Water management and Strategies for water conservation

[Gallo del Cielo]

OK here is how I envisioned it first go round Waaaaaayyyy too complicated



After reading a little Thoughts still not quite there


And after reading a bit more.... Much better

I like the last version! I was going to make something just like this to remove solids from my AP system. I saw a guy using a filter like this with his system and it looked like it worked very well. Ended up I didn't need it, but I sure was intrigued. I have a couple of questions, is the GW coming in from a higher point than the filter? What is the function of the last reservoir with the bell siphon?

Oh, in case you haven't yet worked with these, I'd highly recommend Uniseals for connecting the pvc to the barrels instead of bulkheads. They are so easy to use, you just drill the hole, put them in and stick the pvc through (although that can be tough at times). They're designed for connecting pvc to curved surfaces and they never leak. They work with any wall 1/2" thick or thinner.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Here is a diagram of my front yard. It has a stucco fence that is basically cinderblock with stucco over it... There is a patio next to some really big rocks and in the middle is the remains of a water fountain.


I want to grow:
To start with:
xeric After first year of growing they probably will need little to no irrigation at all
Mesquite
Pomegranite

Citrus that can handle a few days of 30 degrees the ones I have researched are below
Not so xeric but low water enough I wouldnt mind supplementing with fresh.
Oranges
Lemons
Limes
Kumquats
Tangerines

On my list of wants but can live without
Apples
peaches
Apricots
cherries
Fig

If i could only choose two it would be Apricots and Figs. There was a fig tree here once So I know they can grow.

The floating plants will be Hyacinth.... Great polution processors. They can be dried and used in the fireplace.... Or used for making paper.

The Mesquite produce a bean that is edible. The beans are harvested and dride then the whole bean Pod and all is ground into flour. It can be used for a flour substitute. And has properties which work with glycemic values for people with Diabetes or who need to avoid Gluten.

All of the citrus can be espaliered.... Matter of fact all of the trees with the exception of the Mesquite can be espaliered. Makes it easier to tend and harvest for someone with limited mobility. So I would be starting with one or two gallon pots and bare root where applicable. Which will make it easier for them to naturalize? um er acclimatize.... or adapt to a Xeric lifestyle.

Oh and I have a bandini mountain of horse maneur to start....

My girl Katee has made one.
deb

Your list looks similar to mine. We planted pencil-thick mesquites in the first year after moving here and most have trunks about 12" in diameter now. I planted the pomegranates in the shade of two mesquites and they seem to be doing well there, judging by the crop last year. We have two figs (one in the ground and one in a pot) and they do very well. Everyone is going out almost daily now to check to catch the first ripening figs, which continue into the fall. We have grapefruit, lemon, minneola tangelo and lime for citrus. They all do well. We're on our second tangelo and lime though, we lost the first ones in a terrible freeze. We also have two plums, two nectarines, a dwarf nectarine, two dwarf peaches, pineapple quava and grapes. Depending on your number of chill hours, I'd highly recommend a Red Bonanza dwarf peach. I have one three years old, still under three feet tall and it will have dozens of fruit on it. It's so small, you can always find a place to tuck one into. We also have apples (fuji, Dorsett and Anna). We were going to espalier them, I even had the trellis built and in place, but the location I had for them just wasn't right for it so I let them grow naturally and removed the trellis. I hope to put it up against the west side of the house and espalier something on it there. I was very successful at killing three cherry trees. I'm ready to try again. This time I'd grow them in pots in the shade of the patio.

I wonder if chickens like Hyacinth?

 

[niqueie]

I second the uniseals. They work great and are a real money saver. They definitely can be tough to get through sometimes. If you get started and need some fish. I have tilapia that are fry now and will be getting bigger fast. Let me know. I'm in San Diego too. I'm at the 15 and the 56 near west of poway.

I like the last version! I was going to make something just like this to remove solids from my AP system. I saw a guy using a filter like this with his system and it looked like it worked very well. Ended up I didn't need it, but I sure was intrigued. I have a couple of questions, is the GW coming in from a higher point than the filter? What is the function of the last reservoir with the bell siphon? Oh, in case you haven't yet worked with these, I'd highly recommend Uniseals for connecting the pvc to the barrels instead of bulkheads. They are so easy to use, you just drill the hole, put them in and stick the pvc through (although that can be tough at times). They're designed for connecting pvc to curved surfaces and they never leak. They work with any wall 1/2" thick or thinner. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR]

 

[RichnSteph]

Hope this doesn't come off as too odd of a question but is it possible to go "too big" with your water source/fish tank on an aquaponics set up? Before I get into too many details I've got access to a 12' wide, 6' deep round poly tank that has the top all messed up so I'll have to cut it at 4'. I just don't want to cut it and sink it into the ground and find out that it was way more than I needed.

 

[perchie.girl]

My backyard chicken app has always been screwy with the pictures. I can zoom in on pictures I post but not others. Irritating.

Gosh.... How about when you go to the actual website on a PC?

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: The finished floor of the house is approximately three feet off the ground. I currently have the water from the sink plumbed to come straight out of the wall below the sink. My sink water literally goes out and on to the ground. I am not living there right now so its not an issue but when i move back in I want to redirect that water to Greywater collection barrels. My bathroom is situated where I could possibly do that as well with the bathroom sink... Routing will have to be done carefully though. The shower Is somehow diverted to a french drain because when it runs NO water enters the septic tank. I know I have looked.

The Bell siphon .... I havent a clue as to why I drew it.....

My property around the house is flat..... the yard where I want to put the Hyacinth extends quite a few feet away... There possibly wont be enough grey water to plant anything without supplemental water from the water tank.

I will check into those seals. Will they handle water under pressure? They may be my solution to a water source for my chickens which ended in a cascade failure.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Your list looks similar to mine. We planted pencil-thick mesquites in the first year after moving here and most have trunks about 12" in diameter now. I planted the pomegranates in the shade of two mesquites and they seem to be doing well there, judging by the crop last year. We have two figs (one in the ground and one in a pot) and they do very well. Everyone is going out almost daily now to check to catch the first ripening figs, which continue into the fall. We have grapefruit, lemon, minneola tangelo and lime for citrus. They all do well. We're on our second tangelo and lime though, we lost the first ones in a terrible freeze. We also have two plums, two nectarines, a dwarf nectarine, two dwarf peaches, pineapple quava and grapes. Depending on your number of chill hours, I'd highly recommend a Red Bonanza dwarf peach. I have one three years old, still under three feet tall and it will have dozens of fruit on it. It's so small, you can always find a place to tuck one into. We also have apples (fuji, Dorsett and Anna). We were going to espalier them, I even had the trellis built and in place, but the location I had for them just wasn't right for it so I let them grow naturally and removed the trellis. I hope to put it up against the west side of the house and espalier something on it there. I was very successful at killing three cherry trees. I'm ready to try again. This time I'd grow them in pots in the shade of the patio.

I wonder if chickens like Hyacinth?

I dont know.... They are filled with fiber.... enough to make paper from them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichhornia_crassipes

Back in the late seventies... I believe. There was a huge test pond set up in Mission Valley (Along the San Diego River) Where they had rows and rows of shallow ponds with hyacinth growing madly in therm. I saw them harvested and dried..... I am supposing it was a Biomass test to see how much energey (methane) they could get from them. But also to filter water....

They are edible But I wouldnt use the ones from the grey water system for that. They can also be used in Aquariums or places where you are growing baby fish as the roots provide great hiding places.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

I second the uniseals. They work great and are a real money saver. They definitely can be tough to get through sometimes.

If you get started and need some fish. I have tilapia that are fry now and will be getting bigger fast. Let me know. I'm in San Diego too. I'm at the 15 and the 56 near west of poway.
Quote: Thanks Nique..... It may be a while.... I may just set up my 100 gallon tank in the house.... Keep a pair in there for when I am ready to set up the big tanks.

deb

 

[perchie.girl]

Hope this doesn't come off as too odd of a question but is it possible to go "too big" with your water source/fish tank on an aquaponics set up? Before I get into too many details I've got access to a 12' wide, 6' deep round poly tank that has the top all messed up so I'll have to cut it at 4'. I just don't want to cut it and sink it into the ground and find out that it was way more than I needed.

It has been my experience that when raising fish the bigger tank you have the better. The more volume of water you have the less chances of wild fluctuation of PH. The temperature will stabilize and maintain easier as well. Though it would take longer to change the temperature through a pond heater or some sort of chilling pump. ONce stabilized its easy to maintain.

The only Issue I can see is surmountable and that is when it comes time to catch your fish. You can make up corrals for fishing in your tank out of PVC widows rigged with a hinge and mesh large enough to let out the fish too small yet.... STick it in closed and open the other side in a sweep driving the fish into eventually a v shaped enclosure..... Then net em out with a landing net.

deb

 

[RichnSteph]

It has been my experience that when raising fish the bigger tank you have the better. The more volume of water you have the less chances of wild fluctuation of PH. The temperature will stabilize and maintain easier as well. Though it would take longer to change the temperature through a pond heater or some sort of chilling pump. ONce stabilized its easy to maintain.

The only Issue I can see is surmountable and that is when it comes time to catch your fish. You can make up corrals for fishing in your tank out of PVC widows rigged with a hinge and mesh large enough to let out the fish too small yet.... STick it in closed and open the other side in a sweep driving the fish into eventually a v shaped enclosure..... Then net em out with a landing net.

deb

Thanks deb! As far as harvesting goes I was kind of thinking I'd take my daughter (10 months old right now) out to the pond with a fishing pole to catch dinner. *laugh* I'm kidding.