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DIY Aquaponic PVC Garden
DIY AQUAPONIC PVC GARDEN
Do you like fish? How about gardening?
If you said yes to both of these questions, you’ll definitely love this project!
The Aquaponic PVC Garden is powered by water pumps that push water up from a fish tank, up a higher pipe where the plants are, and lets gravity do its work by letting the water drip back into the same fish tank.
If you do not know what aquaponics is, it’s a method of growing plants in water using the nutrients of the waste of fish or any aquatic animals thus also cleaning the water as it is cycled back. It is a very good project if you like taking care of fish, or plants, but simply do not have time to monitor them both.
This project revolves around making your own garden with materials that you can find in your local hardware store.
Gardening proves to be a tedious task for some people who don’t have time to water their plants and monitor them every time. Most of these people took that task and revolutionized gardening by making self-watering systems. But this isn’t like any of those systems. It might look similar at first glance, but the noticeable difference is the fact that the plants in this system get their nutrients from the fish waste in the reservoir.
Here’s a quick guide on making this project on your own.
YOU WILL NEED:
• 2x 10” long PVC Pipes cut in half or 4x 5” long ones
• 4x 90° PVC Elbows
• 4x PVC Caps (size dependent on the PVC)
• 2x Fish tanks
• 2x Water pumps
• 28x Drinking cups (with the potted plants of your choosing)
• A hand drill (for creating holes on the pipe) with hole saw bit
• A wooden stand (frame for your project)
• And lastly, FISH!
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Nature Did It First (and Best).
NATURE DID IT FIRST (AND BEST).
Aquaponics are a very interesting development in the world of permaculture and offer some great benefits and advantages. Let’s take a look at hydroponics and aquaponics to see what they offer, and how aquaponics functions in comparison to hydroponics.
Hydroponics – the ingenious and highly optimized system of growing plants in water. Commercially available nutrients provide all that is needed for the reservoir and after these nutrients have been added the growing begins. This is really great for those who want to hit the ground running.
Careful attention needs to be paid when adding elements to the system though as it needs to be completely sterile. This sterile system uses a flood and drain technique allows for fertigation (fertilization and irrigation at the same time) and optimal water as well as nutrient levels. Of course, there are many supplements available to maintain the perfect nutrient levels, for the right price.
As previously mentioned, absolutely everything that comes in contact with a hydroponic system must be sterilized in order to ensure that pythium, otherwise known as root rot, doesn’t take hold and destroy one’s plants. This fungus is an absolute scourge in hydroponics. The temperature of the system needs to be kept below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above that temperature and the root rot will have a prime environment.
Regular dumping of the water makes sure that the nutrient imbalances that inevitably developed are controlled. There is eventual build up of the nutrients that are supplied in mineral form, and this needs to be balanced out again. This is tested by checking for electrical conductivity in the water due to all the salts and minerals added. Dumping this water can be tricky if there isn’t a safe and convenient location though.
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