asc edition 4 newsletter

2 ASC Free Newsletter| Edition 4| June 2013|

Aquaponics Survival Communities Newsletter

Cover, Design Layout And Artwork

Created By Victoria Kelley

You may not copy or use any of the articles in this newsletter without express permission

from the Aquaponics Survival Communities.

The writers in our newsletter are members of the community or experts in their field. They

are teaching and instructing other people about aquaponics, organic gardening, Co-

Operatives and other things they feel are beneficial to the world wide effort of healthier

and nutritious foods.

Our writers have volunteered their articles in order to help the communities’ success.

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Contact: [email protected]

Free Newsletter Edition 4| June 2013

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17 Why We Went To

A Paid Subscription

15 Raised beds

5 The APDuino

Project

16 pH in Ponds and

Aquaponics

19 Top ten reasons

why you should

subscribe

22 Tamara Driggers Say


"Children are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for

Nature. Properly cultivated, these values can mature into

ecological literacy, and eventually into sustainable patterns of

living." - Zenobia Barlow


Written By

András Schreiber


Fortunately there are new growing techniques (some

may be ancient or rediscovered), hydro-cultures, such

as Aquaponics that are pointing towards a possible

solution for several problems and beyond...

Greenhouses and urban growing conditions (window farms, growing

cabinets, etc) are getting more and more spotlight and gaining

popularity across the globe, especially as there is an exponentially

increasing awareness of global problems. Hydro-culture could also

answer challenges of places where water is the most precious resource

of all.

In closed systems, however, specifically, it is possible to have a tight

control on the environment. Theoretically it is possible to maintain an

ideal environment for the exact flora and fauna hosted in the closed

environment.

Maintenance of an optimal environment takes effort, tedious execution

of checks and prompt actions is needed to balance out changes in the

external and or internal conditions and ensure avoidance of stressful

imbalances.


Project Goal The APDuino Project aims to provide aid in automation for the pioneering aquaponics and

hydroponics farmers, enthusiasts, researchers in a way that even less technical knowledge

is required to build a microcontroller-based automation system than before, whereas

unlimited complex computing power is fitted to it through the ubiquitous computing

already present: the Internet.

Project output, high-level technical overview The project produces free, open-source binaries for the popular Arduino Mega 2560 +

W5100 EtherShield (or equivalent clones) hardware combo, as a basis for any Node.


Nodes

Nodes can host many kinds of sensors and

actuators, making it possible to monitor

environmental conditions such as temperature,

humidity, light, conductivity, pressure, water

quality, etc. and to interact with the

environment by controlling appliances like

lights, pumps, heaters, coolers, etc.

Nodes can be wired and configured according

to the individual needs and specifications,

within the constraints of hardware datasheets

and software support. The reference hardware

is low cost and widely available and known to

aquaponics + arduino enthusiasts. Already

several systems have been created based on

them prior to APDuino Project, but in a less

flexible (if open at all), less adaptable design

and implementation.

Besides the official Arduino site and

forum, there are tons of blogs, how-

to’s, forums and companies

providing excellent, reliable

documentation on how to wire up

the hardware components.

Again, the key difference with

APDuino Project is that those

programming parts can be skipped;

supported hardware can be

configured using APDuino Online.

Nodes provide a web-based

graphical user interface with charts

and interaction with the device;

switch between open and closed-

loop control, change actuator states,

etc.

Key Features: • No-coding needed to fit supported

sensors, actuators

• Closed-loop control (automation)

based on custom, user provided logic

• Offline and online data logging

• HTTP API for LAN applications

• Free, open-source


APDuino Online

Nodes also communicate with a central

server – APDuino Online – and can be

accessed by their respective owners for

configuration, management, supervision.

This central server facilitates such things

as configuration, remote supervision and

control, data forwarding and integration

with custom applications implementing

additional features, pointing towards

building the collective growing

intelligence.

For the moment, several online data

logging services are supported, such as

Xively.

Multi-node sites with any custom logic

can be designed and implemented using

the APDuino node's and the server's

HTTP API's.

Project History

The project officially has begun back in 2012

spring, when the George Schreiber, APDuino

project founder has decided to write his own

piece of software for Arduino-based

monitoring and automation for his new

passion, Aquaponics. He started playing with

AP earlier that year, when this topic became

hot in Hungary and he found himself obsessed

by the beauty concept of aquaponics and

home-grown healthy food for his family (he

attempted to produce in their garden before

learning about aquaponics).

In the quest for sustainability, he was looking

for a low-cost, low-energy consumption

solution and as many; he has found the

popular open-source Arduino hardware

platform suitable for the purpose.

Hence the name of the project comes from

Aquaponics (commonly referred as AP) and

Arduino.


At first glance making an automation system with Arduino seemed like childs-play,

probably for many others likewise. It did not take long for him to find out in forums, that

people without a good level of programming skills often get lost in the coding mayhem,

attempting to somehow “glue together” otherwise well written, or less well written code

parts copy-pasted from websites or provided by voluntary helpers. But as all AP setups are

different, so were the needs and the problems.

Therefore, given his software engineering skills, internet and telecommunications

background, he decided to take a slightly different angle on things and create a system

that needs no coding therefore much less difficult to implement for non-IT users yet

flexible and scalable enough to cover the most commonly needed functionality and is

extensible if it would not.

The first prototype started working as early as May 2012, the first device in production

(supervising his aquaponics greenhouse) is online since July 2012 and the system is

publicly available since August 2012.


Not all people can

build their systems

themselves; some

need help with wiring

or configuration.

There has been an increasing load on George,

so he has teamed up with his experienced

micro-electronics, telecommunication and

software engineering friends to address such

demands.

This also includes any commercial and

consulting requests, while still keep improving

the solution and to take the project to the next

level.

George is now working full time on APDuino

Project and related issues. “The potential

impact is just too great to walk away

pretending I saw nothing,” he says.

“There always have been a great demand for

sustainable food production systems and I see

a lot of people contributing their skills and

knowledge for a better tomorrow, so I just give

a bit of mine.”

Besides coordination and

development, he also gives

presentations on the next generation

automation systems and their extreme

potential benefits in various high

education institutes in Hungary.

“We would love to open-source the

entire project at some stage,” he

continues when asked about the

future of the solution.


“After spending half a day surfing aquaponics

pages and watching related vides, I started to feel

the power of aquaponics” - says Norbert Pozsonyi,

Technical Project Manager of the project. He has

been working with György shoulder-to-shoulder on

several large-scale telecommunications and info-

communications projects throughout the last

decade.

“I realized its relevance to emerging issues and that

it has real potential to change the global food

'game'...” - he adds, certainly with a thought of

Africa, continent of dreams, from where he

returned recently after having led the successful

implementation of a nationwide mobile

telecommunications network in Ghana.

In their times off, George and

András, like music and a great

BBQ with family and friends.

They are hoping soon to grill AP-

grown fishes around the world.

András Schreiber

APDuino Project

http://apduino.org

“We need to see a devoted crowd of

backers or build a solid base of

commercial customers and a technically

skilled audience first in line. So we try to

go with the flow both of these ways,

joining and developing communities.”

“After spending half a day surfing

aquaponics pages and watching related

vides, I started to feel the power of

aquaponics” - says Norbert Pozsonyi,

Technical Project Manager of the

project, who has been working with

György shoulder-to-shoulder on several

large-scale telecommunications and

info-communications projects

throughout the last decade.

“I realized its relevance to emerging issues

and that it has real potential to change the

global food 'game'...” he adds, certainly with

a thought of Africa, continent of dreams,

from where he returned recently after

having led the successful implementation of

a nationwide mobile telecommunications

network in Ghana.

In their times off, they both guys like music

and a great BBQ with family and friends.

They are hoping to soon grill AP-grown fishes

around the world.

András Schreiber

APDuino Project

http://apduino.org

http://apduino.org/

http://apduino.org/


http://theaquaponicsource.com


Approximately only 10% of our community will see the ASC Facebook Posts now because of

the algorithm changes. We thought we would add some of OUR Facebook posts into our

magazine, so other people can benefit from the free sourcing too.

There are all kinds of ways you can build raised beds. Not all of them need to be constructed

with wood, brick, rock or other materials either. Some beds can be created with earth

mounds. We have a few useful PDF's to help with creating raised garden beds.

PDF 1: http://tinyurl.com/mkyu6sl PDF 2: http://tinyurl.com/l8uef8w

PDF 3: http://tinyurl.com/muasfpu PDF 4: http://tinyurl.com/k3jmr4y

http://tinyurl.com/mkyu6sl

http://tinyurl.com/l8uef8w

http://tinyurl.com/muasfpu

http://tinyurl.com/k3jmr4y


We have a few PDF's people may find interesting about pH. These free sources can

be applied to your aquaponics systems too. Most of these PDF's are about Ponds

but you take can what you need from the sources and use the knowledge supplied.

There are lots of people who have taken an interest in raising fish in a more natural

pond setting too. These PDF’s will help.

Nitrite in Fish Ponds: http://tinyurl.com/qa6rvry

Ammonia in Fish Ponds: http://tinyurl.com/oobntsl

Managing Ammonia in Fish Ponds: http://tinyurl.com/omslhyf

Managing High pH in Freshwater Ponds: http://tinyurl.com/nf549au

http://tinyurl.com/qa6rvry

http://tinyurl.com/oobntsl

http://tinyurl.com/omslhyf

http://tinyurl.com/nf549au


Over the last four weeks we have

transitioned the magazine from being free to

a monthly subscription of $2.97.

We expected some disappointments from

people who were previously on the mailing

list. However we have very good reasons

why we decided to do this. Our subscription

payment is actually less than one cup of

coffee at Starbucks each month.

The magazine takes up a lot of time putting

everything together month and bringing it to

the community. Most of the time it has been

a one man job…mainly me. While I haven’t

minded doing this, there are only so many

hours in a day. The subscription monies DO

NOT go to me, but rather they go into

helping build communities.

We are trying to build small Co-Ops and

greenhouses in areas where Americans

genuinely need help growing food and

supporting their children. This means

funding. Your subscriptions are helping to

make this become a reality with the Fort

Garland initiative.

Why We Went

To

A Paid

Subscription

The Editor’s Say


There are lots of things we are learning

along the way but the best thing is that this

little community is excited and looking

forward to seeing it become a reality for

them. Another thing that happens when you

offer these services to communities that

have very little is you build HOPE.

Sometimes that’s all someone needs to

change everything in their reality.

The cold, hard facts are: American children

now go to bed hungry every day. Many

children are not getting enough nutrition in

their diet due to GMO and poor food

sources. The FREE school lunch program is

NOT enough to feed growing bodies either.

Building Co-Ops, greenhouses and education

into growing good healthy foods can make a

huge difference. Your subscription will help

to make that happen.

"Co-operative enterprises provide the

organizational means whereby a significant

proportion of humanity is able to take into

its own hands the tasks of creating

productive employment, overcoming

poverty and achieving social integration."

-Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Warmest Regards

Many of you are already aware that we

have been building this Co-Op for quite

some time now. We regularly update the

website with pictures and things going on,

to show you where the funds are being

spent.

Building a community greenhouse is also

on the agenda, as is the restoration of the

historical Little House on the same land,

where the Co-Op is housed. We have

plans to build an aquaponics center for

people too. None of this work is cheap.

http://fortgarlandco-op.com/

Co-Ops Are Great Sources

For Any Community!

They ensure local tradesmen; farmers and

growers can sell their goods at a fair

market price. This keeps the community

coming back and buying locally. The

money, growth and continued support

come from the locals. Co-Ops ensure

fresher produce and encourage more free

and open sources for other people to

learn from.

Community greenhouses take care of

fresh food initiatives to local people who

are living on subsistence and cannot

always give their children better foods to

eat.

http://fortgarlandco-op.com/


1. The ability to create multiple food sources, for pennies on the dollar by utilizing

medium and small sized aquaponic set-ups. (When food keeps increasing in price and

decreasing in food value your system is keeping the family healthy.)

2. Every economist agrees that a major financial collapse is imminent.

(Even the top guru's are now saying that Aquaponics can be the answer to this problem.

Quite simply, you should be prepared and that means having different set-ups and

systems.)

3. There is no guarantee that the Internet and Facebook will allow content sharing on

aquaponics forever. (Governments are now cracking down on organic growers, dairy

producers, fisheries and small farmers. Information sharing sources like Facebook are

being regulated more. Page posts are being limited; algorithms are being monitored as

paid adverts are being pushed into people’s profiles. There is no getting around it, if you

don’t pay for advertising only about 10% of people will get the information in their

newsfeeds.) BUT if you are on a personal mailing list for a magazine, you will still have

access to top notch information.

4. You can regularly contribute your articles to thousands of people just like you. (Teach,

learn and share. Become a writer, teacher and subscriber. Benefit yourself, your business

and other people.)

5. Stay informed with what the top minds in aquaponics are doing. We have some great

articles provided to the community by some of the best known names in the Aquaponics

field.


6. Be part of the larger savvy community that shares insider information only in the ASC

magazine. (Many of our community writers will only share their top projects in the

magazine to other serious aquaponics enthusiasts.)

7. Prove you are not just a hobbyist but serious about learning all you can about

aquaponics and organic growing. (Although there are many free sources available online,

this is more for hobbyists and people who can devote 20 plus hours a week doing research.

Subscribing to the magazine is a vote of confidence for your community and proves you

are a serious aquaponics enthusiast.)

8. Learn from one of the best, up and coming monthly source guides. (We plan on

expanding the magazine in the future to include distributors, parts and best buys in

aquaponics systems, great videos and DIY.) Actually just about anything that involves

aquaponics or organic growing will be made available to you.

9. Become a real expert in sustainability and community food production. (The end goal

of our magazine is for YOU to take a lead role in safe food production for your local

communities.) See what other people are doing to build upon their communities and

involve everyone.

10. Small businesses are welcome to write articles that reach thousands of subscribers.

With the high cost of advertising isn't it refreshing to know that you can reach people by

simply writing an interesting article related to your business? Your cost will be your time

and a monthly subscription.


Tamara’s Say

I was so proud to see all the photos and videos of the marches around the world today. Those of you who

know me know that it takes a lot to make me angry. Monsanto and their GMO seeds are one thing that truly

make me angry. You know, I may smoke a cigarette and damage my lungs, or have a drink that affects my liver,

but that hurts me. It's my choice.

On the other hand, mass consumption of corn, wheat, and soy, (which is in everything) is leading to autism,

cancer, degenerative diseases, and super viruses in future generations. Not to mention Monsanto's killing the

bees and destroying worldwide farmlands and rural cities. It's coming to one day we will all have to get our

'shots' to be able to ingest the food we're being fed. We will be GMOs. I'm all for freedom, and doing what you

want as long as you're not hurting anyone else, but this is real and it is going to affect the future generations of

this planet. This is not like some global warming myth or hippie B.S like 'don't eat meat because it hurts the

animals'. No, you shouldn't eat the meat from grocery stores because they force feed the animals GMOs and

hormones in an unnatural environment.

We have to wake up and realize what we are doing to our children and grandchildren for the sake of

convenience. I know it's hard, especially when you've worked all day, to make a homemade meal with real

ingredients. But if you have children, or family, or friends, or anything that you care about, you should be able

to find time to make small changes in your life. Cut out the fast food and processed food, sodas, grow your

own food (which will save you money in the long run), buy from local farms and farmers markets, and just

know what you’re eating. And also, learn about Monsanto and what they are up to. It will make your skin

crawl. End of rant -Tamara M Driggers


“I am inviting you to attend the most fabulous Aquaponics event of 2013 that I will

be holding in drop-dead-gorgeous Puerto Rico November 1 – 3, 2013” Can’t wait to

meet you all there” -Murray Hallam.

Commencing with a Friday evening poolside meet and greet, followed by two days

of Industry leading keynote speakers; twenty four breakout sessions by various

industry professionals covering every aspect of home Aquaponics and the emerging

commercial Aquaponics industry.

This event is bracketed by two four day “Living the Dream” Commercial and Small

Aquaponics Farm trainings and two one day “Discover Aquaponics” trainings.

Everything is covered to make this event.

Go to the Aquaponics Institute website www.aquaponicsinstitute.com or the event

website http://www.aquaponicsconnect.com/finalweb/index.htm for details.

Mark your calendar right now…get on line and reserve your places!


Thank You

From The Community

You are doing something that goes against big

business and you are a much needed forum for

the masses. Thank you for your time and energy

to maintain your page. - Charlotte Newcomb.

Information is the key to survival; I thank you for

being on my news feed. The things I have seen

just in the past two days will change my life. -

Tiffany Pope

You are SUCH a blessing! I am an amateur trying

to coordinate a school for uneducated people

while inviting people from around the world.

There will be amazing things happening here in

time to write about, but for now I am blessing

the info you are providing me. -Kevin Lock

The choice to purchase a subscription was one

of the best I've made in quite some time! -

Keith Smith

I’ve been very impressed with the first few

issues of the magazine. The articles are concise

and well written and provide good useful

information. - Frank Morgan

I can't wait to see the Magazine!

I would like to submit an article, but I'm

deploying again in a few. I'll make sure to

keep up with my project when I get back

though, in the mean time, can't wait to

read up on what others have done.

Thanks to everyone for being part of this

community, thanks to this community. I

feel we are all achieving our goals or

dreams in one way or another, please

continue to stay in contact and grow as a

community, see everyone next year!

Brandon Long Nguyen


The Articles In The

June 2013 Magazine


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Utilizing the space I have to create that raised bed; (left) highlights the rose flower that bloomed in my pot;(middle) shows the shovel tucked into the grow bed as I finish filling the bed with soil; (right) shows the completely filled grow bed

Aquaponics

Survival

Communities

Free Newsletter

Edition 4 June 2013

asc edition 4 newsletter

Documents

asc free newsletter

pioneering aquaponics

apduino project

project output

project goal

closed environment

communities success

optimal environment