Aquaponics up and Running

the aquaponics system is up and running now. It takes about 2 weeks for the bacteria to fully colonize the biofilter so that fish can be added to the system. I am still researching what fish to grow. Our warm season is too short for tilipia. I found a hatchery here in Georgia that has developed a fast growing hybrid bream. That just be what i need.
Next time i post about this i will explain how it all works.

Aquaponics System under Construction

Today i gathered all the components for the aquaponics system. I found a 100 gal. tank I forgot i had so i can grow a lot more fish! I built the hydroponics bed and put everything in its place.
Tomorrow i will put the liner in the hydroponics bed and get the biofilter set up. Robin says she thinks there is a pump in the basement somewhere. If not I'll have to buy a pump. That would be the only component i didn't have lying around somewhere waiting to be used for something.
I will definitely be giving the system a trial run tomorrow.

Aquaponics

Aquaponics is a technique that combines aquaculture (fish farming) with hydroponics (growing plants in moving water). By doing so the plants get fed by the fish wastes while cleaning and aerating the water for the fish. I have been wanting to set up a system since i took a workshop at Growing Power in Milwaukee a few years ago. I was casting around the internet a few days ago and i found some videos on youtube of some simple systems. I realized I have everything i need to set a system up except a few fittings, a pump and some fish. I sketched out the system and as soon as it stops raining (not complaining) i will get started on this project.
This will be a prototype for a larger system i plan to install in an earth-sheltered passive solar greenhouse i'll be building over the summer. I want to monitor how much food i can produce from this small system. I will be reporting on progress in future posts.
Fish me luck!
Aquaponics System 1

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Fish Sticks

I went to a conference at Fort Valley State U. yesterday put on by Team Agriculture Georgia called the Small, Beginning and Limited Resource Farmer Workshop. Well that certainly describes us to as T. It was a really good conference. The UGA expert on beekeeping Dr. Keith Delaplane gave a good overview of beekeeping. So now we'll be keeping bees of course but more about that later. Also on the program was Dr. Pat Duncan who is the director of the Aquaculture (fish farming) program at Fort Valley State. She is awesome. She is just getting the program there going but she has extensive experience in aquaculture and is very interested in getting farmers to integrate small scale aquaculture into a diversified farming operation.
My dream will come true after all. That is exactly what i want to do with our pond. Grow fish to offer to our csa members. She and I are going to apply for a SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) Producer Grant to study the feasibility of small scale aquaculture for the small, poor farmer.
Yee Haa! I can't wait to get that project going. We'll be eating organic fish sticks real soon!