anyone ever tried real organic hydroponics?

[Seamaiden]

Have you kept crawdaddies before? Their territoriality seems to present other aquaponics people with problems unless they've got a nice big pond. They take small fish, too.

I told one of my sisters about how we pop the claws off in the trade the other day and OHMYGOD, she was horrified. It cracked me up because in real life she's a fuckin' merciless whack bitch. But not when it comes to crawdaddies, apparently.

Ok... a fish grow is not legal in your state? I've gotta know more!

 

[fractaLz]

This thread is the shiznit! One of my New Years resolutions is to build an aquaponic system. This is good inspiration:)

 

[leadsled]

Wanted to share what I have learned about aquaponics, and also some information on a hybrid system.

Lots of edible plants seem to do much better than cannabis in a aquaponics setup. Top 2 issues are ph and nutrients. Some fish are not tolerant of p. Few folks are experimenting with fish that tolerate higher p. In order to try and get a higher yielding aquaponic setup with mmj.

Cannabis prefers a lower ph range, aquaponics and the fish prefer a higher ph range. This can also depend on the type of your fish.

Then potentially the plants do not get sufficient levels of food and then the yield is lacking.

2 solutions that are being tested.
You got your fish tank and some rafts for your plants. Farmers have found a few approaches to increase production and still use the fish solution for feeding.
Biochar wicking beds, (compost + biochar) then are watered with the aquaponic solution. This is proving to work well.

Another farmer uses a rdwc type of setup with fish. He uses a large net pot for the plant. Before placing in the system he calculated the amount of water to saturate the crown without runoff. He allows the system to establish itself. Then he does crown feeds with low ec salts. The roots grow into the water and absorb but organic and inorganic nutrients. Keeping the salts out of the res keep the biology in check. Then he can get p inputs from 4 sources. 2 organic and 2 synthetic.

One cool thing was a dead fish.
One setup had a dead fish and algae growing in it. The fish started to decompose and the cycle continued. The system was attached to a pond in the backyard and then went indoors to feed the plants then back out to a fish tank. The system was jump started using a compost tea extract. Then the fish were never fed and the natural cycle was allows to do its thing. Basically a mini eco system.

Think about nature. Think about humans. Who does it better? I you can combine indoors and outdoors or go entirely outdoors. Then you you have any the energy (food) you need. A self sustained system. Even a dead fish can provide food to the "system".

So now that you got the basics of that concept.

Think differently. There is a system in place that works and works very well.

If you have a fresh water fish tank, partial water changes are done to help clean the fish. Nature does not do partial water changes on lakes and oceans. So, what happens to the waste of fish and decomposed animals? They are eaten by bacterium generally creating ammonia. The nitrogen cycle.

In established aquariums, just as in nature, toxic ammonia from fish waste is broken down by bacteria into nitrite, which is itself broken down by a different group of bacteria into nitrate. In a newly set up aquarium, those bacteria are not present in any quantity, and it takes time – about a 4 to 6 weeks under normal circumstances – for those bacteria to multiply to the point of being able to keep up with the waste output of the fish. “New Tank Syndrome” and “The Break-In Cycle” describe the period in which ammonia and then nitrite levels rise to dangerous quantities before being converted into relatively harmless nitrate.

Below is a diagram of the nitrogen cycle. Energy enters into the top of the system through Algae. There are two places where the energy exits. It exits through composting and fish. Energy is also consumed by the bacteria to keep them running.

See how the system can be designed to be self sustainable? Pond, fish tank, and garden. The fish cannot be fed. They need to live on their own without supplemental food. The energy for the fish food comes directly from the sun. This means the eco-cycle is established and the system works like a lake. You can expedite the start up the whole cycle by adding a compost extraction with the highest amounts of bacteria and protozoan.

Call it cycling, nitrification, biological cycle, start-up cycle, break-in cycle, or the nitrogen cycle. They are all the same thing. Water coming out of the tap does not normally contain all of the elements, microbiology and ecosystems to sustain fish. They has to be established for the fish to live.

I wanted to share, in hopes that it will help you to design a system that saves you $$ and is also the most effective.

Peace.

 

[zeke]

Went down to pdx and legally walked into a pet shop and purchased 6-8 inch blue channel catfish. 15 minutes later I crossed the stateline into Washington. As soon as I crossed the line I broke the law. I did not have a permit to bring the fish into the state. My state requires a health certificate. When I got home I released them into a 100 gal heated stock tank. It is illegal to release fish in my state without a stocking permit. Then I fed them a little koi food. That was illegal as well because I do not have an aquaculture permit. My pot grow is totally legal and stress free. Now I lie awake at night and worry that the state game and fish department are going to kick my door in and shut down my illicit catfish grow. I just can't keep myself from being a criminal. Now I gotta use odor control to hide the fishy smell. I also have to hide the fish food bags from my neighbors. Don't wanna get tipped on.

 

[Funkadelic]

How about using saltwater Reef tank skimmate? Diluted, of course. It's rich in nitrates, ammonia, broken down fish waste, coral discharge, digested seaweed... completely disgusting but perfect for plants if diluted I would think?

@Seamaiden?

 

[Funkadelic]

(Also adding enzymes to break down salts of course)

 

[SeaF0ur]

Went down to pdx and legally walked into a pet shop and purchased 6-8 inch blue channel catfish. 15 minutes later I crossed the stateline into Washington. As soon as I crossed the line I broke the law. I did not have a permit to bring the fish into the state. My state requires a health certificate. When I got home I released them into a 100 gal heated stock tank. It is illegal to release fish in my state without a stocking permit. Then I fed them a little koi food. That was illegal as well because I do not have an aquaculture permit. My pot grow is totally legal and stress free. Now I lie awake at night and worry that the state game and fish department are going to kick my door in and shut down my illicit catfish grow. I just can't keep myself from being a criminal. Now I gotta use odor control to hide the fishy smell. I also have to hide the fish food bags from my neighbors. Don't wanna get tipped on.

 

[Seamaiden]

How about using saltwater Reef tank skimmate? Diluted, of course. It's rich in nitrates, ammonia, broken down fish waste, coral discharge, digested seaweed... completely disgusting but perfect for plants if diluted I would think?

@Seamaiden?

If I were to try using it, I would start at very low rates because I don't know how much NaCl makes it into the skimmate.

The suite of dissolved organic compounds that are pulled using foam fractionation is pretty large, anything with a hydrophobic end will stick to the bubbles and be pulled out.

It's an idea, and it saves all that 'nutrition' being dumped down the drain.

 

[Funkadelic]

I seriously think it'd be perfect for plants. As foul as it is. Provided of course the parameters. :)

 

[Coronel]

bckwht, are any of these GH grows putting out flowering plants that are true quality? We have an organic hydroponic tomato producer upcountry from us, and their tomatoes taste like shit. I hate saying it, but it's true, I feel gypped every time we pay for them and get them home, only to taste crap. I'd rather eat a canned tomato--truth.

The coldwater fishes have much higher DO (dissolved oxygen) requirements. If you can meet that (water movement with lots of surface turbulence, and venturis), then you should be able to grow them. If you go with the peacock bass from South America it can handle much warmer water temps and concurrent lower DO levels.

What he is trying to do also needs a lot of turbulence air and venturis... the bacteria that lives in the filter media needs it otherwise his soup will become anaerobic and kill his soil...

I am testing the hydrosoil concept (no hole pot, airstone, aquarium air pump, organic soil, water saturation) and even thou it is too early to have a veredict, the test subjects show survival probabilities after a difficult start (which was entirely my fault)

 

[DetGrnThumb]

It's definitely doable, but will require frequent maintenance/cleaning/flushing to eliminate as much organic residue from building up as possible. Your NFT system is probably your best bet due to the constant flow of nutrients. Might want to consider some 120 mesh/micron in-line filters somewhere in there to keep it all running smoothly

 

[BillFarthing]

I have done bioponics quite a bit. It is like hydroponic Korean Natural Farming. Warning- it stinks like baby diapers. Your bioponic system is best utilized outdoors.

First, I make a nutrient slurry in a 5 gallon bucket. The base is always a scoop of compost for the humus and micros. I add LAB's, or sewer enzymes like Rid-X or Bio-Clean. I suppose you could use leaf mold if you want your inputs to be local. I fill the bucket about half way with inputs. For veg, I use N dominant sources like green grass or comfrey. For transition, I like to boost the calcium with egg or oyster shells. For flower, I'll throw in things like apple cores, grape pomace, and banana peels. It is bubbled for a few days as the enzymes break it down. Pewzus, it stinks.

It is filtered with a paint strainer and added to your nutrient solution until you get about 1.0 EC, usually 30-60 ml/gallon. It is extremely bio-active, so just be sure to use a coarse plastic sponge as a bio filter and keep your pump clean. When the EC is low, add more nutes. When the EC is high, add more water. There is no worry about pH as the bacteria keep everything available to the plant.

 

[tomatoesarecooltoo]

Grew a ton of lettuce in just water and fish hydrolysate.