Announcement

[spyder]

Aquaponics - is the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment.

This is short video to explain

This is also a good read about Will Allen from www.growingpower.com
http://www.growingpower.org/aquaponics.htm

The NYT article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine...ml?_r=2&hpw

I thought of RH when I saw this stuff. Would be sweet to do this setup and also have a small vegetable garden too.

[spyder]

Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics

[danz]

When I was planing on doing a small FH farm this was a large part of the system and would help out greatly.

[Round Head]

It is a must if I was to go big.
You're going to safe a bunch of money on water changes because the plants will utilize all the nitrate from the waste water. Green all the way baby!

[TheManaguenseMan...]

Damn that is a bad ass setup. I want to do one or two of these. I wonder how much the the materials besides the plants would cost? Nice Video Jon, i didn't think you had it in you... Cabron!

[spyder]

Raft Aquaponics http://www.aquaponics.com/InfoRaftAquaponics.htm

The price should be similar to building a pond except you dont need to spend on a filter since the plants take care of that job.

This post has been edited by spyder: Jul 7 2009, 07:09 AM

[spyder]

A massive aquaponic setup http://www.naphtha.us/naphtha/hydro/hydro.htm

[danz]

Spyder, you going to do this?

[RedDragonHmong]

this is amazing...

[spyder]

Spyder, you going to do this?

I am trying to figure out how I can do this on a smaller scale.

[TheManaguenseMan...]

I am trying to figure out how I can do this on a smaller scale.

Should be easy maybe you can use small rubber made storage containers. I like the current size though that was posted on the first video. You get the huge storage contained and you can grow out all your fry to about 1.5 inches easy. That would be awesome. The one thing I'm wondering is if you can use a purely hydroponics setup on top to grow your vegetables. Do you think the dirty tank water will suffice? You can try to also siphon the poop on the bottom and also deposit that in your top tank.

Lane- what do you think about this one?

[danz]

Dont know if you recall my flowerpot OHF but the goal was to eventually have plants in a tray but since its inside they wouldn't have the sun which you need for veggies. Wont be too hard to do a setup assuming you have the room and access to sunlight

[spyder]

Dont know if you recall my flowerpot OHF but the goal was to eventually have plants in a tray but since its inside they wouldn't have the sun which you need for veggies. Wont be too hard to do a setup assuming you have the room and access to sunlight

This post has been edited by spyder: Jul 7 2009, 05:58 PM

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[spyder]

[Round Head]

Alot of people get carried away with this "green" ecosystem and end up not able to save money on energy.
Plants need light so we need to consider that need.
Also think about the weather and climate. Most places are seasonal so they type of system will not work for northern parts of the world 9 months out of a year.
This system will require pumps to circulate the water.
And you can use float switches and by-pass valves to prevent dry pump.
Remember that water is cheaper than electricity.

[danz]

Alot of people get carried away with this "green" ecosystem and end up not able to save money on energy.
Plants need light so we need to consider that need.
Also think about the weather and climate. Most places are seasonal so they type of system will not work for northern parts of the world 9 months out of a year.
This system will require pumps to circulate the water.
And you can use float switches and by-pass valves to prevent dry pump.
Remember that water is cheaper than electricity.

I agree but if you think about it if your smart with electricity this can save you lots on water. Out here in California that's a HUGE deal! You don't need to run a 500gph pump to move the water system you can get away with a small pump (under 150gph) and gravity to travel though out the system and use air and standard filters to clean the water you may be able to pull it off with less electricity

[Round Head]

I agree but if you think about it if your smart with electricity this can save you lots on water. Out here in California that's a HUGE deal! You don't need to run a 500gph pump to move the water system you can get away with a small pump (under 150gph) and gravity to travel though out the system and use air and standard filters to clean the water you may be able to pull it off with less electricity

Yes, gravity is our friend. With a good AP system, you shouldn't need to use any other filtrations.
It all depends on the size of the ecosystem. Lets say you have a few thousand gallon of fish water, then you will need to have more horsepower for circulation. But it is not only the pump that needs electricity, what about the lights for the plants and the power to reheat the water for the fish.
I think the ideal system would be a greenhouse hatchery with double pane glass.
You can have both indoors and outdoors planters set up inside the hatchery as well as outside the hatchery from spring through fall and at that time you should do your breedings. Then just use the indoors planters for the winter time.
But if you live in the tropics, you got it made.

If you don't care much for the plants but you want to utilize plants as filtration, I highly recommend the Lucky Bamboo plants. These plants are low light and have massive root systems.

[danz]

Yes, gravity is our friend. With a good AP system, you shouldn't need to use any other filtrations.
It all depends on the size of the ecosystem. Lets say you have a few thousand gallon of fish water, then you will need to have more horsepower for circulation. But it is not only the pump that needs electricity, what about the lights for the plants and the power to reheat the water for the fish.
I think the ideal system would be a greenhouse hatchery with double pane glass.
You can have both indoors and outdoors planters set up inside the hatchery as well as outside the hatchery from spring through fall and at that time you should do your breedings. Then just use the indoors planters for the winter time.
But if you live in the tropics, you got it made.

If you don't care much for the plants but you want to utilize plants as filtration, I highly recommend the Lucky Bamboo plants. These plants are low light and have massive root systems.

Well the commercial systems raise talapia where temp isn't an issue but if you wanted to raise FH you could in warmer weather use solar water heating to bring the cost down and granted your not at your ideal temp. The big benefit with the system I have been reading is this cash from fish and veggies with low overhead. Would be nice to have your own veggies you grew they will be better for you and taste better and its free!


Once I get settled in I think I am going to go for this. I was raised on a plant nursery and love plants and perfect for socal :) I need to find an inexpensive troth to grow in and grow out bait fish!

Attached image(s)

 

[danz]

Here are some links I found:

http://diyaquaponics.com/index.php

http://www.hydroponicgarden.net/content-pr...1/hydroton.html

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/index.htm

http://www.aquaponicsjournal.com/

http://www.aquaponics.com/index.htm

http://www.friendlyaquaponics.com/index.html

[wannabes]

The one problem I see with this system is the pump placement. If you place the pump in the fish reservoir, you will clog over time. If you gravity feed the fish into the plant portion, you would get all the nutrients in the fish poop, and no clogging problem. You would then have to set up another reservoir after the plants for a return pump.


Aloha
Erin