Aquaponics- the Dream build.
- Thread starter DWC1000wHPS4x4x8
- Start date
Bhookus
Member
I like those bathtubs! I have been planning on using them as well.
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
Soil test kits are extremely unreliable....I use an ec meter that shows ppm and ph...I'm sure you can find one for under $40 and they are well worth it! Takes all the guessing out of the equation...and will save tons of time and $ in the long run...
Bhookus
Member
I didn't have faith in the cheapo soil kit. I guess I'm not understanding an ec meter. Don't they just check total ions in the water. Won't an ap system have too many extra ions to get a worthwhile reading? How do you determine just potassium level? Are you mixing a stock solution and using the meter to test that?
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
Not sure about the ions and all that? I've heard that it is hard to get an accurate read when using organics, either way it was something for me to go on and my reading from my ppm were the same all through out the 35,000 gal I had...and as far as ph it was right on...I even used paper and liquid tests every so often just to be sure....as far as the k levels it just depends on what stage your at and how you have your plants conditioned, at the end I'm using about 12-58-38 if that helps? Gotta work your way up slowly or you'll kill the roots, this is where the ec meter really helps
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Voidling
Well-Known Member
Hey buzz, question on koi. How many gallons did you have per fish? Koi keepers say something crazy like 100 gallons a fish or pound or some such.
Any experience breeding them?
I have gotten some tilapia make it into my grow beds and get nice and fat on all the roots. I had been using a screen filter. Was about to start breeding, need another 600 pounds for my system. Have some kind of Nile hybrid though were supposed to be Mozambique.
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
I had began with about 1500 1"-"3in my 7,500 gal rearing tank but after hawks, raccoons, herons, and snakes I was left with only 250 two years later which grew to be 18"-30"....I believe maximum capacity is 1-2 gal per 1" of fish but you also have to have the correct ratios for your clarifier or filtration system and grow beds....5:1 rearing to filter surface area up to 13:1 grow bed water volume to rearing tank. Also must importantly u must have the right feed to total water volume...can't remember off the top of my head but look up dr racosky "the god father of aquaponics" he has been doing ratifies for over 35 years and has a ton of info!!
Voidling
Well-Known Member
60-100g per meter squared per day, but thought his work was with tilapia.
I'm looking to breed my own tilapia and want a bass tank to feed off the extras.
I have 700+ square feet of dwc at 10" give or take, making 900lbs of tilapia and 9 pounds of fish food per day.
If only I could afford and breed out some expensive koi
I'm looking to breed my own tilapia and want a bass tank to feed off the extras.
I have 700+ square feet of dwc at 10" give or take, making 900lbs of tilapia and 9 pounds of fish food per day.
If only I could afford and breed out some expensive koi
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
Koi don't have to be expensive...less then $1 each including shipping...http://www.koisale.com/KoiStore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=86 there my secret is out!!!
Also on breeding them...I didn't even try and had absolutely no babies over the two years...but all the koi experts say all they need is their own space and a lot of it...son maybe that's where your getting the 100 gal each fish?
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Voidling
Well-Known Member
The numbers I've seen were just for keeping them in ponds with filters and never mention breeding.
http://www.koiandponds.com/fishstockingtable.htm
They may be cheap but I'd want some higher end fish to breed and sell of some of the nicer offspring
http://www.koiandponds.com/fishstockingtable.htm
They may be cheap but I'd want some higher end fish to breed and sell of some of the nicer offspring
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
The price is cheap but the quality is some if the best...butterfly fin, skeleton, pumpkin, calico, and solid,yellows, white and, blues were just a few of the many types I ended up with...the mostly white with a few red spots on top , said to be originals are some of the more sought after...all the rest are hybrids.
Voidling
Well-Known Member
I missed this, you had 35,000 gallons? That's crazy.
I'm thinking of going to the water garden pond store an hour away and talking about koi breeding and market. Pretty sure they but there's. I need to learn what traits are valuable. I'm thinking a separate tank of large mouth bass to eat off the koi culls. Both are more expensive than tilapia, but since tilapia grow faster I'm not sure which would be more valuable over time
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
Koi are more valuable at any point even at a slightly higher initial cost. I'd suggest guppies also as they keep down the unwanted insects and small crustaceans, while also feeding the bass
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
Nice! Build a mini ecosystem and reduce your own input needs.Koi are more valuable at any point even at a slightly higher initial cost. I'd suggest guppies also as they keep down the unwanted insects and small crustaceans, while also feeding the bass
Buzz Buzzilla
Well-Known Member
Exactly! I used a retention ditch to grow duckweed with my runoff it filled with snails also and the koi eat it up like crazy!
Voidling
Well-Known Member
Mine is under cover so no run off for me.
I went to the closest water garden store to me today, it's an hour away. Talked to the lady in charge of their fish and she said the problem locally is that Craigslist is full of free or cheap koi. She said they take in a number of them that people just don't want.
I went to the closest water garden store to me today, it's an hour away. Talked to the lady in charge of their fish and she said the problem locally is that Craigslist is full of free or cheap koi. She said they take in a number of them that people just don't want.
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