Fish tank water for fertilizing

[Thighland]

A while back there was a lot of interest in aquaponics for cannabis, but the aquaponic sub forum here is very quiet. I've wondered whether this is because AP is tricky and the water too high in N, but lacking K.

I have an AP system and use the water everywhere, it's full of microorganisms. The filters fill with fine solids, plus N and to a lesser extent P. The filter water is black, I drain it straight to my garden beds, which have plenty of biochar. Sometimes I also add EM, kelp extract and molasses, then add an air stone and let it bubble for a few hours. For this you need to turn off the pump, so tough fish are required.

Catfish seems indestructible, they can go weeks without food or a water change. Despite my best efforts I'm yet to kill one. Tilapia aren't nearly as tough, I've managed to kill plenty.

The fish can be fed soldier fly larvae, duckweed or moss, which can be easily grown. Soldier flys live on food scraps and you also get castings.

If I was to move house I wouldn't bother with an AP system, too much work and too much space required. Instead I'd do something similar to the highly technical drawing below.

I'd like to hear others thoughts and any ideas ppl may have.

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I've read about aquaponics over the years and it's always come back to being for 'vegetative' plants. Recently I've come across studies from other countries where rabbits are being raised over fish ponds. You get rabbit meat/fur, fat and happy, nutrient dense fish, along with richer, cleaner, higher quality nutrient water for fertigation.

One thing I've noticed is design has a lot to do with conditions, and hot conditions really require low evaporation setups or an extremely cheap and plentiful/wasteful water supply.

 

[Cakeboy]

there is a podcast, if you havent heard of it called 'growing with fishes', its a seedbank or nursery (Potent Ponics) i think and they grow in aquaponics....heaps of info on the podcasts....there's heaps of them (podcasts), i think even the Potcast has them on as guests to chat about this topic
unmatched quality of flowers from using the fish water it is stated....

 

[RyanR]

More trouble then it's worth in my opinion.

 

[exploziv]

Depends, if you have the space and you plan to eat the fish it can be a very good way to obtain more things with just one system. If you plan on growing fish just so u don't have to buy ferts, yeah.. it's probably not worth it.

 

[RyanR]

Depends, if you have the space and you plan to eat the fish it can be a very good way to obtain more things with just one system. If you plan on growing fish just so u don't have to buy ferts, yeah.. it's probably not worth it.

Yeah I agree if the fish is the main product being produced then sure why not otherwise a waste of resources / space / time.

 

[X15]

Yeah I agree if the fish is the main product being produced then sure why not otherwise a waste of resources / space / time.

Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it! Also, anyone could build a System with a Number of cost effective resources in which could be solar powered. It just takes some effort, and some Thinkin outside the box.
or bottle or whatever.

Much respect!

 

[X15]

@Cakeboy has offered some serious Knowledge.
Potent Ponics and his Co host are forever spewing crazy amounts of knowledge! They cover a wide variety of growing techniques and always have super knowledgeable guests. They are Not out to sell you stuff you don’t need, just the good word.
Check em out. Seems right up your alley my friend!

 

[RyanR]

Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it! Also, anyone could build a System with a Number of cost effective resources in which could be solar powered. It just takes some effort, and some Thinkin outside the box.
or bottle or whatever.

Much respect!

Solar power is a joke for the most part and nutrients aren't expensive if you know how to buy them so to try and recreate the wheel doesn't seem worth it.

 

[Thighland]

It's funny how ppl see things differently, I see it as saving time and money. I think it depends on your living situation.

The set up doesn't need to be complicated, it can be as simple as the image below, where roof run off goes to an IBC tank.

It saves time because you always have liquid fertilizer on top, which you can amend or dilute. It has plenty of micro organisms without mixing or measuring. It saves labour because fine organic matter goes into the soil without digging. You don't need to buy fertilizer, just fish food.

Aquaponic beds are full of worms, the water is liqud castings.

My plants love it. Basil and mint has been shown to grow faster in aquaponics than hydro. I can't think of any other examples where organics beats chems.

 

[Thighland]

Yeah I agree if the fish is the main product being produced then sure why not otherwise a waste of resources / space / time.

The amount of fish is negligible, but lots of resources are saved. Almost always when someone demonstrates a soil mix, they'll also be saying they feel bad about the amount of plastics involved. I don't have that problem.

IBCs totes are recycled, fish food easily home made. Then there's the fuel saved as nothing is transported, no packaging involved and so on, plus of course time and money saved.

This is the drain from my filter, it will run black with solids for a few seconds, then clear up, but the water is still packed with nutes and microorganisms.

 

[RyanR]

Hey whatever works for man. The way I see it is its typically cruel to the fish and what is produced is minuscule in the amount in effort , time, and resources used. Then again I have limited space and climate ( new england winter).

 

[X15]

Hey whatever works for man. The way I see it is its typically cruel to the fish and what is produced is minuscule in the amount in effort , time, and resources used. Then again I have limited space and climate ( new england winter).

Just tryin to help out Bud. There’s a lot to learn for sure, but I’d much rather buy and smoke herb grown with the help of fish. fertilizer factories are no joke, and companies like amazon aint helpin the situation with these “OMRI“ “organic” bottles playin the Trains, Planes, and Automobiles game. Our ancestors have been growing plants using local resources for millennia. The difference is, they didn’t feel the need to find Ways to cut corners so they had more time to play video games or watch tv. They just did what they had to, not what they want to.

I don’t think @Thighland was lookin for someone to tell him that using fish water is for the birds. I read someone looking for creative ideas on how TO USE fish water in his set up.

@Thighland ive built a few small scale over flow filters like the one you drew up,, but all for Salt Water set ups. I used 55 gallon fish tanks with cut plexiglass baffles to create compartments which will collect waste. Protein Skimmers work great too. Pretty easy to make. This are prob pretty small compared to what you look to be workin with but the functions are scaleable. Best of luck Bud!

 

[Thighland]

It doesn't need to be large, a 1,000lt tank is plenty. Basically instead of running the water to your plants, your run it to the fish tank. Then nutrient rich overflow goes to plants.

In some countries governments encourage ppl to collect rain water, basically it's just adding a filter and fish.

 

[X15]

It doesn't need to be large, a 1,000lt tank is plenty. Basically instead of running the water to your plants, your run it to the fish tank. Then nutrient rich overflow goes to plants.

In some countries governments encourage ppl to collect rain water, basically it's just adding a filter and fish.

Yeah where I use to live in CA collecting rain water was against the law. Pretty crazy shit.

 

[Thighland]

I've read about aquaponics over the years and it's always come back to being for 'vegetative' plants. Recently I've come across studies from other countries where rabbits are being raised over fish ponds. You get rabbit meat/fur, fat and happy, nutrient dense fish, along with richer, cleaner, higher quality nutrient water for fertigation.

One thing I've noticed is design has a lot to do with conditions, and hot conditions really require low evaporation setups or an extremely cheap and plentiful/wasteful water supply.

In Asia they have chicken coups over the ponds to create an algae bloom which the fish live off. They also have rows of small canals between fruit crops, fish live in the canals eating bugs and fertilizing the water. In rice paddies fish fertilize the water, eat bugs and clean up dead roots.

 

[Thighland]

Below is a vdo of a large cannabis farm in Austria where they have a tank with Koi to water the plants. I wouldn't be surprised if this becomes more common, it's basically run to waste organic hydroponics. It could be as simple as a fish tank in the living room or large tanks of 1,000s of liters. The fish could be ornamental or for eating. They would be fed twice a day and the regular water changes would mean fast growth

 

[mexweed]

there are huge potential sanitary/health issues with keeping fish on a scale like that, the chicken coup in Asia thing sounds like some sort of third world rube goldberg machine, are the algae blooms ever tested to see if they are toxic? there's a good chance that water is unsuitable for food production by U.S. standards

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

there are huge potential sanitary/health issues with keeping fish on a scale like that, the chicken coup in Asia thing sounds like some sort of third world rube goldberg machine, are the algae blooms ever tested to see if they are toxic? there's a good chance that water is unsuitable for food production by U.S. standards

The reality is it's a viable model without the sanitary/health issues you're thinking of. I've read several studies the last few months on the feasibility of raising Animals/Fish/Plants in this type of cycle and it's excellent. Multiple countries now have studies on projects which are showing similar benefits.

The best manure so far is rabbit, due to the water quality and clarity increases combined with the nutrient density and health of the fish. Yes, the rabbit manure makes the water cleaner and clearer while also being free of human pathogens.

 

[Thighland]

there are huge potential sanitary/health issues with keeping fish on a scale like that, the chicken coup in Asia thing sounds like some sort of third world rube goldberg machine, are the algae blooms ever tested to see if they are toxic? there's a good chance that water is unsuitable for food production by U.S. standards

They use the metric system here, so I'm sure it wouldn't measure up to US standards. It probably wouldn't measure up to the standards of many countries, but that's why I choose to live here, because there's freedom to do so many things. There are so many rules in western countries, it's made ppl risk averse and fearful. In some ways ppl in less developed countries have happier lives.

Now I am feeding my fish algae and black soldier fly larvae. The algae grows easily in the fish water and the larvae live on food scraps. My aquaponic beds are full of worms, feeding herbs and greens. There is still more than enough water left over for my ganga, with plenty of solids.

For me it's a no brainer, by running the water through a fish tank you get liquid fertilizer and worm castings on tap, nitrate levels can be easily measured. Aquaponics is tricky for many reasons, making it run to waste eliminates a lot of these.