myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Mar 5, 2014 18:20:59 GMT 10
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overlord
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Post by overlord on Mar 6, 2014 17:22:48 GMT 10
Where are you going to get your water supply within the city? :-)
Am looking at submersibles for my BOL. Will be going to my BOL this weekend to scout the areas for the Solar Panels.
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Mar 6, 2014 18:36:32 GMT 10
I live next to a river or drain lol  only problem is lugging 50L of water up 9 floors of steps  |
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Mar 7, 2014 0:53:25 GMT 10
Ha, well I suggested in another post why I don't think Aquaponics is the way to go for preppers, having said that, I know heaps about it and will share my thoughts on these items 
First pumpThey have only 160l/h and 45cm 'maximum' head. At 45cm, you get zero water flow. If you're doing a flood and drain [pretty standard in Aquaponics] you'll probably want a better head height because if it's sitting in the fish tank [FT] you will have to pump it up to the top of your grow bed [GB - usually a minimum of 30cm], which will usually be far more than 45cm.
Second pump220L/h and 150cm head height. If you're going about 75-100cm from the bottom of the fish tank you'll get some water into the GB. The concern is how much [or how little] water goes around. 220L and it will be less than this, perhaps 100L/h at 75-100cm isn't a lot and you'll be looking at a smaller system of say 100L-150L and of course you will get close to 220L at very low head height, so you could do a system as described below. In a small system it could do the trick, it's the better of the two for sure. Also, you need to be pumping during the night to put the air into the fish tank to keep them alive, particularly hotter weather and this is obviously a problem with these pumps. SuggestionsWhat I was going to do with my solar set up was to use an air-lift pump, which is really just a tube with an airlines [you know same as aquarium] in the bottom. I did a little more sophisticated version, but essentially it's similar. The air pumps the water up to a very low head height [Ha I know I said that was no good above.. see below] with a HUGE volume of water. The 'deeper' the pipe, the higher the flow of water, though there's a limit based on the pump capacity to pump air to depth. Anyhow, with about 1.2m pipe and a 5W pump I was moving more than 1000l/h at a height of 3cm. This is a pretty decent rate of water flow. Now the second part, you have to have all of your beds at the same height and you have the 'airlift' pump out one of the sides and bottom of the fish tank, pumping water to slightly above the grow beds. [3cms max]. The fish tank could be deeper than the grow-beds [probably a good idea] the main thing is that you have to keep the water levels just right or the pump will stop working properly. To do so, its easy enough to set up a tank that adds water if the tanks need it using a float like they do for agriculture drinking troughs. [ top up tank] [ FT ] [ GB ] [ GB ] [ ] In terms of power and capacity, this set up would be good for about a 1000litre fishtank [minimum recommended] and it's all powered by 5W of pump. Air pumps tend to last lots longer because they don't get issues with parts sitting in water. You will also need a panel that can change up a battery bank and run through the night. It's pretty quiet too. I put a lot of hours into this and I believe it to be the best 'off-grid' set up for aquaponics. ---------------------- Having said that, I still don't recommend aquaponics, for reasons stated in my other post and what I recommend instead is no-pump hydroponics mentioned there or my second pick, wicking beds with hydroponics fertiliser. Both almost zero day-to-day input/work [only rarely need to top up], very low water usage and good growth/yield. If you run out of fertiliser which compared to fish food is incredibly cheap, you can always just use pee, which is a complete fertiliser that has been used for eons. If you have a water supply, sticking plants in the soil is of course a very good option, it uses a LOT more water but if you have plenty of it, it might not be an issue. Also the yield will drop over time [first year will be best] unless you put it back via composting & using nitrogen based plants such a legumes. Takes a lot more work as you really need to water most days if you want the best yield, though with good soil and mulch this need is reduced. |
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Mar 7, 2014 10:51:58 GMT 10
thanks SS. I took a brief look at the pumps and coz they're generally inexpensive and you really have to see my home to understand my constraints.
But when SHTF, u won't be doing anything other than the necessary stuff to survive, so getting the water from the river next to the home, isn't gonna be an issue. Issue will be crop security. How do I plant my crops, do the work and not have people steal them, since I live in an apartment and any meaningful crop would have to be planted on the ground floor.
Well, I guess, we will have to think about it and when the time comes, decide based on the circumstances
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Mar 9, 2014 5:08:36 GMT 10
Are you in high rise with a balcony?
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Mar 9, 2014 19:03:59 GMT 10
unfortunately no balcony. Only place with ample sunlight in the morning/afternoon is in the kitchen toilet and where I have the washing machine. So those are likely places I will be putting any form of growing. If SHTF, I will start laying the growing stuff in the home not because I don't want to but the missus doesn't believe in prepping. *Shrug* I intend to bug in and scavenge for food, veges and fish in the river next to my home. Then, she would have no choice but to let me use the toilet area to grow stuff. I will prolly look into another location to bug out when I know whats the event that caused the SHTF scenario but I'm prepared for a few. EMP, Financial collapse and even war. |
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Mar 9, 2014 23:31:20 GMT 10
Yeah bud. Inherently high-rises have some security benefits in having reduced places to enter/exit and are made of concrete. If you can get a few herbs in a window box, it's not a prep, it's for dinner  I would imagine your biggest challenge is space! My wifey isn't into prepping as such, though carries an emergency pack in her car that I put together. [BOB] It helps we live in a fire prone region. |
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myrrph
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Post by myrrph on Mar 10, 2014 11:07:02 GMT 10
yeah i know right? lol. I don't even have window boxes! haha. I have managed a chili plant on a plastic hanger of sorts (plastic basket + hooks to hang on the window grills) and a mint bunch near the lift outside my home. I am investigating some form of vertical growing in the toilet to test the feasibility. The wife won't grumble if it doesn't affect her, and I can grow thyme, rosemary and sweet basil there, or at least try. If that works, I might bring along longer troughs and grow vegetables. Slowly I guess, I can't rush her .. haha .. Nonetheless, if SHTF, I know where to scavange edible plants near my home and know how to fish, and the bread from the supermarkets (mouldy or not) can be used to fish tilapia, so I'm good for a while, whilst the veges are growing. High rise has lots of challenges, but humanity's greatest ability is to be able to change and adapt in the face of adversity, no? |
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shinester
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China's white trash
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Post by shinester on Mar 10, 2014 16:06:32 GMT 10
Most times communities come together, despite the naysayers, we have done so in all of the history we have. If you've thought about fishing, pretty sure you'll find all of your neighbours doing the same, so don't rely on it lol.
You could always take cuttings of edible plants that most don't know are edible and propagate them around your neighbourhood. Was thinking of doing similar in some bushland, plant some trees perhaps a drip watering system [might just be a 2litre bottle dug into the ground with a small leak] and fertilise with slow release to get them going. Obviously checking on them and making a map so you know where to go.
Another idea I have for your situation would be to have a storage locker, when you use rice-beans-dehydrated veggies, it takes up very little space for a larger supply. We really just have to get past any initial disaster because supply will return, even if it's just everyone growing plants and veggies in every piece of dirt around, like what they did in Cuba after the oil-embargo.
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Jul 7, 2024 11:02:41 GMT 10
I would imagine your biggest challenge is space!