Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Aquaponics and Hidroponic drip garden

Aquaponics

Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics-- cultivating both plants and fish by taking advantage of their natural cycles. In aquaponics,fish produce waste and the fishy waste-water from the tank is pumped to the grow beds where plants are grown hydroponically (without soil). The plants absorb the nutrients they need from the fishy waste-water while their roots filter the water --stripping it from ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and phosphorus, which is deadly for the fish.Then, the clean water is pumped back into the fish tank, and the fish dirty it up again with their waste. This cycle continues indefinitely.

Aquaponics is environmentally friendly. There are no chemical or fertilizers needed because it is based on natural cycles that convert the fish waste into fertilizer for the plants. Also, aquaponics uses about 10% of the amount of water used in conventional farming, as water is recycled in the aquaponics system through a pump, instead of being continuously sprayed over a field. Furthermore, as aquaponics is a form of back-yard gardening, it decreases the need for imported fish and produce, which decreases the amount of gas used in transporting them. But most rewarding of all is being able to eat and enjoy your very own sustainable produce and fish.

Step 1: Materials

Here is a basic list of materials you will need to construct your own aquaponics system.

Tank We used a horse tank that was already in the barn. Other possible things to use for the tank would be IBC crates, barrels, or actual fish tanks.

Pump The most important thing--besides the fish and plants. The pump will pump the water from the fish tank to the grow bed. We obtained our pump from a thrift shop.

Grow beds Again, we used materials that were lying around in the garage. For our grow beds, we used two divided kitchen sinks (with the faucet removed), to provide a total of four grow beds. Also, we drilled holes in the grow beds so that the water would be able to drain back out into the fish tank once it is full.

Siphon The siphon will divide the water from the pump into each of the four grow beds. We simply used a PVC pipe and drilled four holes in it so that the water would flow into each of the grow beds.

Gravel We used drainage gravel (also known as red scoria) as the medium for our grow beds. This is not the same type of gravel as the gravel in the road.  It is basically crushed volcanic rock and is reddish in color. It is cheap: about $40.00 per cubic meter (ie. $20.00 for a 6x4 trailer load) and is coarse, so the water drains well. Because the gravel is small and coarse, there is way more surface area for the bacteria and roots, which means there is more room for the good stuff to happen!

Plants Most normal garden vegetables work well with aquaponics, except for root vegetables (like potatoes and carrots). This is because the roots do not have any soil to attach to. Common plants grown in aquaponics are tomatoes, okra, spinach, lettuce, cabbage, herbs, cucumbers, and even flowers.

Fish Tilapia is the most common fish used in aquaponics because they are available year round, they are easy to raise, and they taste delicious! Other fish that you can use are catfish, trout, salmon, and perch. However, you have to make sure you account for the temperature that these fish live in. For example, we could not use tilapia in an outdoors aquaponics system  in Kansas during the winter because they  cannot survive in water below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. To start our aquaponics system, we are using goldfish, which are really cheap. In our tank, we have about a dozen goldfish. Also, we put some carp that we caught at the lake into the tank. Once the nitrogen cycle levels out and our system is regulated, we will switch over to catfish from the lake so we will be able to eat both the plants and the fish.

Tools You will also need tools to drill holes.

*Note- you may not need all of the listed materials, or you may need additional materials based on your needs. Not every aquaponic system will be alike due to differences in goals, climate, and availability of materials.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-an-Aquaponic-System/
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http://www.instructables.com/id/Hydroponic-Drip-Garden-for-Vegetables-Herbs-or-Fl/
The picture below shows the two hydroponic drip systems I built that are covered by this instructable. The prototype system was built about 3 weeks prior to the taking of the picture. All the plants currently residing in the prototype are between 1 and 2 1/2 weeks old. The prototype has been working so well I build a second system for plant staging. This instructable chronicles the construction of the second system, as well as growing progress updates in Step 15.

How the System Works
The hydroponic nutrients are stored in the black plastic box. A water pump inside the box pumps the nutrients up to the drip lines at the top, thus providing nutrient solution to the grow media (clay balls in my case) and plants inside the white plastic pots. The nutrients will drain out the bottom of the plastic pots which is then collected by the recessed yellow lid that the pots sit on. Holes in the lid allow the nutrients to drain back into the black plastic box. I currently have a timer that waters the plants for 15 minutes every hour that the light is on, and then twice more during the night.

Hydroponic Systems; What is best for you?
I have been using two basic hydroponic systems: Raft and Drip. Other hydroponic systems include: Ebb and Flow, Nutrient Film, Aeroponic and Fog.
The raft system works by floating the plants right on top of the nutrient solution. An air pump and air stone are used to aerate the nutrients. The raft system is really good for growing lettuce but most plants thrive better without their roots submerged right in the nutrients.
The drip system works in much the same way that plants normally get watered. Nutrients are provided to the top of the grow media by gravity or a pump which draws much needed oxygen into the media as the nutrients drain out. This method should work well for almost any type of plant. Pump failure and cloged drip lines are the down side of this method.
The Ebb and Flow system is a popular system for home hydroponics. Pots are placed in a tub that is flooded with a couple inches of nutrients using a water pump. This waters the pots from the bottom up. After the tub is flooded, the pump is turned off and the tub drains back into the nutrient reservoir. One downside of this type of system is you need a large reservoir to hold all the nutrients necessary for flooding the tub as well as enough left over so the pump does not run dry. Like the drip system you also have the possibility of pump failure.
The Nutrient Film system works by placing the plant roots on a thin layer of flowing nutrients. From what I have read, these systems are hard to set up and thus not a good place to start for the home hydroponic enthusiast.
The Aeroponic and Fog systems work by atomizing the nutrients which the roots are sprayed with, or suspended in. This can be a very powerful method for growing plants as the atomized solution contains much oxygen, which the roots thrive in. Most of the home bought systems labeled as "Aeroponic" are not really aeroponic system though. These home systems use small fountain pumps and spray nozzles to spray the bottom of net cups and roots. The tiny fountain pumps cannot produce the kind of pressure necessary to atomize the nutrient solution so the gain over a drip or ebb and flow system are questionable. I have avoided these systems as the tiny spray nozzles seem more likely to clog than the larger drip emitters. Fog systems are fairly new and I do not know about the reliability or availability of these systems for the home hydroponic enthusiast.

Step 1: Materials Needed

Here are the items you will need:
1 - 27 gallon heavy duty plastic storage box with recessed plastic lid
10' of 1/2" PVC pipe
5 - 90 deg PVC elbows
3 - PVC T connectors
1 - 3/4" to 1/2" PVC reducer
1 - 3/4" PCV pipe to 3/4" Male Thread connector
4 - 1/2" PVC J-Hook Hangers
1 - Male Quick Disconnect to male 3/4" hose thread
1 - Female Quick Disconnect to female 3/4" hose thread
1 - 1/2" hose barb to female 3/4" hose thread
1 - rubber washer with filter screen
3' of 1/2" flexible rubber hose
1 - Active Aqua PU160 water pump
12' 1/4' O.D. drip line hose
12 - Drip stakes or drip nozzles with tie down stakes
12 - Square Plastic pots sized to fit 3 across top of tote lid
1 - 24 Hr timer with 15 minute on/off timing intervals

The first 11 items on the list were all purchased from Home Depot and can be picked up at most hardware stores. The remaining item were purchased from a local hydroponics store in Billerica MA [www.greenlifegardensupply.com]. I highly recommend them if you are local; If not most items can be picked up via the WEB or at a local garden supply shop. I purchased everything new for a total cost of about $70.

Tools Needed
Miter box and miter saw or hack saw for cutting PVC
Sand paper, small round file, or deburring tool to debur cut PVC
PVC purple primer and cement adhesive
Electric Drill with assorted bits
1" speedbor bit or 1" hole saw
Awl or Nail to place drill starting mark in PVC
Utility knife

Hydroponic Supplies Needed
Your choice of hydroponic nutrients (I'm using Botanicare Pure Blend Pro)
Your choice of grow media (I used about 15 liters of clay balls)

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Rocket stove

One blogger took a super-efficient stove design that's been embraced in the developing world and applied it to heating up his living room. Read about how he did it here.
Fri, Oct 26 2012 at 2:04 PM
Photo: Yuichiro Haga/Flickr
I'm a huge fan of the rocket stove (I wrote about it earlier this year), a hyper-efficient design that excels at burning at very hot temperatures. Rocket stoves burn at much higher temperatures than your standard wood-stove or fireplace and, as a result, emit much cleaner exhaust. You can burn just about anything in a rocket stove too, from straw to dried dung to small bundles of twigs. This flexibility, combined with the stove's brutal efficiency, has made them a popular choice in the developing world, where they replace older conventional stoves that are smoky and inefficient. Smoky kitchens are no joke in many parts of the world and negatively impact the health of millions of people. Rocket stoves means people can breathe easier as they prepare food and have to work less to procure fuel.
I stumbled across this great article showing how one blogger installed a rocket stove heater to help heat his home. Rob the blogger is a woodworker who had an ever-growing pile of small scrap wood accumulating in his workshop. Instead of mulching the scraps or sending them off to a landfill, he wanted to extract as much energy as possible out of his pile and converted an old water tank to a rocket stove.
Swing over to I Will Try to read about his project and to see more photos.
If you have a few minutes, watch this delightful little video showing a rocket stove heater in action.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Acabado de superficies de madera


Proceso de Barnizado 
Proceso de Tintado
Preguntas frecuentes  -  barnizparaguitarras.com



¿Cuál es mejor acabado, Nitro o Poliuretano?
Depende de las prestaciones que busquemos en el acabado final de nuestra guitarra.
Nitro: Fusión entre capas, mejor sonoridad, aspecto “vintage”.
Poliuretano: Más cubrición, dureza y resistencia. Más durabilidad.
¿Puedo diluir con agua el tinte concentrado rápido? ¿Cuánto se puede diluir los tintes concentrados?
No, no se debe diluir con agua por riesgo de precipitación de los pigmentos y deficiente dispersión del color. Como máximo se podría poner un 15% de agua a la mezcla del colorante y el 540421 Disolvente Evaporación Media.
Los tintes concentrados admiten una gran dilución siempre que se utilice el disolvente recomendado; nuestra recomendación general máxima sería hasta 20 partes de disolvente por una de tinte concentrado, aunque según el color se podría diluir incluso más.
Para aplicar el tinte concentrado, ¿puedo aplicarlo mezclado sólo con el disolvente y luego dar un acabado final de laca transparente, o el tinte diluido tiene que ir mezclado ya con la laca? ¿Cómo se recomienda aplicar los tintes, sobre madera, sobre sellador o sobre acabado?
Los dos métodos son válidos, pero nuestra recomendación técnica es siempre aplicar el tinte diluido primero sobre la madera, ya que obtenemos mayor viveza y marcado del color de la chapa; además cuando coloreamos la laca corremos el riesgo de crear un bordón de color en los laterales de la guitarra, debido a la acumulación excesiva de producto.
Por otro lado, cuando entonamos el acabado con algo de color, difuminamos los posibles pelados en el lijado, igualando el color en el soporte. Además para conseguir efectos tipo “sunburst”, necesitamos de forma obligatoria entonar el acabado.
Cuando en los tintes concentrados señalan la proporción 5/1 ¿Qué significa?
Define la proporción de dilución que se ha realizado; concretamente 5/1 significa que la mezcla tiene 5 partes de disolvente por una de tinte concentrado.
¿Porqué cuartea la laca nitro?
La nitrocelulosa, cuartea por varios motivos: Por mala calidad del producto, por exceso de aplicación y por no respetar los tiempos de aplicación entre capa y capa. No se recomienda aplicar más de una o dos manos por día.
¿Qué lija es la adecuada para lijar la madera del cuerpo de la guitarra?
Para lijar madera siempre se recomienda comenzar por lijas de mayor grosor 120 -180 para ir bajando el grano de la lija progresivamente hasta por lo menos 240 o 400. Cuanto más fino dejemos la superficie, mejor quedará el acabado final del instrumento.
¿Es diferente la lija para productos base agua que para productos base disolvente?
Sí, aunque podríamos gastar la misma lija, el resultado no sería óptimo. Las lijas para productos base agua no llevan granos, sino una superficie estructurada  a base de estearato, con el fin de no rayar la superficie, ni sobre calentar el producto en exceso.
¿Cuántas manos de acabado nitro hay que aplicar y con qué frecuencia, para un óptimo acabado de la guitarra? ¿Cuántos botes de spray necesito para pintar una guitarra?
Para una guitarra nueva con la madera en crudo se recomienda aplicar entre 6 y 9 manos de acabado aplicado a base de manos finas, y con una periodicidad de máxima de una o dos manos diarias. Si aplicamos el producto en spray hay que tener en cuenta que obtendremos una menor cubrición por mano aplicada que si aplicamos de forma convencional, por lo que recomendamos aplicar entre 9 y 12 manos de producto. Con un bote de 400ml de capacidad, podremos dar entre una y dos manos a la guitarra.
¿Ventajas del producto base agua?
Los productos base agua tienen la gran ventaja de la facilidad de aplicación, uso y limpieza. Nos permiten trabajar en zonas habitadas ya que no evaporan disolventes, eliminando olores y disolventes al medioambiente. Marcan de forma excelente la estructura del soporte, ofreciendo un aspecto natural y un tacto extremadamente sedoso. Poseen una gran elasticidad, por lo que nos evitan los temidos cuarteos.
¿Consigues el mismo acabado final con un acabado envasado en spray, que el mismo acabado aplicado con pistola?
Sí, siempre que tengas en cuenta que el número de manos a aplicar con spray siempre será mayor que con la aplicación a pistola. Y termines el proceso final con el recomendado pulido.
¿Se puede aplicar acabado nitro sobre goma laca?
Sí, se puede aplicar, pero recomendamos que se limpie y lije bien toda superficie antes de realizar el proceso de lacado para evitar problemas de adherencias.
¿Se puede aplicar acabado nitro sobre pintura acrílica?
Sí, pero recomendamos también realizar el obligado lijado de toda la superficie.
¿Qué es la nitrocelulosa?
Es un sólido parecido al algodón, o un líquido gelatinoso ligeramente amarillo o incoloro con olor a éter. Se emplea en la elaboración de explosivos, propulsores para cohetes, celuloide (base transparente para las emulsiones de las películas fotográficas) y como materia prima en la elaboración de pinturas, lacas, barnices, tintas, selladores y otros productos similares. Es famoso su uso tradicional como laca nitrocelulósica aplicada como acabado sobre la madera en guitarras eléctricas de calidad como ocurre con las guitarras Gibson
¿Qué es la Goma laca?
La goma laca es una sustancia orgánica que se obtiene a partir del residuo o secreción resinosa de un pequeño insecto rojo llamado gusano de la laca, (Laccifer lacca) que habita en lugares del sudeste asiático como Indonesia o Sri Lanka. Las dos mejores variedades en el mercado son la goma laca de color naranja, que viene en forma de escamas finas y traslúcidas y la goma laca blanca. Ambas, tanto la blanca como la de color naranja son solubles en alcohol.
¿Qué clase de pasta de pulir hay que utilizar para el acabado final?
Existen diferentes pastas de pulir en el mercado, pero nuestra recomendación general será utilizar una pasta de pulir más agresiva en el proceso inicial para eliminar la suciedad e imperfecciones de mayor tamaño, y posteriormente usar una pasta de pulir fina para conseguir el brillo final.
¿Es necesario pulir?
Sí, recomendamos pulir los acabados con las siguientes premisas:
a) Puliremos un mes después de aplicar la última mano de acabado.
b) Trabajaremos con varias pastas de pulir (guesa y fina).
c) No haremos excesiva presión para no sobre-calentar la laca.
d) No inclinaremos la pulidora para no pelar el acabado.
Podemos conseguir subir el brillo entre 5 y 10 puntos cuando pulimos, además de dejar la superficie más fina  y sin imperfecciones.
Para aplicar producto en base agua con equipo HVLP ¿Qué dilución es la recomendada y qué tipo de boquilla de pistola debo usar?
Si, no hay problema. De todas formas aconsejamos que los productos base agua deben aplicarse siempre con boquilla fina (6-9) y con alta presión de aire (3kg) para una correcta atomización del material sobre la superficie.  Los productos en base agua tienen la ventaja de la facilidad de uso, cuando aplicamos una mano de barniz sobre la pieza y está se pone un poco azulada, es cuando nos avisa que hemos aplicado ya la cantidad máxima por capa. Una vez evapora el agua, la película queda estirada y perfectamente transparente.
¿Puedo aplicar directamente al cuerpo de la guitarra el acabado nitro blanco o incoloro, o debo de aplicar un sellador?
La función de los selladores es tapar los poros y preparar la superficie para las capas posteriores del acabado. Por lo que si nuestra madera no está suficientemente fina, o posee mucho poro, o queremos sellar la chapa con menos manos de producto, utilizaremos sellador de fondo. Si no es el caso, preferimos utilizar únicamente el acabado en varias manos de aplicación, para conseguir una mejor transparencia y mojabilidad.