aquaponics filter ideas

[CWO4GUNNER]

I have been silent since my wife passed very peacefully into the hands of Christ on Monday at 7:50 PM. But I need a brake so here is my input.
As soon as my reservoir on HOB ( Aqua-Tech 30-60) is filled to capacity with roots from my fast growing Pothos plant already a mass of 3 feet by 4 foot foliage climbing the wall, I plan to slip the the entire HOB inside a plastic sealed planter box the length or longer then the back of my tanks. The HOB will sit inside the left far end of the planter box operating as normal except it will have its right side cut open from the top down about 3 inches. This so that the water now flows down the planter box from left to right past all the Photos plant stems & roots (below the water line) to the far right end of the planter-box where water will "water-fall" back into the tank from a pour out opening similar to the HOB. In fact I my cut off the pour out section of the Aqua-Tech HOB so it will fit and slide into the planter-box as described, and attach the pour-out section to the planter box at the far end using PVC cement and silicone sealant. The planter-box should accommodate 6 to 12 times the amount of stems that will fit inside an HOB alone and be a super nitrate remover using only low wattage (25W) 48" florescent light or distant window light.

 

[Ozymandias]

Gunner sorry to hear about you're wife.

i like the idea to use planter box.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Gunner sorry to hear about you're wife.

Don't be. My kids and I had a great 4 months with her as she fought the cancer as long as she could. She bravely passed peacefully with no pain, confident of where she was going.

Please continue with the thread topic its a great one and set aside my personal comment which was meant merely as an aside as to why I had not posted. One thing I forgot to add about using a plastic planter box is the hole would have to be made in the bottom to keep the HOB motor outside and dry. Another possible way would be to use two smaller HOBs at each end of the planter box that would just slip inside with their sides cut and water will still flow in and out normally through the entire planer box, and since an HOB would be glued in at each side the entire unit would hang on the back using the HOB normal hanger outflow lip to suspend the entire box.

Since everyone has a spare HOB and used they can be bought for almost nothing especially the small ones, I think it would be an inexpensive and simple DIY project that would yield great results.

 

[coach_z]

My initial thought was to use use the following
HOB
Saw
Metal snips
Metal Rain Gutter - and other various parts you might need to put an end cap on etc.
File to avoid slicing a finger off of sharp metal pieces

cut hole in side of HOB where the water would normally waterfall over, plumb it tot he drain gutter, use metal snips to cut notch in side of gutter and bend to hang over tank.

 

[Ozymandias]

Don't be. My kids and I had a great 4 months with her as she fought the cancer as long as she could. She bravely passed peacefully with no pain, confident of where she was going.

Please continue with the thread topic its a great one and set aside my personal comment which was meant merely as an aside as to why I had not posted. One thing I forgot to add about using a plastic planter box is the hole would have to be made in the bottom to keep the HOB motor outside and dry. Another possible way would be to use two smaller HOBs at each end of the planter box that would just slip inside with their sides cut and water will still flow in and out normally through the entire planer box, and since an HOB would be glued in at each side the entire unit would hang on the back using the HOB normal hanger outflow lip to suspend the entire box.

Since everyone has a spare HOB and used they can be bought for almost nothing especially the small ones, I think it would be an inexpensive and simple DIY project that would yield great results.

i like the idea of using two hobs actually for bigger builds/tanks. i have a Red sea art deco art filter i'm going to be playing around with first thought to test it out on a smaller tank before i go full size on a 30 gallon.

My initial thought was to use use the following
HOB
Saw
Metal snips
Metal Rain Gutter

cut hole in side of HOB where the water would normally waterfall over, plumb it tot he drain gutter, use metal snips to cut notch in side of gutter and bend to hang over tank.

that's sort of what i was thinking just a little different thanks for the idea.

 

[coach_z]

that's sort of what i was thinking just a little different thanks for the idea.

i added a late image, dont know if you saw it.

 

[Ozymandias]

yup i saw it

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

These plastic planter boxes are 5" wide at the base, 8" wide at the top lip and 6" deep and they come in different lengths. The few drain holes at the base (6) are only 1/4" and can be plugged with a dab of silicone sealant. In fact if your aquarium only sat 4" from the back wall, the 5" base of the planter box could actually sit on the back trim of the tank. This would allow someone to easily remove a planter box powered by a small power-head that would pump water into the planter box where it would cascade back out into the tank. Here are some examples.
http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3476160

 

[Ozymandias]

mm interesting but i think for now im going to be using the square PVC and see what i can build out of that

 

[ohbly]

If you are planning on growing lettuces and/or herbs I think you would be best off making a simple nft(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrient_film_technique) system.
I'd just use a length of 100mm x 50mm rectangular downpipe, wide side down, and set at a slight angle. Use a hole saw to drill holes along the top, and place little pots (like yoghurt containers) filled with hydropnic media to grow the plants in. The pvc pipe only has a thin film of water running along the bottom, but because it's enclosed it is very humid and plant roots can get all the moisture and air they need.
The water would have to be mechanically filtered before it enters the pipe, because the plant roots trap sediment from the water and can get clogged and suffocate.
If you plan on growing ornamental plants, I'd use one of the previous methods mentioned, and use plants that don't mind wet roots.