LANES END SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
PROJECTS..
10 FOOT ECOSHELL
Monolithic Dome II and III students work on a 10 foot eco-shell project at Verlins place! Everything from a survey of the site, digging the foundation/tension ring down a bit, pouring the tension ring, building a door template, building the 'bird cage', inflating the airform, and spraying concrete!
Lots of work, but well worth it, and we didnt do half bad!
(Click Images to see Full Size Photo)
FIRST AQUAPONICS SYSTEM - BARRELPONICS
Very simple ebb and flow system with half barrles for the grow area, one barrel for the tank, cinder block and 2x6 frame, and one pump with very simple plumbing. Two basic bell syphons and gravel medium complete the beds. Small submersible pump fills both beds and has excess pressure used for recycling/airation. T12 fluorecent light fixture adds some much needed light, but still may not be perfect.
Initial testing with a generic leaf lettuce proved to be fun, edible, and a great learning experience. Goldfish and minnows seem to be living nicely in the barrel, and the system very quickly started the nutrient cycle needed (maybe 2-3 weeks of cycling before plants were added).
(Click Images to see Full Size Photo)
Initial dry run..
Medium in the beds and tank cycling..
PS those rotisserie chicken containers make great mini green houses..
Initial dry run..
SECOND AQUAPONICS SYSTEM - CONTINUOUS FLOW
Four rows of continuious flow tubing with 20 planting locations. Nicely contained in a wire shelving unit. The front two rows and back two rows make up indivdual systems. Simple drains cobmine into the fish tank, and two outlets from the swirl filter make for fairly easy plumbing in. Swirl filter contains rock and filter medium, and also alows for sluge clean out.
Lights were the biggest limiting factor, but this system turned out to be an excellent place to start plants from seed. Several transplants to soil worked well from this sytem!