad that some other people are taking interest and seeing that this is a viable way to grow our plants.

I got some LED glasses and because I was so impressed with the way these $12 things work I had to take a picture to share here.

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No problem at all! I love it! I've run the thoughts of aquaponics through my mind about a half million times lol. I might give it a go this spring /summer. It's such an incredible way to grow. Love the glasses, what a difference they make. I have a pair of the hps glasses myself and love them :peace:
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
Yeah, it was aquariums that got me into aquaponics. Love having fish and just watching them glide through the water sometimes. At the very beginning of the thread I linked another thread, that was the idea thread. There is a simple two barrel system there made of 2x 55 gallon drums and a pump that I thought was really simple and efficient looking. The lower water volume on that one isn't ideal, if you can swing an IBC container I think they are the easiest thing to turn into an aquaponics grow. Although, I wouldn't cut the metal cage like I see everyone doing. I think it would support the grow bed if you didn't cut it and leave you room to access the fish so you don't have to offset the grow bed. Of course, being 6'4" gives me a different perspective, they may be a bit too tall for most people too.
 
CannabisNerd

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
SnailPowered said:
Yeah, it was aquariums that got me into aquaponics. Love having fish and just watching them glide through the water sometimes. At the very beginning of the thread I linked another thread, that was the idea thread. There is a simple two barrel system there made of 2x 55 gallon drums and a pump that I thought was really simple and efficient looking. The lower water volume on that one isn't ideal, if you can swing an IBC container I think they are the easiest thing to turn into an aquaponics grow. Although, I wouldn't cut the metal cage like I see everyone doing. I think it would support the grow bed if you didn't cut it and leave you room to access the fish so you don't have to offset the grow bed. Of course, being 6'4" gives me a different perspective, they may be a bit too tall for most people too.
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Great tips, I'm short at 5' 10" though lol. I'll be reading up on all of this and appreciate all of the insight
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
Yeah for sure! More than happy to answer questions as best I can and share what I have learned. I'm not sure what all the sizes of IBC container are, but one of the "smaller" ones (never seen one under 100 gallons) may work great!
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
I was pruning my soil grown Silver AK plants and they aren't as far long in the flowering process as the aquaponics plant is but the healthier of the two is starting to have the purple that is prominent in the aquaponics plant and they really appear pretty similar. I'm stoked that it looks like I will be able to finally pull this side by side comparison off. These plants were all grown from seeds from the same plant. They were actually all sprouted in the same planter outside and then moved to where they are now. The soil plants started their lives outside on a wagon and I would move them to the sunnier parts of my yard throughout the day. The aquaponics plant has been basically documented here.

Without further ado, the soil Silver AK plants;




 
CannabisNerd

CannabisNerd

Well-Known Member
The aquaponics, imo, look better! But, if they are all from seed, you could have different phenotypes from each seed. Some could be much different in structure, color etc, unless they are all clones from the same seed :)
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
I grew the plant that the seeds came from, but one of them definitely looks different. Either way, I have two that came from the same mother that appear similar so I'm super happy! The aquaponics definitely looks better, but it is farther along. I tried to change the lights in conjunction with the time getting shorter outside but that isn't the only factor that matters I'm sure.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
SnailPowered said:
I grew the plant that the seeds came from, but one of them definitely looks different. Either way, I have two that came from the same mother that appear similar so I'm super happy! The aquaponics definitely looks better, but it is farther along. I tried to change the lights in conjunction with the time getting shorter outside but that isn't the only factor that matters I'm sure.
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The main takeaway for me is how well the plant in aquaponics is doing, comparisons aside.
 
Yesdog

Yesdog

Well-Known Member
IHalveKnownAim said:
Dumb question but organic amendments like Cal Mag and Maxi Crop can be added directly to the fish tank, if need be?
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If you really need cal-mag, I would maybe just use to try and condition the water before adding (like if you just wanted to make the water more 'hard', shouldn't be much more than you would find in medium-hard water, and check the fishies tolerance). Would definitely double check what the fish like, but from some quick research seems like freshwater fish do well with between 50-200ppm Ca, with 100ppm being about average for MJ
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
For calcium you can get crushed shells meant for aquariums. It has been a long time but I seem to remember that cichlids like hard water. So far...I don't see a reason to be concerned personally. I picked up three more clones today; Durban Poison, Green Crack and Sugar Plum. I'm really looking forward to harvest now because I will get to put these six clones into the aquaponics!
 
Yesdog

Yesdog

Well-Known Member
SnailPowered said:
For calcium you can get crushed shells meant for aquariums. It has been a long time but I seem to remember that cichlids like hard water. So far...I don't see a reason to be concerned personally. I picked up three more clones today; Durban Poison, Green Crack and Sugar Plum. I'm really looking forward to harvest now because I will get to put these six clones into the aquaponics!
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ahhhh durban poison and green crack. Such a good call. :eyesmoke:
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
Thank you! I haven't had the pleasure of Durban Poison but the Green Crack I have bought at the shops around here have been excellent. Sugar Plum sounded good when I checked it on Leafly, but mostly I was looking for a Sativa and checked that one and it came up as a Sativa dominant hybrid hahahah.
 
Yesdog

Yesdog

Well-Known Member
SnailPowered said:
Thank you! I haven't had the pleasure of Durban Poison but the Green Crack I have bought at the shops around here have been excellent. Sugar Plum sounded good when I checked it on Leafly, but mostly I was looking for a Sativa and checked that one and it came up as a Sativa dominant hybrid hahahah.
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oh man i love a good buzzy daytime sativa. That's pretty much what i hunt for around here at the dispensaries.

I still need to get better at finding the dominant strains im going for, but it seems like indica hybrid haze strains win for me so far. I'll have to find the middle ground between that and what I can grow. The fun of the game i suppose!

Anyways, looking amazing so far and cant wait to see what else you produce
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
Yeah, Green Crack is hands down the best one I have had. The Mickey Kush I have now is pretty mellowing for a "sativa" IMO. I will have to check out some of the haze strains. Hopefully I can secure a connection for clones that will be consistent and my life will be MUCH smoother!
 
SnailPowered

SnailPowered

Well-Known Member
I keep wanting to post more here but there really isn't likely to be anything new until harvest day. I will be taking pictures at harvest and posting them of course.

I have decided to add a skin to the drawer dryer system. The fan duct needs to be straightened out as well, but there is no way the fan will get air to pull from the bottom drawers without adding a skin. I'm thinking of doing the thinnest foam boards they have at Home Depot. They're cheap, easy to cut, lightweight and more or less sealed. I plan to just silicone them to the sides after I cut them to fit. Maybe I will get around to that before harvest day and post pictures. Right now I have to get ready for an appointment.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
SnailPowered said:
I keep wanting to post more here but there really isn't likely to be anything new until harvest day. I will be taking pictures at harvest and posting them of course.

I have decided to add a skin to the drawer dryer system. The fan duct needs to be straightened out as well, but there is no way the fan will get air to pull from the bottom drawers without adding a skin. I'm thinking of doing the thinnest foam boards they have at Home Depot. They're cheap, easy to cut, lightweight and more or less sealed. I plan to just silicone them to the sides after I cut them to fit. Maybe I will get around to that before harvest day and post pictures. Right now I have to get ready for an appointment.
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Maybe just use plastic wrap? Even saran wrap type thin plastic?
 
IHalveKnownAim

IHalveKnownAim

Active Member
SnailPowered said:
I keep wanting to post more here but there really isn't likely to be anything new until harvest day. I will be taking pictures at harvest and posting them of course.

I have decided to add a skin to the drawer dryer system. The fan duct needs to be straightened out as well, but there is no way the fan will get air to pull from the bottom drawers without adding a skin. I'm thinking of doing the thinnest foam boards they have at Home Depot. They're cheap, easy to cut, lightweight and more or less sealed. I plan to just silicone them to the sides after I cut them to fit. Maybe I will get around to that before harvest day and post pictures. Right now I have to get ready for an appointment.
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Home Depot sells heat register filters that you could secure with velcro. http://www.homedepot.com/p/4-in-x-12-in-Vent-Filters-12-Pack-WVENT/100351670
 
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