AQUAPONICS,,, Any One? Heres Mine.

Well I am starting an Aquaponic garden in My spare room.
This will be an all to humbling adventure, so any tips, ideas, or constructive criticism is WELCOME and appreciated.

So My Bro., and I had plans to go Big with an outdoor greenhouse, but $$$ are TIGHT, and after clearing the area behind my small garage 40' long x 30' it has South Sun summer and winter, so its a perfect spot, We realized We had bitten off a little to much to chew.
Instead of giving up on it though, I decided to pull an old 55
gal. aquarium outta storage, and put it to use.

25yrs ago I became OBSESSED with the aquarium hobby, and African Chiclids. One thing led to the next, and B4 I knew it I had a room devoted to Spawning mostly African Chiclids, but Angles, and Some Discuss, Killi Fish, Bettas, and many more.

Any way most Folks generally understand Hydroponics, but add Fish and folks kinda disconnect.
If you can keep a Community Display tank,,, You can do aquaponics.
At least I hope so any way. lol.
Most folks use Tilapia in AP., and they are Mouth Brooding AF. Chiclids,,, Right up My alley.

So I have the Aquarium set up and a Biological system started.
This is basically Ammonia breaking down into Nitrites, and then into Nitrates(Fertilizer).

I have to get some Pics moved over here, so you can follow along.
I stopped at a Greenhouse, and Tree Farm near Me today and bought seeds to get started.
They stock Seed Savers Exchange seeds, and I got Mrs.Burns Lemon Basil, Thyme, Arugula, Mantilla Buttercup lettuce, Forellenschluss Lettuce, Cherokee Purple Tomato, and Parade Cucumber. Almost forgot My Jalapeno, Traveler strain.

Hope y'all have as much fun in My garden as I plan to.

Peace & LOVE; 1TT

I can relate. I'm likely even more fanatical with the reef aquarium scene. Growing and selling saltwater coral mirrors the cannabis scene in many ways. Here's my 225 gallon, and I also have a 190 as well as a 57.
Just bought a house and its been an aspiration for awhile now to throw up an Aquaponic setup in a backyard greenhouse. It's going to have to wait till this Fall however. In the meantime ill live vicariously through your build

Welcome,, Pulsar, Ya back in the day I only tried the Salt thing for a little while.
A 20 long. had an Anemonie(type??) and clown to keep it HAPPY.
I had forgotten just how relaxing it is just sitting with the lights out, and watching/listening to the tank.

I gave up on the pics for tonight, but will get um up tomorrow.
Not really much to see ATM, just 2 gold fish to start, and 1 E & F bed w/expanded clay pebbles.
I like system pics, B4 any thing grows.
I am the same way with Race cars,,, I wanna see under the sheet metal.
That's where the works done.

Thanks for chiming in,,, The more the merrier, I say.

Peace;1TT

Cool, can't wait to see some pics. I have had my little 3 x 4 grow bed and 40 gallon fish tank going for about a month now. I think I finally am getting most of the kinks out. Only problem i am currently having is, I think that my plants are not quite keeping up with my fish(not thoroughly cleaning the water).

Another thing I majorly fucked up on, as I have never done hydro, is not rinsing the hydroton. Clay dust literally turned my water completely opaque, I wasn't sure if my fish were going starve to death from not being able to see there food. I put them in a bucket filled with tap water while cleaning the tank, put them back in the tank filled with tap water, and the chlorine killed them.

I have replaced and restarted everything though, and it seems to be going good so far.

I'll be watching this too. Been doing some research into this as well. Interestingly enough, Tilapia are illegal to posess in my state. Could go with trout, but I don't really care for an oily fish. Can do Crappie, which cook up a bit "mushy" in my opinion. Or I could go with bluegill which is a delicious fish and can get huge if given enough time. Crayfish are an option too. Need to get it figured out. ! have 3 4'x8' tables that could be used in my warehouse.

Tilapia are restricted in my state as well, found a dude with a bunch on CL though lol

Jamorg13 said:

I think I finally am getting most of the kinks out. Only problem i am currently having is, I think that my plants are not quite keeping up with my fish(not thoroughly cleaning the water).

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The plants wont totally clean your water.... I'm not sure if you have one, but you need some method of solids removal before your water reaches your plants.

resinryder said:

Interestingly enough, Tilapia are illegal to posess in my state. Could go with trout, but I don't really care for an oily fish. Can do Crappie, which cook up a bit "mushy" in my opinion. Or I could go with bluegill which is a delicious fish and can get huge if given enough time. Crayfish are an option too. Need to get it figured out.

Click to expand...

A few other options are catfish and bass... Although bass are not very tolerant of unfavorable conditions

jamorg13, resinryder, Thx 4 stopping by.

jam, don't feed UR fish for a day or three, and do a 25% watter change, for now.
You need to get a product called
Prime, or another declorinator.
It helps the Cloramines, and Flhorides, and othe NI*CE shit that Our Water treatment plant operators are so fond of.
There era other brands like Novaqua,and probably others aswell, besides settling out the NASTIES these products provide an artificial slime for the fish.
Fish have a natural slime coat to help protect them.
Any time you get new fish, and introduce them into your system use a little.
You cant over do these prod's. I use double the recommended dosage 2 caps instead of 1 per 5Gals.

Back in the day to start a new tank, I just filled it up let sit 36Hrs aerating w/airstones, and pump. useualy dissipated the nasties (except during Spring rains).
If it was Spring I did used to use Novaqua.

Well I forgot this little detail, and did as I REMEMBERED doing, and let stand 48Hrs only getting aeration going.
I went to a local Pet store, bought 6 feeder golg fish, a Plecostomus, and 2 Cynadontis Catfish to clean the bottom.
Only to watch them all DIE within 3-4Hrs. WTF???
The loss of the feeders didn't bother Me, but the Cats, and Pleco really Sucked, I was SO disappointed over the LOSS, due to My stupidity.
After the fact, I done the H2o checks that I should have done B4 introducing the Farmers (fish) to the Farm.
Upon checking Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ph, all what i'd expect 0's as there was NO waste to create these By-prods. Our tapwater runs 7.2-7.6, which is Ok for African Chiclids.
You could also add MORE filters/Beds to the system. More beds More plants.lol.

Use the water you pull off the system to Hand watter ANYTHING else,dont waste the Ferts.

As to the Rinsing the Hydroton,,, Yuck what a Mess,,, I rinsed mine, and still clouded the water so bad I couldn't see My Fish for a few Hrs.

You should see the canals in Florida,,, They are FULL of S.american Chiclids like Oscars, Jack Dempsy's, Fire Mouths to name a few. Other Tropicals flourish there too.
This is probally why Your State bans tilapia, they are VERY Hardy Fish.
Perch are quit tasty Fish, and what Will Allen at Growing Power, in Millwaukee uses.
Check out Growing Power on YouTube,,, FRIGGING AMAZING,,, 1,000,000lbs of food off 3.5acrtes in Old dwntwn. Millwaukee, Wi.

This type System is What I am leaning towards in the future.
I have a 30' x 48 long garage that needs a New roof, and siding.
I plan to strip the sheeting off the roof, and the siding off, and replace with Poly carb. panels to make a Greenhouse.

I am Zoned partial Commercial so I can Bulld this into a Biz.,aswell as feed Myself.

Hope these tips help, Feel FREE to share Your experiences, good, or
BAD.
As We can ALL learn together, thuss shortening the the CURV for ALL.

Peace & LOVE Allways; TWISTED

Oh... and if you are using chlorinated water, I'd advise you to at least let is sit for 24 hours before adding it. It will surely be detrimental to your nitrification bacteria

audiohi said:

The plants wont totally clean your water.... I'm not sure if you have one, but you need some method of solids removal before your water reaches your plants.

Click to expand...

Aud. Thx. 4 the input.

There are lots of systems out there using a setteling tank, for sure.
Will Allen dosent use any thing, but 1 pump in His Systems.

Another thing I am going to be adding, once I am a little further in, is to put Red Wigglers (worms) into My Beds.
They do QUIT WELL at breaking down those SOLIDS into Macro Nutes that the roots can use.This is the same thing they do in the WILD, just cruise through the Shit making it usefull to others.

My phylosophy is K I S S.

If fish production for food is not of interest to you,,, You can Buy KOI
Fry and Grow them out to a size where they can bring a nice return on investment.
Pay $3-$15 for 2' fry grow them to 12' in a Summer/Fall, then pull the farmers out and sell um, for a profit.
Just do a search on Quality Koi, and you WILL see the potential.

Peace 1TT

Oh ok. Thanks for letting me know. I'll definitely check into those. I've not looked much into any system like that.

Just looking quickly, it seems Will Allen uses gravel beds for solid removal. But again, I just looked quickly.

The worm method is a common method of solid removal I've seen on some systems. It works well with the gravel beds also. A lot of larger systems use things like swirl separators or clarifiers,nets, and filter tanks for removing and/or drying solid waste. That can then be used as fertilizer for soil crops. As far as I thought, allowing solids to make it to the roots of most of your crop plants is a bad thing as they will attach to your roots.

Also, controlling your solid waste allows you the ability to adjust your nitrogen levels in your system.

Thanks for the info 1TWISTED!

*edit I don't know how I missed you saying settling tank! Gotcha. Sorry I skimmed right over that reading "letting it settle" for some reason

audiohi said:

Oh ok. Thanks for letting me know. I'll definitely check into those. I've not looked much into any system like that.

Just looking quickly, it seems Will Allen uses gravel beds for solid removal. But again, I just looked quickly.

The worm method is a common method of solid removal I've seen on some systems. It works well with the gravel beds also. A lot of larger systems use things like swirl separators or clarifiers,nets, and filter tanks for removing and/or drying solid waste. That can then be used as fertilizer for soil crops. As far as I thought, allowing solids to make it to the roots of most of your crop plants is a bad thing as they will attach to your roots.

Also, controlling your solid waste allows you the ability to adjust your nitrogen levels in your system.

Thanks for the info 1TWISTED!

*edit I don't know how I missed you saying settling tank! Gotcha. Sorry I skimmed right over that reading "letting it settle" for some reason

Click to expand...

No Worries Bro. Aint no ONE way with this,,, We WILL have differing views, and that's Ok.

In Beds The solids don't effect the roots, as its no diff. than soil basicly.
In My totes that I will be using as RDWC syteems for lettuces and cabbages, are a couple crops that like to stay wet.

Recently I've seen folks using Fresh water Shrimp inside their RDWCRaft type beds, to Eat any solids that get into the RDWCs
They actualy clean the roots and make their neighbors happy.

Aint it funny how all these undeveloped creatures seem to LIVE together in total cooperation.
To think We are the ENLIOGHTENED Ones???

Peace; 1TT

jamorg13, a good rule of thumb is .5-1 SqFt of bed space to 1Gal of res. cap. depending on Fish density.
It is better to under feed the fish.
Try watching when you feed,, if they don't clean most of the food You feed, within 5min. or so, then You are feeding TO MUCH, and this WILL cause Amonia build up for sure.

A 20Gal Res. is plenty big for a 3' x4' bed.
Your ok with 40, but just get a grip on how much your feeding.
Twice daily is plenty, and no more than they clean up in 5mins.

1TT

Finally got Pics sent to My New album,,, So on with the Show & Tell.



This an over all view of the space, and System.



The starting point, an old 55Gal Tank, that Ive had 25yrs.
and has been taking up space in 1 of My garages for at least 20Yrs.
Up top a BotnaCare 24" x 44" E & F table w/Traditional E/F fittings.



The Fill, and Drain is in here, I tried to limit the Hydroton from the fittings, for ease of Maint.(gonna rethink this design)



Tote repurposed from My last Mj. grow. I am repurposing it for use as a RDWC, for lettuce, and Cabbages that seem to do WELL in constant flow type systems.

Some other important stuff,,,



Declorinator/artificial slime to help fish deal with stress. Like they're worried about the BILLS,,, Huh!!! lol.

And for some reason the Gov. intersepted the pics of My Test Kit, for Amonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and a High/ Low Range Ph test aswell.
It is an API (brand) Master Aquarium Test Kit.

DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT doing THIS W/O A good quality test kit, or a Declorinator like the Prime I used, other brands such as Novaqua work equaly as well.

I will be starting seeds,and adding some New Farmers(fish) to the system soon, and will post pics as we go along.

Thanks for all the interest Folks, and you over there behind the fence,,, Come on in and make Yourself at home.

Well CRAP,,,, Can Any one tell Me how to make thumbnails, or whatever it is called when ya click on the pics and they blow up.
That's what I want when peeping others pics. Thx in advance for the help.

Peace; 1TT

Starting seeds,,,


I have a couple more pics that are Lost In Space some where,,,,
Nutting exiting YET.

I started 6 each of,,, Cherokee Purple Tomato
Jalapeno, Traveler Strain
Mrs.Burns Lemon Basil
Mantilla(butterhead) Lettuce

More as it Comes up.

Peace; 1TT

Cool subject, TT. We've just gotten interested in small-scale shrimp production. Heard an NPR story about some shrimp farmer in Illinois a few months back. We haven't gotten anywhere on it yet, so we'll be watching and learning

Ya, every time I turn around lately,, I seem to be learning another piece to the puzzle.
The only thing I know for sure,,,,, is this is going to CHANGE how WE feed Ourselves.

ATM We is My family, and friends,,, But My Bro. and I are working towards going Commercial within the next year.

I have 2 Huge garages, the 1st to get cleaned out and Re-purposed is My 30' x 48'.
It needs siding, so next spring the goal is to strip it down to the studs and replace it with Poly carbonate panles, the roof will get the same treatment.

In searching these Fresh water shrimp, I found Aquaculture of Texas.
Mr. Upstrom has been raising um for 20 yrs. I am going to be speaking with him about His regional dist system with the intent of learning what it takes to get started at that level.

It is SO COOL to have finaly at 47yrs old to find out Why I was put on this Planrt.

This is the key to My independence and My Mission in LIFE.

I am going to do Gr8 things in My part of this increasingly SHITTY World, to spread this system into inner city community gardens.

ATM these are ALL just Dreams,,, but hold on cause I don't even know just where this is going,,,, but br assured I Will keep the progress reports up.

Theres not a lot going on ATM, just waiting for seeds to germ.
I should be seeing something breaking thru. this weekend(hoping).

Thx 4 showing interest OKD kick off Your shoes and pull up a chair.

Peace & Love; Twisted

Yes it's pretty exciting stuff! Thanks for the info on AoT, I'll look them up. I'm 48 and I can relate Thanks for the welcome, TT!

well,,, I got a call back from Gregg Upstrom, at Aquaculture of Texas, and He basically shot a hole in My theory of using Fresh Water Shrimp in a system this small.
Just not enough room to run from The Big Bad Bully shrimp.
At 60 days they explode in growth and the baddest shrimp WILL kill ALL others.
He said I needed a 20ft. Diameter tank and about $10k to raise them for profit.

Looks like it will be all Ebb n Flow beds with Red Wigglers in the bedding Mat.
I may still hook up 1 RDWC tote just to see if I cann do it without a swirl/settle system.

I spent the week end Re-arranging things Totally, and adding two extra totes to the system.

I will get new pics soon.
Im sure this remodel is just the first of many to come B4 I get this thing dialed in.

Thanks for the interest in My Journey.

Peace; 1TT