PVC Aquaponics Shade

3 weeks ago, I started building a shade for my aquaponics system to protect the plants from strong winds and heavy rain. As I am living in a gated townhouse, I am not allowed to make modifications to my veranda and bordering walls. Therefore, the criterias for my shade design are:

• cheap as possible
• no drilling/nailing on existing walls and roofs
• does not extend beyond the borders of my house
• constructable with the power tools I have
• able to withstand tropical winds and rain
• leaves and water doesn't stay collected at the top
• ease of cleaning (such as support legs that doesn't block the broom when sweeping underneath the system)
• pleasant to look at

I came up with a few design and performed test simulations in my head to see how they will stand up against the harshest weather in my area. Finally, the candidate that scored the best is an "arch" design made from 1/2" PVC pipe. I then did a rough sketchup model of my system with a finished shade to estimate the length of PVC pipe needed.

 The contruction of the shade was done over the course of a week during my free time. I also made some changes to the initial design by adding wider PVC pipes at the base for extra strength

Phase 1: PVC Frame

All the pipes were held together using screws. Precision, precision, precision!

Phase 2: Wire Bracing

Doing this is HELL! I have to make sure all the braces are not too loose and not too tight. Too little tension and the shade will be shaky. Too much and the pipes will have an unsightly bent. I can't remember how many times I redid all these wire bracing!

Took me 3 days to get the all the wire tension right. At the end, all the hard work... is worth it!

I used strings to pull the whole frame to the right shape before adding the wire bracing.

Phase 3: Plastic Tarp

These are greenhouse clips I made from 1/2" PVC pipe

Transparent plastic tarp that I bought from ACE hardware

Oh! Just look at that smiling kangkong! I can also hear my okras cheering... "Finally!"

Here are some closer shots of different parts of the shade:

The base of the shade is screwed to the grow bed stand.

Wires are applied here to reduce shaking

Just a simple bend is enough to secure the wire to the pipe

Two Weeks Later

After two weeks, the shade survived several stormy nights with minimal damage. During strong winds, 1 or 2 badly designed clips may pop out. I had replaced them with better clips and since then, it doesn't happen anymore. The shade shakes very little during strong winds and leaves collected at the top gets washed down by the rain.

A shot of my shaded system at the backyard

Grow bed shot. That pot of pink flowers in the middle are dianthus barbatus or "Sweet William"... My name :D

Kang kong growing vigorously without being bombarded by falling fruits from above

Standing proudly are okra plants and at the right are Genovese basil seedling that I bought from Mercato supermarket at Pavilion, KL

Tilapia tank no longer littered with leaves and fruits

Rosemary, various bok choy seedlings (2 varieties here), and japanese cucumber at the back

Beautiful kang kong leaves... Pretty flowers...

Kang kong flower up close

Kang kong fruit

Cherry tomato and "white floral spires" basil seedling. At the back, under the white container, are experimental rosemary cuttings.

Seedlings of "white floral spires" basil

This new shade is a good place to hang a Petunia plant

Unfortunately, I still have problems with rain splashing on the wall. My japanese cucumber which are planted near the wall is having problems staying upright. Their leggy stems may be due to inadequate light or too much nitrate.

"Kyuri" or japanese cucumber

Aren't their leaves a little light? Iron deficiency perhaps?

I need to think of a way to block the rain splashing.

Thanks for reading!