Hi Everyone,
This is the second video about setting up the RaftMaster deep water culture frame. Today
we’ll go over all the additional parts that are NOT included with the framing kit. This
is just how we set up our demo system but there are plenty of other clever methods
to use.
We’ll start off with getting the base ready. You may remember in the first video that I
put down a stone base instead of something softer like sand. This is because I’m putting
down foam board to help insulate the water from the ground. Even if you don’t use foam
board, I still recommend putting down some type of protection to minimize the risk of
puncturing your liner from sharp stones, sticks, or rodents. ¾” or 1” foam board works
will, but can be expensive. I’ve seen several people use old carpeting which is fairly easy
to get from anyone that installs carpeting.
This is 2’ foam board so it needs to be cut down just over an inch so it can fit between
each rib. Each piece can drop in between each rib section and provides a great base for
the liner.
Next up is installing the liner. Any of the reinforced liners like Duraskrim or Ultrasrkim
will work well. Before rolling it out, you want to take one last check at the base to
make sure there are nor objects that will poke through the liner. Once it’s rolled
out, you want to have some extra material hanging over the edges…it’s far easier
to cut it too long vs cutting it too short and starting over!
Once it’s cut, you can clamp it to one side using the snap clamps that are provided with
the RaftMaster frame. Depending on the width of your RaftMaster, you may have to unfold
the liner and work some of the wrinkles out. If you do have to walk on the liner, take
off our shoes and walk on it with just socks. When the liner is set up properly, it should
follow the curvature of the raft frame.
This liner was a couple of feet wider than I needed, so I readjusted it in the frame
and left extra hang over the frame. This will help to protect the filled section of the
liner from potential projectiles from the lawn mower.
Folding the corners isn’t too difficult. I put a couple of clamps in the center to
help hold the liner in place, then just sort of form the liner to match the curvature of
the frame. It’s important to make sure that the edge of the liner is never below the water
line or the water will pour out. Once it’s all set, just go around the frame and clip
in the remaining clamps.
The last part is to connect this new bed into the rest of my system. My ultimate goal is
to keep this as an independent loop so that it can be disconnected drained during the
winter. For the supply line, the plan is to tap into the return line that pumps the water
from the sump tank to the fish tank. I took the pump out and added a tee with ball valve
into it. This will then connect to the line that will go out to the new bed.
The drain line is a bit trickier to install. I wanted it to drain without needing another
pump which doesn’t leave a lot of slope in the drain line. I’m going to take the
risk and bury the supply and drain lines just below the ground. Leaving them above runs
the risk of me driving the tractor over it. However, keeping it this shallow also will
subject the piping the frost heaving over the winter.
It’s painful to do it, but in order to get the drain and supply line outside, I have
to punch a hole through the foundation wall. Some holes with the hammer drill and a few
whacks with a hammer and it breaks right out. The rest of the trench is easy to dig out,
but still has the typical collection of rocks in it. I also had to lift the new bed out
of the way a bit so I could dig under it for the drain. In hindsight, it may have been
easier to dig out the trench before installing the liner.
Without causing too much harm to the existing drains, I was able to move them, add another
tee and connect the drain line from the outside through the wall. In the trench, I did add
a rubber gasket on to the drain so that there would be some additional flexibility in the
line in case of frost heaving. The trench is filled with stone to protect the pipe,
and as I mentioned earlier, it’s nearly level so I’m basically relying on the head
pressure from the raft bed to force the water through the line.
To connect the plumbing into the raft, I’m going to use a bulkhead fitting. Most fittings
come with a gasket so this makes a good template to draw the size of the hole. With a sharp
razor knife, carefully cut through the liner, and then I also cut a hole through the foam
board large enough for the entire bulkhead fitting to fit through it. So I didn’t have
to mess with the fittings under the raft bed, I pre-assembled the assorted fitting to the
bulkhead, then inserted it through the liner and tightened the on to the liner.
Within another section of protective conduit, I’m also installing the water supply line,
airline, and electrical feed. Then backfilling the rest of the trench with some more stone
and the remaining dirt, while picking out the larger rocks.
I’ve started filling the new RaftMaster bed with water. Even though I’m not quite
ready to start using it, it’s a good idea to cover the water to help minimize algae
growth. For our rafts, we’re using the 1” Dow foundation foam board which can be cut
in half to make a standard 2x4’ raft. I’m not going to put holes in it until I’m ready
to start planting. While it’s filling, I can finish putting in the supply line. However,
I was short a few fittings so I’m just going to use a few spring clamps to temporarily
hold the pipe in place. It’s a bit crude, but works! As the bed is filling, I can also
install the overflow piping. I like to angle it so it’s close to the edge to help maximize
my raft spacing. I also don’t glue any of the pieces together so it can be adjusted
as needed.
As a perfect example of “Do as I say, not as I do” you can see that once the bed was
filled, the entire frame isn’t level from one end to the other by about 1.5 inches.
I should have used a laser level or water tube level to check my base instead of a framing
level.
So that’s about it for today. Believe it or not, I’m going to have one more video
about the RaftMaster frame. And also I wanted to show you this awesome tee shirt that comes
from Root & Ramble and if you go to the description below there will be a link on how you can
get these shirts and other great pieces of apparel for 15% off, for a limited time only!
Thanks for watching