AQUAPONICS SYSTEM UPDATE

All components of the aquaponics system are fully functional now. The water in the fish tank is crystal clear. The fish are healthy and eating voraciously. The plants are looking good. Right now i have growing basil, marjoram, peppers, and oca (a tropical tuber producing plant in the oxalis genus). I will be adding my favorite komatsuna greens soon.
the one issue is that there is a lot of splash so i have to add water more often than i would like. I am using rain water so it is free. I will make some modifications that should reduce the splash a good bit. It does force me to do water changes which i probably wouldn't do otherwise. With the few fish we have i don't think it is necessary anyway.

Not Tilapia No Sireee!

Did you know you need a license to grow tilapia in Georgia? Neither did I. We now have 5 fish in our aquaponics system and they are NOT tilapia. It will take a month for them to grow and poop enough to produce enough nutrients to support plant growth in the plant raceway. In the mean time we have started a variety of plants to grow. Asian greens, basil, onions, lettuce and turnips. This will be a trial run to see what grows best so we can refine our choices when we build the larger system in the earth-sheltered, passive solar greenhouse later this year. The not-tilapia ;-) ;-) are doing well. At least the ones that decided to remain in the pool instead of leaping out the other night like the frisky big one did. By the time we found it it was ready to become food for corn and beans.
It was not tilapia no sireee!

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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