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Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 9:13 am
by hi_tech_guy_18
Look into Aquaponics - Sustainable food production system
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Photo by vinzcha and is Creative Commons / Free to share / Retransmit

- Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
- Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_Cycle

Gives you some very nice options for sustainable food production even if you are using solar power.
its a few options to keep you with food even options to sell off Surplus Food / Fertilizer / Excess Fish live stock (If your breeding)

- Aquaponics benefits you if even if you still like to use soil (Aquaponics: Accelerate seed growth - Aquaponics:boost to young plants sizes before they go into the soil)
- it also Benefits you if you want to go completely Soil free system (note some plants DO need supplements added to the water like calcium, potassium and iron)
-- I hear tomatoes + lettuce + strawberry's do very well on soil free Aquaponics and supply a bountiful amount of surplus tomatoes + strawberry's

Aquaponics also allows Growth in batches - Mass production line Batch Growing and Batch Mass Harvests mean longer seasons with crops
(You have to or you'll Crash the Nitrogen Cycle and if that Falls apart you'll get Dead Fish - Only time Aquaponics gives you a brake is winter time but even then you have start redoing the 15% ~ 25% Water change each week until you get plants growing by force )

Aquaponics can be very cheap to make (Can even use old Soft Dirks bottles To make Bottle Grow Chain walls

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 10:26 am
by techman
I have often considered the idea. But one thing you need is the space for it all. I can set up a standard garden just about anywhere with little to no trouble, but the aquaponics requires some work and space to keep. I often move and leave a garden behind.

It would be a shame to leave all this stuff behind though.

I need to get some land of my own and really get to work.

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 6:39 am
by hi_tech_guy_18
You do know you can scale the Aquaponics system to use a Paper File Tray Organizer with vertically stacked shelves
the whole system will only use under 1x1² meter of 2D space Yet you can make it as tall as you want it
(You didn't think in 3D :) )

That setup is so portable & modular that's its easy to move Yet Rapidly grows seeds, Young plants - add Aquarium Lighting (bulb that promotes plant growth(You can now get full Adjustable spectrum LED Chips now for Aquaponics/hydroponics)) Vertically so all shelves can see the light and all can happy live in a cupboard / shower

Or you can do Aquaponics on a Flat bed trailer (Utility trailer)(with Mesh Extension) as a Mobile unit
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(Toe by the motor home)
(if not growing tomato or egg plants Do Aquaponics on the go) (if you are then you can Uproot them for the day for transport and sit there roots on a wet sponge and re-wet every 2 hours (Mesh wire fence sections))
Use Sqare rain gutters to keep the Weight Down (can do 3 levels) (Tank in the middle or on the toe bar side)

Flat bed trailer you can even make a mobile greenhouse for it one that Rolls up and folds away

Aquaponics VS Standard garden
- its true that there a few extra new steps for Aquaponics but they are real easy and done in under 10 mins 2 - 4 times a day (Feed Fish, Check Fish, Check water pH, Check ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-), nitrate (NO3-) levels and remove a little of the solid fish waste every 3 days (or make something to do that for you) (if needed add water / pH Balancing chemicals / Mineral supplements: Iron... Ect / add nitrogen fixing bacteria, / [remove water if plants aren't established yet] check water temp)
- it true that nitrogen fixing bacteria take 4 to 6 weeks to come to population levels where they can deal with ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-) levels but it isnt that long to get started (a 300W pond water heater will help if @ body temp)
- Clean the odd pipe / siphon
- Assembly will take time but worth it if you take the extra effort to make it easy to dissemble / move and resemble in half the time else-ware (it Going to beat 60mins digging Water logged soil in the rain or very hot day that likely to give heat stokes)
- Very easy to relocate plants without damaging roots
- Very easy to Expand the system
- Plants once you meet there needs Reward you big time [2x Tomato plants will proved you crazy amounts 4x will give you crazy surplus to sell ]

All the other stuff is just like a standard garden
- kill bugs (however you can take the plant out and put it in with the fish for 5 mins to peck the bugs off it - but that depends on what fish you have)
- de-weed (Much easier and cleaner) (you wont get meany in Aquaponics)
- check and train plants
- and the rest

Aquaponics With Standard garden
- Fish Waste can aid the soil big time (Soil becomes an extension of your Aquaponics system)
- if a plants struggling in the soil you can move it to the Aquaponics to give it a boost / recovery
- if a plants doing too well in Aquaponics you can move them to the soil

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2013 6:57 pm
by techman
This is something I might have to try next year. This year flew by with me just trying to get a normal sort of life set up out here.

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Sat Nov 02, 2013 1:45 pm
by Jarry Evans
I have an Aquaponics setup that we provide fish and vegtables for two families and keep a small cafe stocked from, it only takes up a 10 ft by 10 ft section of my yard, we produce about 200 plate sized talapia a year in this small system, i also have an indoor setup that runs on 1 10 gal fish tank that's stocked with pet shop fish for the kids, it produces more radishes than i can eat, i harvest on about a two week cycle and it all fits on the original 10 gal tank stand...

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 11:58 am
by techman
Wow, that sounds awesome. Can you please post some photos of yours?

How high is it?

Please share more details. Now you really got my interest up.

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:56 pm
by hi_tech_guy_18
Wow Sounds quite the setup's you have there Jarry

I got my parents to do a "low cost Sample Setup" of Aquaponics this year and lent them my Aquaponics book

They have a very small fish tank with 3x fish
Now its not a True Aquaponics Setup due they are still doing the fortnightly 20% water changes and filter clear outs and still using soil

They noticed when they used the water from the fish tank 20% water change outs + filter waste water mix
-> Their plants and Greenhouse gave impressive results and More tasty food and plentiful crops. even a few dyeing plants bounced back with full on plant growth
-> Tomato plant they had to call in next door to help eat its crop production (Made a little money)

Next year they want bigger Twinwall Polycarbonate Sheets Green house and a complete soil-less Aquaponics setup in it with 10-20 fish
they been getting the bits peaces for it since summer

The Green House is going to have a Dual Winter heating system
Using a Rocket Mass Stove (underground heating ducts) and Composting - Hot Water Heat exchanger
And grow seasonal all year round plants (More winter hardy plants crop in winter - Keeps the Nitrogen Cycle Ticking over )

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:07 am
by hi_tech_guy_18
Some videos to get a few ideas for the new greenhouse and path of soil less gardening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiYIdD6c21E" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVSEmwY2u0I" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_rW_UNhmfQ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGI6O8FqLtA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZqJmni4xks" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 9:29 am
by Solar98632
aquaponics plus greenhouse is an awesome combination.

Re: Take Look into Aquaponics

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2015 1:23 pm
by techman
Now I have been extensively studying aquaponics and even ordered a book from Amazon on the subject. I will do it this year.