anyone ever tried real organic hydroponics?

[stutter]

i new it was possible i have after all trained my fish to tend my garden while im away :)
that is pretty cool though the only trick my fish know is to go nutso whenever im around so that i give them an extra treat

 

[ttystikk]

Building an aquaponics system for my veg is going to be my summer project. I have most of the gear already.

If I start with a big enough fish tank/pond, it should be expandable to include at least some of the rest of the system. Everything else is expandable or scalable...

Thermostatically controlled switch could divert water flowing in from the fish tank outside through a heat exchanger in my chiller reservoir when it's too cool for the biofilter and RDWC, and as it does so it removes heat from the system the cooler otherwise has to work to cool. This saves both on cooling costs for grow rooms AND heating costs for the fish tank outside.

Speaking of the tank, I will make Styrofoam trays to float on the water, and sheets to insulate the sides during the coolest part of winter, should it be necessary. With my rooms going, I doubt it would be. To cool the water tank in summer, I can use either an air jet pump from a hot tub to blast air through the water (a good candidate for my fish tank actually would be a second hand hot tub!), and/or a water fountain above the surface of the fish pond. Could even build a cooling mist heat exchange tower...

Moving on, if the fish pond can help out the chiller, the unit could be repurposed to be primarily dehuey. The water in this second cold water system runs at 45f and effectively removes moisture from warm moist grow room air forced past it. It would be able to assist with cooling the 'warm' reservoir by means of its own thermostatically controlled heat exchanger in the res tank.

 

[Seamaiden]

Oh jeez! Here I am just beginning to think of ways to contain the water, first. Do I want to be able to view the fish, or what?

 

[ttystikk]

Oh jeez! Here I am just beginning to think of ways to contain the water, first. Do I want to be able to view the fish, or what?

My LASIK doc told me to always wear polarized sunglasses, especially for the high altitude and extreme UV we get up here in Colorado. Polarized shades do a great job of cutting water surface glare so you can see fish. In fact, Wal-Mart carries Berkeley brand 'angler's sunglasses' - heavily tinted and polarized specifically for seeing fish through sun glare in the water- for $4.99 a pair in the sporting goods section! I snag a pair or two any time I find them in stock!

 

[Seamaiden]

I *only* use polarized lenses. Ever. Many are at the bottom of San Diego Bay, near Glorietta Beach and the dog-leg.

 

[stutter]

i too only ever wear polarised sunglasses. i find i struggle in the glare without them now. i always spend the extra bucks and get high quality ones though. normally get a yr or 2 out of them so i dont mind.

also i have tirrigiums in both eyes so now it really is quite necessary to protect them from further damage

 

[stutter]

oh and sea maiden i like the pond method for viewing my fish i have the tank open at the top and i view the fish easily but they arent in a tank which i bet i would get sick of cleaning all the time.

 

[ttystikk]

oh and sea maiden i like the pond method for viewing my fish i have the tank open at the top and i view the fish easily but they arent in a tank which i bet i would get sick of cleaning all the time.

I've seen floating boxes with glass bottoms for viewing corals in a wide, shallow tank. Surely this would be effective for viewing fish in a pond or a stock tank, as well?

 

[Seamaiden]

Yep, or if it's big enough, just done the diving mask and jump in, just like we used to have to do to clean the shop's 1,500gal display tank.

Now you have me thinking about the premium Tridacnid (giant clam) tank. Very shallow, no more than a 12"-18" deep, and BROAD, with tons of light to allow you to view these jewels of the sea. I can't marry Tridacnid culture with aquaponics, unfortunately.

If I go with the pond, above-viewing situation, then it'll just have to be koi, won't it?

 

[stutter]

i dont see why it would have to be koi, could be any fish couldnt it? although koi are pretty, maybe not pretty good eating though if thats the goal?

 

[ttystikk]

Yep, or if it's big enough, just done the diving mask and jump in, just like we used to have to do to clean the shop's 1,500gal display tank.

Now you have me thinking about the premium Tridacnid (giant clam) tank. Very shallow, no more than a 12"-18" deep, and BROAD, with tons of light to allow you to view these jewels of the sea. I can't marry Tridacnid culture with aquaponics, unfortunately.

If I go with the pond, above-viewing situation, then it'll just have to be koi, won't it?

Why limit yourself to just koi? I'm running tilapia and trout this winter! The big tank is for effective heat exchange and as a buffer in case my nutrient levels get out of whack.

i dont see why it would have to be koi, could be any fish couldnt it? although koi are pretty, maybe not pretty good eating though if thats the goal?

Koi are just inbred, glorified carp. Carp can be good eating!

 

[stutter]

Chopped the aqua last night. Had a bit of bud rot so it came down a touch early. Got a northern lights clone in there already. Its go time. This is new to me I dont know how well the new clone will handle the high nutrient load.Also I couldnt get all the rotts from the old plant out. In hydro I would freak about that but im thinking it shouldnt be a big deal in aqua. I believe the worms and bacteria will clean it up before it causes any major issues.

Also im worried my new clone wont be filtering the water well enough to keep the fish happy.

Oh well its all a learning curve. I guess thats why aqua is so much fun. I havnt been this nervous about starting a new plant for a long while im born again bahahaha

 

[stutter]

northern lights

 

[ttystikk]

Chopped the aqua last night. Had a bit of bud rot so it came down a touch early. Got a northern lights clone in there already. Its go time. This is new to me I dont know how well the new clone will handle the high nutrient load.Also I couldnt get all the rotts from the old plant out. In hydro I would freak about that but im thinking it shouldnt be a big deal in aqua. I believe the worms and bacteria will clean it up before it causes any major issues.

Also im worried my new clone wont be filtering the water well enough to keep the fish happy.

Oh well its all a learning curve. I guess thats why aqua is so much fun. I havnt been this nervous about starting a new plant for a long while im born again bahahaha

These concerns are why I've been developing my ideas around having several stages of both fish and plants going at the same time, so no one change of a group of either makes the whole system unstable. So much for design philosophy, now let's see how many fish I kill, lol

 

[ttystikk]

northern lights

View attachment 330017

All cute, so small... it's going to take awhile before it's providing much filtration and nitrate take up. Let us know what measurements you take, and how your water quality readings change over time?

 

[stutter]

yeah i will be keeping a close eye on all that stuff. so far everything is normal. the biofilter is still working and doing its thing just the nitrates that will go up and they wont impact the fish until they reach epic proportions. i just hope i dont nuke my little clone. she barely has a inch long root and i wouldnt normally transplant until they are a little more established but i wanted to get something in there asap

 

[ttystikk]

yeah i will be keeping a close eye on all that stuff. so far everything is normal. the biofilter is still working and doing its thing just the nitrates that will go up and they wont impact the fish until they reach epic proportions. i just hope i dont nuke my little clone. she barely has a inch long root and i wouldnt normally transplant until they are a little more established but i wanted to get something in there asap

Excellent- details on what you do to track your water quality and some discussion about how you make your decisions to make changes to the system would be very helpful for me right now. Taking notes!

 

[Seamaiden]

i dont see why it would have to be koi, could be any fish couldnt it? although koi are pretty, maybe not pretty good eating though if thats the goal?

What other fish are beautiful when viewed from above? Plus, who says they're necessarily bad eating? One of my sisters lived in Tokyo for 11yrs. She said a common Christmas 'treat' was for a family to buy the best koi they could afford, and have it for Christmas dinner sashimi. Or, pretty good fried like catfish, if you take out the line of dark meat. :D

Could be guppies, too! I love fancy gups.

 

[ttystikk]

What other fish are beautiful when viewed from above? Plus, who says they're necessarily bad eating? One of my sisters lived in Tokyo for 11yrs. She said a common Christmas 'treat' was for a family to buy the best koi they could afford, and have it for Christmas dinner sashimi. Or, pretty good fried like catfish, if you take out the line of dark meat. :D

Could be guppies, too! I love fancy gups.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? I like trout and I may like tilapia. I could throw a few koi in as well, just to keep some variety.

 

[stutter]

the aquaponics buds dried really green like emerald green. never seen anything like them. into jars for a little bit for the moisture to even out should have a smoke report in the next day or 2