Aquaponics..I'm thinking of doing it..Have you?

Don't Bogart

Don't Bogart

Well-Known Member
I'm putting together the makings of an aquaponics system. It'll be small, (2' x 4'). I've been digging around this site for info. I suppose it's similar to hydro. Any thoughts? And do you have any pics/info for some ideas.
 
Dumme

Dumme

Well-Known Member
chemphlegm said:
I did it on a big scale. an observation I had was the food you feed the fish will
also grow your plants, without the fish. o_O

be sure to have a standard mj grow too, just in case things dont work out.
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Fish help break down nutrients in a more "sustainable-like" environment, but yes, bacterial matter will break down fish feed, and potentially be your plant food. You can also harvest fish in aquaponics. Without the fish, you're growing in Organic-Hydro with DRZ, not Aquaponics.
 
pineappleman420

pineappleman420

Well-Known Member
Id say if you have the head room go for ibc method and load heavy on fish that can handle poor conditions. Bio balls help to with bacteria growth ect. earthworms for eating the solids
 
Don't Bogart

Don't Bogart

Well-Known Member
pineappleman420 said:
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/ great resource i used it much when i set mine up
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Nice! Great stuff.

chemphlegm said:
..also grow your plants, without the fish
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I was at one site where it was recommended to start the cycle for a few weeks with the food but without the fish. That way you balance the setup, adjusting the nitrites and ammonia. Then introduce the fish.

pineappleman420 said:
Id say if you have the head room go for ibc method
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IBC? Since I'm new to this I guess I'll be asking a lot about acronyms. Hmm is there a post here with a list of acronyms? Sometimes reading these post is a bit over whelming.
 
chemphlegm

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
I charged the system with a few hundred goldfish. mechanically filtered through rocks/towers, then grew in the rocks large scale flood/drain style. I used a pool skimmer in the center of the tanks/timed after each schedule feeding. couple jets kept the water moving along with the returned cleaned water, when the skimmer pump cycled it flushed 1/3 of the tank starting with the surface from the center, macerated waste, to a tank/tower/filter, then returned to fish. Bottom was constant vac'd with one of those auto pool vac cars, pumped waste to the rocks. it was real cool, but I decided to focus on marijuana instead of fish when I moved it indoors to try out on a smaller scale. outdoors was four 1300 gallon tanks + 8 4x8 rock/growing bed/trays. indoors was one 25 gallon tank and 6 bato buckets. I raise fish but in outdoor ponds now instead.
 
meangreengrowinmachine

meangreengrowinmachine

Well-Known Member
Don't Bogart said:
Nice! Great stuff.


I was at one site where it was recommended to start the cycle for a few weeks with the food but without the fish. That way you balance the setup, adjusting the nitrites and ammonia. Then introduce the fish.


IBC? Since I'm new to this I guess I'll be asking a lot about acronyms. Hmm is there a post here with a list of acronyms? Sometimes reading these post is a bit over whelming.
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IBC's are the large usually white containers with the steel cages around them that large commercial operations receive mass quantities of liquid in. check CL for them near you and look for food grade IMO
 
chemphlegm

chemphlegm

Well-Known Member
tilapia are the (oldest commercial fish) most hardy of all, but will not tolerate temps below 50f. they can live in a swamp
as well as in tanks, they taste awesome and difficult to kill, I know, I murdered hundreds like a boss!
Mine were harvested at 8 months from fingerling, in a greenhouse, and weighed 1.5-2.5 pounds on the hoof. They ate what was grown mostly, sweet potato green tops, and some purina organic feed. I put 1300 fingerlings in each 1300 gallon tank.
 
pineappleman420

pineappleman420

Well-Known Member
Don't Bogart said:
Nice! Great stuff.


I was at one site where it was recommended to start the cycle for a few weeks with the food but without the fish. That way you balance the setup, adjusting the nitrites and ammonia. Then introduce the fish.


IBC? Since I'm new to this I guess I'll be asking a lot about acronyms. Hmm is there a post here with a list of acronyms? Sometimes reading these post is a bit over whelming.
Click to expand...
http://ibcofaquaponics.com/files/IBCofAquaponics.pdf
 
Don't Bogart

Don't Bogart

Well-Known Member
I've got volcanic stone coming tomorrow, a pump also. I've already got a 29 tall fish tank with all the works. My grow area is my old grow which I've reinforced for the water weight. Seeds came last week.
Nervous like my 1st date.
This will all be indoors.
 
indianajones

indianajones

Well-Known Member
pineappleman420 said:
Id say if you have the head room go for ibc method and load heavy on fish that can handle poor conditions. Bio balls help to with bacteria growth ect. earthworms for eating the solids
Click to expand...
would it work to do a chunky coir or chow mix watered several times a day as long as you had enough plants to meet filtration requirements? i think there would be a balance between daily waterings, runoff, and plant count that would have to be ironed out, but it seems viable. i use a water soluble fertilizer with 25% ammonia in a coir mix and get great results. the only reason i can think of why you want to do a continual flood/drain with a bell siphon vs coir medium- the amount of filtration you get within a 24 hr period. i've only played around with a lettuce raft, so i'm admittedly newb when it comes to AP, but the method might need slight adjustment for cannabis to thrive.

have any of you experimented with rock phosphates or granite for an AP medium additive with cannabis or flowering vegetables? granite is an iron and potassium source, rock phosphate is mono-, di-, or tri-calcium phosphate, each have different solubility over time. mono is most soluble in a short time frame to tri which is least soluble.

i'm just curious how the fish would respond to both of these scenarios, or which fish would tolerate such conditions.
 
pineappleman420

pineappleman420

Well-Known Member
indianajones said:
would it work to do a chunky coir or chow mix watered several times a day as long as you had enough plants to meet filtration requirements? i think there would be a balance between daily waterings, runoff, and plant count that would have to be ironed out, but it seems viable. i use a water soluble fertilizer with 25% ammonia in a coir mix and get great results. the only reason i can think of why you want to do a continual flood/drain with a bell siphon vs coir medium- the amount of filtration you get within a 24 hr period. i've only played around with a lettuce raft, so i'm admittedly newb when it comes to AP, but the method might need slight adjustment for cannabis to thrive.

have any of you experimented with rock phosphates or granite for an AP medium additive with cannabis or flowering vegetables? granite is an iron and potassium source, rock phosphate is mono-, di-, or tri-calcium phosphate, each have different solubility over time. mono is most soluble in a short time frame to tri which is least soluble.

i'm just curious how the fish would respond to both of these scenarios, or which fish would tolerate such conditions.
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I don't see why it wouldn't work... may take some balancing but so does any method... I'm not sure if there would be a big enough absorption rate from the supplement rocks to make a difference. My question would be if they would make good bacteria housing. Bacteria to convert the ammonia needs to be in place and healthy for any system.
 
muleface

muleface

Well-Known Member
Don't Bogart said:
I'm putting together the makings of an aquaponics system. It'll be small, (2' x 4'). I've been digging around this site for info. I suppose it's similar to hydro. Any thoughts? And do you have any pics/info for some ideas.
Click to expand...
I would really like to see you do this. Please document the hell out of it too. if you need live fish and live in a large metro area, go to a large asian grocery store. They will have all kinds of live fish you can buy. The bigger the fish tank/pond the better.

good looks and post pics
 
Don't Bogart

Don't Bogart

Well-Known Member
wanted to do aquaponics. and I had this 29 tall fish tank kicking around. So what the hell....
I put it in this plastic container I got from H.D. Why?? In case of a leak. Paranoia causes me to be redundant. The tank resides underneath. I bought a submersible pump which pumps 500 gph. Way over recycling needs. BUT it serves a dual purpose If you look kinda close at the top middle you will see a "T" connection. About 10 - 20 % of the water goes up to the grow. the rest is recycled back to the tank. As the water drops below the "T" it jets water back, oxygenating the tank. I know it's doing a good job 'cause I'm developing algae.
I felt rather clever in doing this. ( pat, pat, on the back). :)) . I have a valve on the left side to control water flow so the bell valve works properly.
The bell valve was put together with a hand drill, wood saw and Kosher Kush (the last item.....most important.). .
It has now been running for about 1 month. With one minor glich. It did started to leak around the valve at the bottom. So I took it apart and rebuilt it and viola it still leaked. But it some how healed itself and since then all is right with the world!!
 
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