How should i start?

[exploziv]

I love your links guys! keep them coming!

I've read that trout may be somehow hard to grow. Right now I'm researching carp. If not, I was thinking of growing fishes in the pond during the warmer months, and by the end of that period harvest big ones for food and small ones for indoor keeping till spring. That way i can use even tilapia.

 

[mosstrooper]

Edit, Erk! double post, sorry.

 

[mosstrooper]

I think trout would need a lot of oxygenation to the water, but thats good for plants too.

There are lots of vids on youtube, some quite basic looking set-ups
Im wondering if i can adapt one of these to make a pond

Intermediate bulk container

I wonder if having deeper water makes adding oxygen easier, since it would have to travel further upward to escape, the water presumably dissolving more oxygen as the air passes through.

 

[exploziv]

that would make a small pond.. but it can be done just for warmer periods, no fish would survive there over winter.
I was thinking of using one of those to keep fish indoor over the winter. how are they called? where should I look for them?

 

[mosstrooper]

I was thinking of using one of those to keep fish indoor over the winter. how are they called? where should I look for them?

Intermediate bulk container

that would make a small pond.. but it can be done just for warmer periods, no fish would survive there over winter.

Might work well in a polytunnel in winter.

Im glad you brought this up, i would never have thought of this, but its such a good idea.

 

[exploziv]

I was thinking of a shed of some type, well insulated and with minimum heat, if neded for the winter. don't know what range of temperature would be in a polytunnel in the winter.
Tilapia sounds well, but if I use carp I can feed them worms from the bin, keeping fishcare costs at a minimum. I still have to study.

 

[mosstrooper]

If you put windows down one side of your shed and orientate it to face the sun in the south in winter, you can harvest the "greenhouse effect", you could paint the fronts (facing the sun) black too to further accumulate heat, and the IBC full of water will act as a thermal storage device if insulated on the sides and underneath that dont face the sun.. My poly tunnel is always warm(ish) inside.

 

[exploziv]

I have read about this type of heating. That is what I was thinking. Also painting the water reservoir would make it more eficient. I could even try to put more than one ibc and keep more fish also over the winter. And if you say a polytunnel is warm, my shed should be great.

 

[mosstrooper]

Just found this thread:
Aquaponics Revisited

 

[WaterFarmFan]

Great info here everyone!!! I am going from 50 sq feet last year to about 300 sq feet this year. I really enjoying getting outside in the fresh air, and nothings beats self-sustainability!!!

WFF

 

[compost]

Call your local tree trimmers. They will usually drop off shredded leaf and branches to your property. Let them compost and you can add a lot of organic matter to your soil. Most soil is severely lacking it.

 

[exploziv]

Any of you guys can tell me some temperature ranges in the winter for diferent types of polytunnels/greenhouses? I live at around 45 degree lat. N in eastern europe.
If not, maybe you know cheap methods of heating them to about, let's say 15 degrees C?

 

[mosstrooper]

Rocket stove

http://www.permies.com/

 

[exploziv]

Not a bad ideea, but I would like a method that can be set up and run without my help for at least a week or 2. I don't want a method cheap to install, but rather a cheap to operate one.

Thanks for the links again bro.

 

[mosstrooper]

You need to explain your options.
Do you:

Get a lot of sun in winter?
Then use solar heating panels and concentrate the heat into a thermal store.

Have access to cheap Russian gas?
Use a gas heater. This along with fuel oil would need the least day to day attention again concentrate the heat into a thermal store.

Can you get a lot of wood fuel?
More attention needed, but you could make a very very slow burning stove and feed it 4-6 foot logs.

What is your lowest winter temp, and how long do your cold spells last?

 

[exploziv]

Solar power sounds to be the best option.
I don't like the ideea of an unnatended fire in my greenhouse.

The lowest we got during last years was -20 degrees C, we got cold periods of 1 week or two lately, but we had years that had like 2 months of freezing cold during winter.
Cost to run would be virtually zero. Now I need to see about the panels cost. I suppose the are cheaper than the electricity generating ones. I am right?

 

[mosstrooper]

I don't like the ideea of an unnatended fire in my greenhouse.

I have an unattended wood burner in my house, that is lit most of the time.

If you get enough sun, solar water heating panels are a good option. Especially since you only need to keep it slightly warm.

It would be quite experimental though, since most people use these to heat or pre-heat hot water for washing etc. You would need to store it in something that released the heat relatively slowly. Also, you would need to be sure that the sun would shine enough each day to re heat the thermal store.

 

[exploziv]

so a large reservoir of water in a south facing greenhouse would have about the same benefits.
from what i have read, heated water gives off stored heat slowly over a matter of days, so will only need reheating everyday. we are talink here about bigger recipients. small bottles keep heat for less than a day.

 

[exploziv]

After reading on the aquaponics a bit more, I settled on this punctual questions:

Would you recommend making an aquaponics system, or for the start composting is enaugh?
What fish would be best to use in a greenhouse made with normal uv-ressistant poly in my weather? Will my greenhouse need heating?

Here is a weather graph of my area:

Any help would be apreciated. Thanks.