Aquaponics Sludge Separator

This is my design for a separator for use in an aquaponics system for the effluent from the fishtank before sending the water to the grow beds. The system is similar to a septic tank except that it uses aeration to prevent ammonia formation from additional decomposing of the sludge (in principal). I am intending on using a unit about 24cm x 36cm to handle the water from a 250gallon fish tank next summer. The small tubes are the aerator tubes. The large tubes are 1" PVC (with holes) to be used to drain collected sludge. Sets of tubes will be connected. This can be built with acrylic, or in rubbermaid tubs or even (for commercial sized uses) in waterproofed outdoor garden bench storage units.

Growing Beets

Forget about neat rows and regulated spacing. I planted a packet in a 2'x6' (0.7m x 2m) bed by just evenly sprinkling the seeds. Best crop ever. Just trim the big ones out. Neighbor beets get a little stressed at harvest, but they recover. The picture of the bed shows a little stress an hour after a harvest (had done 4 large harvests already).

How I cook my beets: cut root hairs from beet; wash and clean leaves. Cut stems off 2mm at beet and put aside. Cut the beets into 2mm slices.
Tenderize shredded onions in a 5-6L/Qt pan. Add crushed garlic. Add about 3 cups of water and when boiling add the sliced beets. Add about 1/4teaspoon of termeric. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground corriander and 1/2 teaspoon of ground dried maldive fish. Boil covered on medium for about 15-20 minutes or until the beets are tender but not mushy. While the beets are boiling, cut a few cm of the bottom of the beet leaves (where they joined the beet) and discard. You can use these if the beets were small or young. Cut the rest of the stems and leaves into 4cm or 2" lengths. After the beets have tenderized, add the stem/leaf sections to the pan and boil another 5 minutes until they limp. Gently stir the whole pot and you're done.
This goes superbly as a pair to a meat curry and lemon rice.