Nov 23rd- GRNG 101's- Watering device, wicking system, determining nitrate concentration.

Plants Group:

Ben worked on Prototype of  pole-mounted watering device using bamboo poles. He used a hacksaw and the portable sander to smooth the bamboo:

Duct tape was used to fasten the assemblies:

     TA-DA!

Other part of plants group attached fabric to the bottles to hold in the soil:

I suggested creating a wicking system that would raise water from the lower reservoir up to the soil above:

See http://www.bottlebiology.org/investigations/terraqua_main.html for additional information.

Algae Group:

Mixed up nutrient solution using 15 gram pod in 1 liter of water, and tested for phosphate, which maxxed out:

Will need to review calculations with group:

1 pod= 15 grams

Pod = 5.9% nitrate, so contains about 0.059 x 15= 1 gram of nitrate.

If pod is dissolved in 1000 ml of solution, solution contains 1 part per thousand= 1000 parts per million of nitrate.

To get a solution containing 20 ppm of nitrate, mix 20 cc of first solution into 1000 cc of final solution.

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Tap water contains chlorine, which kills algae. Chlorine can be removed with reverse osmosis filter, or by dissolving potassium metabisulfite into it. One campden tablet is enough to dechlorinate 20 gallons of tap water. Pros: Very fast - as soon as the K-meta is dissolved in the water and stirred, the water is dechlorinated.

Question about relationship of  nitrates, nitrites, and Urea- see

http://blog.brightagrotech.com/nitrogen-in-aquaponics/