Aquaponics

[Sill]

This thread is for the discussion of Aquaponics.

Aquaponics is the growing of plants and fish in a symbiotic system. It is a hybrid of Aquaculture, the growing of fish, and Hydroponics, the growing of plants in nutrient-rich water. In Aquaponic systems the fish waste fertilizes the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish. Besides the fish and plants the system requires bacteria to change the fish waste into fertilizer that the plants can readily utilize and makes the waste less toxic to the fish.

An Aquaponic system in the backyard can help us with our food budget, give us healthy food free from chemical spraying, help make us self-sufficient and is an excellent addition to homesteading and prepping.

Though the system is water-based if actually saves water in the long run since it is a closed system.

There are as many ways to build an aquaponic system as there are people. It will be interesting to see what people here come up with.

Topics can include: types of grow media, suitable plants, best fish for your region, different types of systems, plumbing, tank configuration, etc.

 

[rescueacres]

For anyone that just wants to give it a try or doesn't have much room there are ways to make a simple, almost free, miniature setup. Yeah it won't grow a ton, but it will give you an idea. All you need is a 10 gallon fish tank, goldfish, light, and your living room.
Example:
I have 2 - 3 inch long fish in a regular glass tank. I keep a cheap, hang on the side of the tank filter running to keep the water moving. I use a standard fluorescent shop light above the tank but a fish tank light would work too. I had the pink foam insulation stuff laying around, so I cut that to fit inside the tank on the surface of the water, then cut holes in it big enough for plant roots to hang through but not big enough that the whole plant falls through. I took some strawberries and some sage, removed the soil from the roots and shoved them in the holes. The roots hang down in the fish tank water and the foam floats on top keeping leaves, stem, fruit, etc from getting wet. The plants grow great, produce fruit, and need no care. I can keep it anywhere in the house that I would want a fish tank, can decorate with gravel, fun fish stuff, and use any type fish that I like, and it looks great, plus gives food. I had all materials already here, and threw it together in no time. It's obviously not my main aquaponics garden, but its a great, nice looking mini that I love.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

rescueacres: I thought that the roots had to have periods where they weren't immersed in water. How long have you had your 10 gallon set up? Does the foam cover the entire surface area of the tank? I'm assuming that you have an open spot at least for feeding? How much of a fish load in the tank? Supplemental heat? Has it been operational long enough for you to get any harvest? Interesting. And, thankyou. I could certainly spare room for a 10 - 20 gallon tank in the livingroom. Perhaps that will be a good project for next winter.

I run a constant flow through my system. Here in the hot desert we found that the low water at the ebb of an ebb and flow system was stressful on the plants. They'd droop right over on hot days and then spring back with the new flow. It also caused the water to heat up much more during the day. Lots of things will grow with roots fully immersed, it really depends on the oxygen content of the water. We have tons of composting red worms (among other worm species) that live in the gravel beds as fully aquatic creatures. The oxygen content is high enough to keep them alive and they help with the fish waste and dead plant decomposition.

 

[Sill]

This sounds amazing. Anyone in the PNW do this? Do I need to do it indoors?

Can anyone recommend a good starter site where I can learn how to set up?

I'm sure you can do this were you are but you will need fish that will thrive in your local temperatures. I know people that build simple hoop houses over their systems to keep everything warmer in winter. If it gets below freezing you will want to have it indoors, under a hoop house or green house so you can have plants and grow beds to keep the fish water cleaner.

I found this as a great resource. The IBC of Aquaponics. The nice thing about this is it shows so many different set ups that have worked for people in all sorts of climates each with their own challenges. It's a pretty big document and well worth the time to slog through all the info!

 

[3goodeggs]

Mud turtle. You need a mud turtle. They eat snails like popcorn and prefer them to fish.

 

[Gallo del Cielo]

Hi Sill, I have an aquaponics system here in Tucson. It's been running now going on three years and it's been great fun. As you note, the challenge has been to figure out what does well in it and what should be left in the dirt. We have ~700 gallons in the ground and 500 gallons above ground with two gravel beds. I hope to add more gravel beds this summer. We're using tilapia but we also have a bunch of goldfish remaining from the original cycling of the system. Our favorite thing is the fall/winter lettuce, which we grow in pvc tubes. We're able to grow all that we can eat until the summer heat arrives. The trick is keeping up with it and planting more every week.







We've had great success with broccoli and cauliflower too.






Cucumbers did very well for us in the heat of summer.



The Cuban oregano threatened to take over last summer.

 

[rescueacres]

Pictures or it didn't happen. I have a ten gallon tank with goldfish and want to give it a try. Thanks

Search google for indoor mini aquaponics you'll see some great examples.
In this photo you'll see my pink foam insulation complete with algae growing on it ( cuz I am too busy to clean it off there) two strawberry plants, see the green strawberries growing? The water filter in the back circulating the water. Mine is not pretty right now but that's because other than throwing a worm to the fish every other day I'm not doing anything for it right now.

 

[RichnSteph]

I know all about trying to get time to work on things..... my list never ends it seems. I do know a thing or two about caliche and never did grow to like it.

A free 110 gallon tank sounds awesome! We're trying to decide between actually digging a pond and installing a liner or getting one of the large IBC totes and setting that in the ground. We'll have an easier time of it I think since all we have out here is sand.

Good luck with it and I'll keep my fingers crossed that your tilapia make babies soon.

 

[RichnSteph]

Glad to hear you're still at it even with the cold issues. We ended up installing an 825 gallon open top container for our duck and water source for the AP and chickens to drink from. This afternoon I installed a second one so we now have 1600+ gallons available. We dropped in some goldfish and two plecostamus to manage the hideous algae bloom. This weekend I'm building our grow beds. Hope to have plants in within the month.

 

[lazy gardener]

I envy you folks with you AP systems. Too cold here. But, when we had some land cleared, I had a couple of bubbling sink holes show up on the front lawn. I'm thinking that, while it makes the lawn a hazard, and we'll not be able to mow it without putting pontoons on the mower, perhaps, we can excavate one of those springs, and turn it into a little trout pond, and save the other one for a fresh water supply. It would be super wonderful if that worked out, as our well is very deep, with poor water, and poor recovery rate.