Aquaponics As a Food Source

[Irving]

Yes, all the instructional sites about bell siphons tell you about the water pressure. I haven't found that to be too difficult to deal with, as the $10 pump I bought has an adjustable flow built right in and I was able to dial in the flow. If you get a pump without an adjustment, you can just add a "T" with a ball valve to control the flow.

My next questions for you are:
1) Do you feel like the plants last to get the water (bottom) receive less nutrients than the ones at the top?
2) Are you using the pre-made vertical posts with the filler material and special zip hook, or have you built your own?
3) If you are constructing your own, what material are you using for the plants to grow in?
4) When you remove a plant, do you have to remove ALL the grow material, so as to clean out the plant's roots?

[ChunkyMonkey]

Yes, all the instructional sites about bell siphons tell you about the water pressure. I haven't found that to be too difficult to deal with, as the $10 pump I bought has an adjustable flow built right in and I was able to dial in the flow. If you get a pump without an adjustment, you can just add a "T" with a ball valve to control the flow.

My next questions for you are:
1) Do you feel like the plants last to get the water (bottom) receive less nutrients than the ones at the top?
no, I use clay balls and they work great as far as water flow. The lesser water part is not about top to bottom... I was talking about the pillar closer to the water pump gets more water than the furthest away one. However, the uneven water pressure could have been solved by drilling small holes.
2) Are you using the pre-made vertical posts with the filler material and special zip hook, or have you built your own?
$15 vinyl fence post comes in 4' and 6'... Don't get the ones with the long slit on one side. I found that drilling holes is better than the ore cut top to bottom slit... As the later one spill more water to the side.
3) If you are constructing your own, what material are you using for the plants to grow i
clay balls... So much lighter for my setup
4) When you remove a plant, do you have to remove ALL the grow material, so as to clean out the plant's roots?

remove them completely, dump the clay balls onto large container, power wash, dry and store them for next season