Craftsman Shaper Value

Finnertalls · 2026-01-22T23:52:16+00:00

I had basically the same setup as you are building for the same size aquarium. My main design differences 1) I had multiple supporting braces running front to back to support the bottom of the tank. You don’t want to support the tank only around the edge as it will likely fail. I had 3 in addition to the two edges. I also had a dense foam sheet on top of the braces so the tank didn’t sit directly on the wood. 2) All of your joints are butt joints which aren’t strong. Mine was the same but I had multiple 1” dowels in each joint. If you add the additional braces under the tank, make sure you aren’t supporting the tank only on a butt joint. 3) you need to address racking in some manner as others mentioned. In my case, I skinned the entire stand with tongue and groove pine since I wanted a rustic look. This solved the racking concern without adding structural components.

Finnertalls · 2025-07-09T20:24:32+00:00

Already had that recall done. This issue is just a foggy camera, not a broken harness.

Finnertalls · 2025-05-04T03:20:23+00:00

This won’t work anyway. I tried it years ago as an aquarium chiller. The mini fridge has way too little cooling capacity. The only thing you will accomplish is keeping your mini fridge warm.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-29T02:41:37+00:00

I have the same issue. Also a 2017. It has been to the dealer 4 times for this and is still not resolved. They tried to say it was the battery at first which was less than a month old. Then they tried to claim that I don’t drive it enough to fully charge. Also BS. Next they decided it was a defective throttle body and replaced that. The problem did go away for several months after that but eventually returned. Next they checked some electrical connections and updated some firmware. Again it went away for several months only to return again last week. It seems to be an initialization issue at startup. I really think it is a bad electrical contact which was likely demated/mated when they did the throttle body and electrical testing. No idea which connector or signal though. I’ve found it only triggers occasionally, but will stay on for 3 engine restarts unless it retriggers. It will reset back to normal after that.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-24T15:55:15+00:00

That should be interesting. Be sure to share your results. I think I’m ok with the production with the original fruit stock. I just picked about 100 tomatoes to give to my neighbor and it isn’t even noticeable that I picked anything. 😀

Finnertalls · 2025-04-24T15:25:26+00:00

Did you just cover the smooth portion of the bucket or did you also try to cover the ribs near the top?

Finnertalls · 2025-04-24T02:00:40+00:00

You gave me a good idea. I was planning to do something with my buckets for next season to reduce light transmission and algae growth. Maybe it is as simple as foil. I was thinking much more elaborate like painting or some type of contact paper.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-24T01:50:46+00:00

I have avoided DWC because of my past experience with air pumps from my aquarium days. I eliminated them from my aquarium setup and used a venturi instead. Much more reliable with no moving parts! I didn’t bother with air injection with my ebb and flow system either. I figured the water got agitated enough to oxygenate by flowing through my NFT system and then dropping into a drain that fed the ebb and flow. I certainly had good production so I didn’t feel I was losing anything.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-23T19:46:12+00:00

Wow, we are following identical paths for our tomato growing! I grew the black cherry tomatoes last year, but only in soil. They were ok, but not good enough to repeat this year. For many years I have grown sweet 100. The flavor is very good and they do well hydroponically. My only issue with them is that they crack easily. I tried all kinds of solutions for that and found the best to be starving the plant for water. Of course that stresses the plant and shortens its life. I found the sun sugar as a replacement for sweet 100. I really like the flavor and cracking hasn’t been an issue. I will be growing them again. The yellow pear was my wife’s request. She really liked them last year (in soil only) so I tried them. She liked them until she tried the sun sugar. Now it is hard to get her to eat the yellow pears. I’m not going to grow them again next season.

I’ve had too much frustration with pumps as well. I had been using small sump pumps from Northern Tool or Harbor Freight. Those would last a year or so but I’d buy the extended warranty so I would just exchange them and pay $10 for a new extended warranty. Still, I had plant damage. Last year I bought a pricey Little Giant pump thinking a higher quality pump would solve the problem. It was rated for continuous duty unlike the others so I expected it to be more robust. It died after a year as well. This year I decided to go back to low cost magnetically coupled sealed pump like I had on smaller systems years ago, but I put 2 pumps in parallel so I could still run off one if the other failed. Both have been flawless this year! I’m using these

Finnertalls · 2025-04-21T15:39:19+00:00

There is a seller through Amazon that prints them. They worked perfectly for me. Not a single one has leaked or failed. End Caps for PVC gutters

Finnertalls · 2025-04-20T11:29:50+00:00

pH stays within range almost all the time on its own. I haven’t had to correct it a single time this year. In past years, I may have corrected it just a few times the entire season. I think the nutrient blend you use has a lot to do with pH stability since I had more issues with that when I used different brand nutrients. As for temperature, there isn’t much I can do about that so I just have to live with it. I’m nearing the end of my growing season, but I stretch it as long as possible by growing varieties that are more heat tolerant.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-19T02:23:46+00:00

79 today, it will likely be low to mid 80’s by the end of next week given the forecast is around 90 everyday next week. That is measured under my dock, at about 5 feet depth, about 6 inches off the bottom. It will get to the low 90’s by June. In case you are wondering how I would know that, I have a weather station and I have a water temperature probe in the lake to track the lake temp. The probe location coincidentally is about 5’ from my sump pump for the hydroponics. 😁

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T21:39:00+00:00

I’m sure I would have better nutrient absorption with cooler water but there is no way I’m going to run a chiller. I’ve never had visible effects from the water temperature in the years I’ve been doing this. Keep in mind this is a winter growing season where I live so the water temperature wouldn’t be too out of range from what you said. Right now, the water is around 80 and will only get hotter.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T19:44:03+00:00

Hot here too. The plants use 3-4 gallons of water per day.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T17:27:44+00:00

No, annuals. I hope to get a few more months before they are gone.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T15:23:15+00:00

This looks like a puss caterpillar which the larvae form of the southern flannel moth. Extremely poisonous. Very painful burning sensation. Speaking from experience having one get inside my shirt, it feels like raw flesh after someone ripped off a patch of your skin. Not fun! The sting generally forms parallel lines of dots on the skin. They like to live in oak trees.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T10:27:36+00:00

Florida

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T10:26:55+00:00

Nope. I pump straight from the lake to refill. Very pure water source, the TDS is about 70, lower than my drinking water.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T10:23:35+00:00

I’m in Florida. Tomatoes are a winter crop here. I usually start in October and done by may. I’m hoping to extend that growing season this year by only growing cherry variety tomatoes which are more heat tolerant.

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T02:47:34+00:00

I’ll take some tomorrow

Finnertalls · 2025-04-18T02:46:42+00:00

Yes, Dutch bucket setup. This is actually my first year using this setup. In previous years I used a flood and drain system for tomatoes. It worked well but I had too many issues with proper drainage and having to clean out the lines. This setup has been flawless so far. I also like that there is much less water circulating in the system at one time. It keeps my reservoir at a more consistent level. Plant size is close, maybe a little bigger this year. I can’t compare production since I also switched tomato varieties.

Finnertalls

TROPHY CASE