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Step 13Things to add next
1. An Overflow
In case of a clog in the drain, I really ought to add an overflow to the Grow Bed. It would require another Bulkhead fitting, installed above the Hydroton, on the sidewall of the Grow Bed. Polyflo tubing would direct any water back to the tank. The plants will get flooded for a while, but the pump won't run dry, I don't get 5 gallons of water on my floor, and the fish get to stay wet.
2. A lid for the tank.
I think my cat is going to either:
a. Accidentally go swimming
b. Eat Seżor Fish-Fish (his actual name, by the way)
In case of a clog in the drain, I really ought to add an overflow to the Grow Bed. It would require another Bulkhead fitting, installed above the Hydroton, on the sidewall of the Grow Bed. Polyflo tubing would direct any water back to the tank. The plants will get flooded for a while, but the pump won't run dry, I don't get 5 gallons of water on my floor, and the fish get to stay wet.
2. A lid for the tank.
I think my cat is going to either:
a. Accidentally go swimming
b. Eat Seżor Fish-Fish (his actual name, by the way)
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The shelf that the tank was mounted on was starting to pull out of the wall. Apparently when drywall anchors are rated, it is for xx lbs (in my case 80 lbs each) pulling straight down. The shelf brackets ended up pulling out on the upper drywall anchors and they began to slide out! I propped up the shelf with books for a while, but eventually my wife yelled at me and I took it down :). I would recommend that anyone thinking about this sort of thing should screw their shelf brackets into studs, not use drywall anchors.
A challenge that I WAS able to overcome was an invasion of fungus gnats. They look a bit like fruit flies, but they are not as good at flying. They hung around the planter all of the time. I tried flypaper and vinegar+water (works for fruit flies)but those did not work. I didn't want to add insecticides to the system, because of the fish, but I ran out of options. I ended up adding Bt to the water. Bt is harmless to people and (apparently) fish. It works by fooling insect larvae into thinking that they are not hungry, so they stop eating and die. It takes a few weeks for the adult flies to die and for all of the eggs to hatch and starve, but it did clear up the infestation. It also turned the water brown, which I was not able to ever get rid of. After decommissioning the system, I added a charcoal filter to the system and the brown color went away within a day or two.
It was a fun project!