Anyone doing aquaponics?
 

I've read up on it a bit and it seems very interesting. I also love fresh vegetables, but lack the time to do much gardening. So, aquaponics sounds like a good match. I was just curious if anyone here has a setup and can give some advise, pointers, etc?

You might find something useful here.
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I have done it in the past. It is pretty simple to set up and run. The main issue with the systems is keeping the water in balance. Even that aspect is no more complicated than maintaining a swimming pool.

You will need a indoor heated space , even a swiftly constructed shed of the desired proportions to house the tanks and pumps and vegetable growing area. Also a heat pump for climate control.


You could Dig a few big holes / ponds to act as the fish tank with piping joining holes / holding ponds / water reservoir. The vegetable garden itself needs room temperature water to flow over the roots.


Here is a great video on the subject , showing a small commercial system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26xpMCXP9bw#t=555

I ask because I recently talked to the owner of this site: Frosty Fish Aquaponic Systems: Slash Your Winter Food Bills with a Backyard Aquaponics System. He specializes in aquaponics in cold climates and actually only lives about 2 hours from where I live.

I ordered some (free) plans from him based on an article I read on mr money mustache, a financial site, and it seemed very interesting. As I mentioned, I love the home grown produce, but lack the time for a traditional garden. This seems like an ideal solution.

I think your underestimated the ease of gardening and over estimated the ease of a aquaponics operation.

One could construct a greenhouse from salvaged windows or just use plastic for a greenhouse.

Commercial greenhouses use drip feed / hydroponics to reduce the work load and increase production , the systems used are cheap and easily available to a home gardener.

timers pumps and drip line / drippers and your system is up and running.

Daox, have you experimented around with hydroponic systems before?

If so, the aquaponic cycle will not require such a steep learning curve. The addition of the fish into the system actually brings a form of self-regulation into a purely hydro system. If you have had experience with growing with a hydro system, you already know what a huge resource the local grow store is, both in the collection of specific parts and materials available and the knowledge of the staff. Many of the better grow stores also deal with commercial hydro growers, who use the same type and size (larger than hobby scale) materials that even a modest sized aquaculture system demands. They may not carry the common plumbing fittings (that you can get at a big-box store or plumbing supply house for less), but those specialty items (fittings, manifolds, strainers, pumps, etc.) will be on a shelf or in their warehouse.

Since you have an expert near you, who serves the industry/hobby market, I would definitely schedule some kind of tour or meeting at his place. Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, actually being there is worth a thousand pictures. For your first aqua setup, I would drive there with an empty truck or van and a wad of cash. Figure out how big you want to start out, get what materials you need to assemble a starter system, and leave broke with a van full of awesome. Kind of like getting your first tattoo, finding a good artist and not getting something too big and elaborate will greatly increase your satisfaction.

If you have no prior experience with hydroculture, there is a whole whole lot to get your head around before you start. If you don't have time for a dirt garden, beware. Even if you go out and buy a somewhat prefab system, There is a considerable amount of assembly, commissioning, and maintenance involved. As with any working mechanical or organic system, there is a set of tools and test equipment you need to collect to ensure your success. Plumbing tools, water chemistry test equipment or kits, cycle/nutrient/troubleshooting charts and planning schedules exist that greatly simplify keeping your system going in the right direction.

Not to mention the capital investment in materials and living organisms. In these systems, error-proofing and overbuilding components to ensure durability is the norm. As a general rule, a corner cut to save some time or expense will nearly always come back to haunt you. For containers or tanks, I've learned to use items that are at least as durable as a rubbermaid or tupperware container. Even many of those don't do well when exposed to sunlight for a season or two.

Gremlins have a way of running rampant and ruining your day if not planned against. It is always a good idea to test-run a new system or addition for a few days with plain old tap water and no plants or fish in it to expose the gremlins and flush out all the dusty stuff and contaminants that can cause clogs and chemistry issues. For a first system, I would definitely just buy something smallish that has the bugs worked out of it. Save the grandiose DIY setup for sometime later, after you have some time under the hood. Once you experience the awesome potential these systems are capable of, you may find you don't need such a massive system to produce more than you expected.

Just like the first tattoo, you're going to pay more for the first one. Either you find an artist who does you right, or you end up going back to get what you really wanted in the first place. The value of standing on the shoulders of those before you in this realm is pretty much priceless at first. Forming an acquaintance with your local supplier is essential early on, as the rest of pretty much everyone will not understand the subject at all.

In a sterile, feed-tank or ratio-injector type setup, yes. These setups typically drain to waste. The dripper emitter / spaghetti tube / micro mister / aquarium air hose type water delivery devices are neat. Kind of like playing with Lego's. These units are for raising seedlings and clones. The mass planting field and fish tanks are a whole nother world.

My two favorite units of this type are the rainforest and the waterfarm. These are the two big winners of the General Hydroponics lineup. Rainforest for propagating clones and seed starting, waterfarm for the hardening off area shortly after they have grown roots and begin to stretch. Both are incredibly easy to operate, hard to kill plants in, and easy to break down for rotation or cleaning. Plus, they don't hold enough stuff to ruin your day if something fails.

The rainforest design can be hacked together out of an old school, disc slinger type vaporizer head, a rubbermaid container (I like the underbed garment containers with casters), a 2 inch hole saw, and some dixie cups from the bathroom. Or you can spend 300 more dollars and buy one from the growstore. Throw in some compost tea and water, plugger in and watch your cuttings not die!

http://generalhydroponics.com/site/g...t_rf236_01.jpg
RainForest with 2" pots

http://generalhydroponics.com/site/g...m_8pack_01.jpg
WaterFarm 8-pack Kit

The waterfarm unit patent has expired, so its main parts can be had at the growstore for next to nothing. I believe they sell a kit for like 9.95 now that includes the water column bubbler, drip ring, and rubber bucket fitting with air hose. Naturally, if you buy more, the price drops or you get freebies (buckets and/or lids). Pick out a couple of sizes of lids (for different crops), a bag of grow rocks (hydroton is my fave), black buckets, and an air pump. Voila! Or, just buy some FarmKits for however much they are now. Hit the dollar store for some extension cords and a power strip on the way home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoCHyVDAi10

BTW, these kits make an awesome Cub Scout or summer school project! Kids' parents will come begging for more once the plants take off. For a starter setup like this, buy a 3-part florakit for nutrients. The stuff mixes like kool-aid and has enough buffers and conditioners in it to make acid rain good to grow with. Best thing is, it has coloring in it, so you can take a water sample in a week and immediately tell how strong your solution is. Just add water until it looks the right color again, top up with fresh nutewater, and you're good til next time. The stuff can get strong like root beer and not burn your roots.

I like the simplicity of the bucket method , nice to know the attachments are so affordable , I might try this sometime , it certainly looks like something I could look after.. adding water and fertilizers seems reasonable enough to do as I do not want to dig and weed in a garden either.

I tossed a simple system together on the back porch this year. It consisted of the following:

1. An old kitchen table that had been replaced and moved out on the porch to die
2. A few "window box" plastic planters (2 long ones - 4 ft and 1 short one - 1 ft)
3. Some bamboo tiki torches left over from a party
4. A large rubbermaid tote - maybe 40 gallon
5. A solar fountain pump that pushed 8 feet of head pressure
6. A dozen feeder goldfish

I filled the window boxes with leftover perlite and some super-pro soilless potting mix, probably 75-80% perlite. I put the little fountain pump in the bottom of the rubbermaid container and added around 30 gallons of water to it. I plumbed the pump to 1/2 inch black neoprene fountain hose and teed off the top to each window box. I drilled holes through the table for the supply hose and below the drain holes of each window box. I let the system run for a few days to let the dusty stuff drain into the tank below. When I checked, there wasn't much silty stuff in the bottom to speak of, so I just ran with it the way it was. I threw some goldfish in the tank below after getting the pH down to 6.8 and planted a tomato in each box. I put in like 1/4 cup of floramicro and a tablespoon of bloom and fed the fish.

My wife said she wanted basil and peppers, so I grabbed a basil plant and a green chile pepper from Wal-Mart that week. I put one in each box later that week when I fed the fish. The pH had not changed, so nothing got added except fish food to the tank.

For the next week or so, the weather got dreary, and it rained a lot. The tank almost overflowed. I only went out to feed the fish a couple of times after work. The tomatoes had already begun to stretch. When it got sunny again, I went out and put a couple of tiki torches in to support the tomatoes and tied them up loosely.

For the next 3 months, all I really did with the system was add water and bloom nutes, pick tomatoes and peppers, and feed the fish. Sometime in July, the pump clogged up with uneaten fish food, so I yanked the pump, blew out the hose, and rinsed the pump off. I siphoned out a couple gallons of water while sucking out some of the muck in the bottom of the tank.

The pH had risen slightly, so I added a little lemon juice to bring it down. Maybe a half pint did the trick. I topped up the tank with bloom juice and water and let it ride for another month. By then, the feeder fish had grown to three or more inches long.

For the rest of the season, all I did was harvest veggies and feed fish. I had to extend the tiki torch trellis so it tied into the rail of the porch, so the tomatoes wouldn't tip over the flower boxes. I triangulated the tops, so the tiki torches I added formed an M. I took some cuttings, which were propagated in the small window box and hand-watered with tank water every day or two. Most of the clones went tonew homes after I had two tomatoes and a basil in one long box and a tomato, a pepper and two basils in the other. I probably gave away two dozen clones.

Sometime in August, I started giving away extra tomatoes and basil leaves. Everything produced too much for us to eat. I had no problem giving away fresh vegetables. More of the same all the way to first frost. It took out the basil, but not the peppers or tomatoes. The peppers quit flowering but not the tomatoes. We kept harvesting green tomatoes until the cold set in. I retired the system sometime in October, dumping the spent plants and media in a gopher hole in the yard. The 5-6 inch goldfish went into my parents' pond. They looked happy not to be crowded.

These systems are not any more difficult to set up and operate than you make them. General guidelines are to keep it simple, and don't overdo it. When you try to push the envelope, fish get sick, plants get diseases, and your water won't balance. Then it's an uphill battle for a while until things settle down again.

I agree with keeping it simple , at least for the first year so you can learn from any mistakes without it being costly.

Once you have experience i could see a hole and pond liner as being a practical way to keep the fish and for the assorted holding tanks to change the fish feces into nitrogen and so on.

How big do you want to go Doax? I've run a smaller system in my basement for 3 years. Produced loads of lettuce. I had no money to throw at it and still got decent results.

That is a great question and the answer is I really don't know. :)

As it is right now, its just me and my wife in the house. We like fresh vegetables and would likely increase our consumption if we had a fresh supply. She doesn't really like fish, but I do. I'd also not mind at all if we over produced and were able to give away food to others.

Ok Doax. I'll do the best thing I can do and that's to point to the source of the information I've used instead of getting on my soapbox and pretending I have all the answers.

Silvia Bernstein's website and especially forums are a great resource. You can pretty much get any question answered here pretty quickly. TClynx is a super helpful forum member that was very active there when I needed answers. You can even look up my humble setup complete with pics there. I've spent most of my time here due to quick feedback, a community environment and lots of good articles. You can also buy some very useful stuff from her commerce portion of the website. (Master Test Kit!)
Aquaponic Gardening - A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners
Paul Letby's Page - Aquaponic Gardening

Murray Hallam's website and videos are very good for getting a handle on outdoor systems and aquaponics in general. Especially if you plan on going to Australia. Ha ha. I've been able to find all his videos online, or you could just buy them. Home

Affnan's Aquaponics. This guy is the bell siphon guru. He knows his stuff. You follow his directions you will have a very low maintenance bell siphon for a flood and drain bed. Affnan's Aquaponics

This guy is in my bookmarks and I've been to most of his links. I don't really remember what's in here. Read this last. Hydroponic Gardening - A Helpful Guide to Start a Small Garden Indoors

Hope this helps.

Paul

I will definitely check it out. Thanks Paul!

This is in your neck of the woods. It seems larger than you would need but could answer some questions for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qZPwBPAqks

I collected up some 55 gallon barrels last year and plan to put "something" together this spring. Not sure about aquaponics but definitely hydroponics to start.

Good Luck!

I am really getting interested in this. I need to do more reading on it.
I really like this guy’s system we have the land for it and that is our next step in being more self-sustaining. We want to grow more of our food.
We have some chickens for eggs and are producing all the power we need for the year.
Backyard Aquaponics • View topic - Countryboy's system in SC

Any good books out there?

I have always wanted to try aquaculture on land for profit , it would be easy enough to combine fish farming into a aquaponics set up.


Backyard Fish Farming
By Filip Tkaczyk


Have you considered the benefits of backyard fish farming?

Fish farming is a very old practice that can be fun, productive and rewarding. As many wild fish stocks are being depleted around the world, fish farming is becoming one of the solutions for a more sustainable future. The application of permaculture practices is helping us to utilize fish farms as sustainable food production systems.

Permaculture is a practice and perspective of designing systems of agriculture that mimic the relationships found in natural ecological systems. In this article, we will focus on systems based around in-ground ponds for raising fish for food. Though, many of the ideas shared here can be used in other fish raising systems.

Complete article : Backyard Fish Farming

I called Clemson Ext office
https://www.facebook.com/UnionClemso...hoto&sk=photos
They had lots of good info. They gave me a Clemson U contact that has a greenhouse using aquaponics.
https://www.facebook.com/ClemsonAqua.../photos_stream
I am going to contact them and see if I can go over there and see how it all works.
Here are a couple pictures of a build they have.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1422993975
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1422993975

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1422993975

This does not look to bad to build.

Very doable

The extension office provided me with these links.
IBCofAquaponics
This link is to a PDF book.
http://ibcofaquaponics.com/files/IBCofAquaponics.pdf

Here is another link to a free book this one looks really good I can’t wait to read it.

Appendix 8 has a step by step guide to constructing a small scale aquaponic system with material list.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Small-scale aquaponic food production. Integrated fish and plant farming

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1423074510

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1423074510

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1423074510

I always run media bed type systems. If a pump goes out or for some reason flow is lost, the nft and dwc systems tend to kill your plants. The media is cheap insurance against short term failures. It really blows to come home from work to find your plants wilted and dying.

Ok we are making plans for our Aquaponics system.

Clemson Aquaponics in SC is about an hour away from me and I contacted them and they are going to let me come by and see their system and answer my questions.

https://www.facebook.com/ClemsonAquaponics

There is also a private system that has over 12 IBC‘s and more in a greenhouse they are going to show it to us. They also sell fish so we should be doing business soon.

https://www.facebook.com/2FishAquaponics
After the walk through hopefully this Friday we will decide on our system size.

This is exciting.

I will start a build post once we decide.

I would like to make a greenhouse probably a hooped one that I can build myself.
We can use some of the extra power we are making for this new project.

A hooped greenhouse is so cost effective.
I love these guys’ kits and bender you use chain link top rail for the hoops. They sent me plans for a 12' green house.

GREENHOUSE Fitting Kits - Colorado Metal Worx

They say this covering holds very well. They have some installed for 7-8 years still going strong in CO.

http://www.growerssolution.com/mm5/m...GS&Screen=SRCH
Code: G4Y6MGF

But this keeps catching my eye. Passive Solar Greenhouse
Passive Solar Greenhouse | Bradford Research Center

More info a PDF on it.
http://aes.missouri.edu/swcenter/res...greenhouse.pdf

I wonder how it would do in SC climate?

We go Friday to look at the two greenhouses and their active Aquaponics systems.

I built a hoop-style greenhouse around 15 years ago. 10 x 12 concrete slab, cinder blocks 3 courses high, 2 by whatever fit over top of the cinder blocks, yellawood. Cap board secured with j-hooks set into mortar between blocks every 4 ft or so. I made the hoops out of 1" common pvc pipe and secured them with conduit clamps to the cap board. I framed in a glass storm door on one end and a window and a fan opening on the other. I used 2 of the form boards for pouring the slab for the ridge beam. Total cost was under 400 bucks including the fan and plastic film.

The frame still stands today. The pro-grade stuff lasts me about 5 years (in KY) before it starts getting weak. My dad bought some cheapo greenhouse film from lows or home despot last time, and it's nothing like the pro-grade stuff. 2 years tops. Thing is, it costs the same or more as the good stuff. Availability was the key factor for him, he didn't want to wait for a package to be delivered.

If your climate is like mine, you want to consider some shade cloth or white poly if you plan on growing in the summer. With only clear poly, my greenhouse will hit 120 or more degrees on a sunny summer day without some shady covering, even with the exhaust vent running constantly. It has stagnated over 150 at times while not in use.

Very nice greenhouse frame and affordable , I think they would be great frames for a plywood cabin or carport / shop as well as excellent for greenhouses.

that 20x20 frame would be a good start for your project , fish one side veggies the other

The frames will last 50 years

Yes I will probably need shade cloth. I will also need to roll up the sides like this in the summer.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1423619478

I agree 20 x 20 would work good a 12 x 24 might be cheaper and work well.

I am looking a building my own grow beds with Dura-Skrim Liner. One of the places I am going Friday did this in 2013 so I will see if they still like it. They made their own fish tank and sump with it.

Dura-Skrim Liner - 6' x 25'
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1423619478

I looked into the Dura-Skrim Liner and watched a video on it , they were using the white for the grow beds.
Which i thought was a bad idea.

Plants roots do not like sunlight ,so black would be better for the plant tanks and the white would work better for the open fish tanks to help keep the water cooler.

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edit to add : White might cause excessive algae which may not mix with the fish that well.
Probably black is commonly used for that reason.

I always use black or blue for my containers. The only exception is media beds, which only need to be opaque.

We would only use the Dura-Skrim Liner in the media grow beds. I would use black in the tanks.
There are some pretty big setups using Dura-Skrim Liner for their grow beds.
There really is a lot to learn...

We visited two Aquaponics places on Friday it was a good trip. I was amazed how many fish you can put in a tank. I got lots of advice a contact to get some starter water to get my system cycling faster.

A contact to get fish and places to order things I will need.

I picked up 5 IBC 275 gallons today. They are food grade one time use containers.

They look new I got them for $60 each. Each one had clearly labeled what was in them before so I know they are safe. I found cheaper ones but they were not clearly labeled what was in them.

http://ecorenovator.org/forum/attach...1&d=1423979901

I just found some stackable metal racks that I can set the grow beds on craigslist. They are super strong 1/8 box steel and only $18 each.
I am trying to make a deal on a 1000 gallon fish tank but we will see if that works out.

This is really good to see and its encouraging to see you build it from the ground up.
Those food grade containers are cheap for the size of them. You might inspire me to build some aquaculture tanks. I have thought about growing crayfish in tanks as a get rich scheme ha ha.

I decided not to make the wood beds with the liner because I wanted to get the system started. I don’t really need the greenhouse until winter so the system might have to stay outside until then.

I did not think untreated wood would hold up very well outside all summer. These IBC containers have a very good bag for the buck.

I was not sure if I should document this build on here it is DIY and eco-friendly so I guess it meets the content requirements?

Ok I started a Build post.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/lawn-g...tem-build.html

I think it would be a outstanding project to showcase in the Lawn and Garden section.
I Know it will become a popular thread if not very popular.

it is worthy of its own section but fits well into the garden slot so a spot is waiting for it.

It will be the first Aquaculture Journal since the sites inception , amazing really.

Doax brought up a good topic !

Awesome stuff pinballlooking! Glad to see some interest. I'll watch this thread as I am seriously considering putting together a smaller system come summer.