Aquaponics - Let fish be your Nutrient!

[ttystikk]

Weird... are they still using power while they glow like that? Do they glow all night? Old CRT televisions would glow for 30 minutes or so after they were shut off, due to the phosphors in the screen. I wondered if CFL does it too, but I haven't noticed.

So it looks like my LED panels are staying in the veg zone for now!

 

[urbanfog]

the cfls in our master bath do that. turn off the light and they slowly dim for about a minute. I always assumed, like when you turn them on it takes a minute or so to get full light due to built in ballast heating up

 

[Seamaiden]

Weird... are they still using power while they glow like that? Do they glow all night? Old CRT televisions would glow for 30 minutes or so after they were shut off, due to the phosphors in the screen. I wondered if CFL does it too, but I haven't noticed.

So it looks like my LED panels are staying in the veg zone for now!

They glow as long as the ceiling fan is moving, and ONLY if/when the ceiling fan is moving or on. Dave attributes it to current induced into the conductor itself by the electrical field of the motor. He says it doesn't take much current to excite an LED, so even a small induction should light it up, and that seems to be what we're observing in the ceiling fan. The LED bulb I have in a light fixture that serves only as a light fixture does not do this.

 

[ttystikk]

Your husband's guess is a good one. Makes sense...

 

[ttystikk]

Your husband's guess is a good one. Makes sense...

 

[Seamaiden]

Hehhehhehheh... I agree. :) Twice, even.

 

[ThePreacher]

Hm. Need to do some more testing then.
I had the exhaust fan sitting on the top of the tent, only a 250m3/h, but if that could be enough ?
Funny thing is that I did not notice it before after 8 months of use, tho.

 

[Seamaiden]

Perhaps light during darkness doesn't burn a hole through your skull as it does mine...? I'm overly sensitive to that stuff, though.

 

[ttystikk]

So I had an enlightening conversation with a young lady at the local aquatics shop tonight. I'm gonna bullet point some highlights, whoever knows/thinks/wants to comment, feel free;

1. To maintain relatively cool water temps in an outside tank year 'round, my best bet is to dig it into the ground and use a pond liner. I found myself wondering how I could maintain the water level in the pond with a siphon?

2. She said all fish waste is ammonia, one way or another. When I asked about other materials, she sounded doubtful.

3. Cold water tank should run in the 50s and have trout in it. She mentioned an interesting class discussion recently about the differing diets of Rainbow vs. Brown trout, and that browns tend to breed opportunistically where rainbows do it annually. Or something. Trout also seem to take a full year to grow to adulthood.

4. Will tilapia thrive in fifties/low sixties? If not, what would- and be more palatable than carp?

5. Tilapia, being a cichlid, is piscivorous- a cute word that means it happily dines on other fish, not that such behavior is uncommon. Good word of the day, though!

6. Warm water tanks are likely to generate more fishy waste per unit of fish. Those temps need to be mid to upper seventies, yet plants should do fine. Who has experience with this?

I'm feeling pretty confused right about now, lol

 

[Seamaiden]

Pacu would be far more palatable than tilapia I think, given their natural diet. And really, THAT is what is key to achieving a tasty fish--proper diet. No goldfish, no pellets, whole, natural foods, including bugs if that's what they eat.

There are a few things to remember about cold water (fish/animals included) vs warm. Higher activity and metabolic levels in warm water coupled with lower O2 levels are the main issues.

The young lady should know this #1 rule of ALL fishkeeping--ANY fish will put ANY OTHER fish in its mouth if it thinks it'll fit. Period. The fact that a tilapia is a cichlid has not a thing to do with what it eats, otherwise how would she explain the Geophagus family of Central American cichlids? How would she explain the many algae-eating cichlids in one of the African rift lakes (Malawi, Tanganyika, Victoria)? How does she explain discus, which eat invertebrates mainly (and beef heart in the home aquarium)? Cichlid does not automatically equal piscivore.

She's essentially correct regarding fish waste. Other materials may release ammoniacal/nitrogenous compounds, depending on what they are. E.G. starting a new system by using fish food left to decompose, bits of fish, invert flesh (shrimp, squid, etc), that sort of thing.

My question to you is will plants grow well in a system that's in the 50s? I have read often that there's a limit to low temps and a plant's ability to actually utilize nutrients present.

 

[ttystikk]

My question to you is will plants grow well in a system that's in the 50s? I have read often that there's a limit to low temps and a plant's ability to actually utilize nutrients present.

I'm operating under this very same assumption, so I'm designing my system accordingly- fish will be kept in the fifties and the water going through the plants will be in the low to mid 60s. The temperature difference will be used to cool my op!

 

[Seamaiden]

Ok, I've found a fantastic site dedicated to aquaponics, and am viewing a video on micro and filamentous algae control methods. One of the things they're using is some humic acid from Kelp4Less (a few people here have posted links to that site) in order to darken the water. Actually, he's discussing a whole bunch of things on management, you should just read/view yourself. :D

http://verticalfoodblog.com/algae-in-aquaponics/

 

[ttystikk]

Ok, I've found a fantastic site dedicated to aquaponics, and am viewing a video on micro and filamentous algae control methods. One of the things they're using is some humic acid from Kelp4Less (a few people here have posted links to that site) in order to darken the water. Actually, he's discussing a whole bunch of things on management, you should just read/view yourself. :D

http://verticalfoodblog.com/algae-in-aquaponics/

Tasty tidbit you got there, thanks.

Chewy... pithy, even...

Of the methods he discussed for algae control, I'm already planning to;
A. Shade my tanks,
B. Use a centrifugal separator
C. Run a grow bed

Thanks to this article, I'll be adding
D. Humic acid

Since humic acid is a pH down and K Silicate is an up, would these play well together or cause problems?

Finally, as a way to get as many beneficial organisms into the mix as rapidly as possible, I plan to use some of @Capulator bennies occasionally, as brewed ACT poured in above the grow bed so they can colonize the entire system. Does anyone foresee any potential issues with this? Personally, I see nothing but benefits when used as an inoculant.

Thanks again for the good read over coffee!

 

[neverbreak]

now that is a sustainable way to run hydro! been thinking about gettin into aquaponics. haven't quite convinced myself yet. but yer results are pretty sweet bro, def an incentive!

neverbreak

 

[monkeymun]

Wow, those results are impressive. Very, very cool.

 

[ttystikk]

now that is a sustainable way to run hydro! been thinking about gettin into aquaponics. haven't quite convinced myself yet. but yer results are pretty sweet bro, def an incentive!

neverbreak

I'm personally tired of chasing my nutes all over the place- this is exactly the kind of fault tolerant system I've been looking for, and as a bonus I get to eat fish!

 

[iCultivate]

I'm personally tired of chasing my nutes all over the place- this is exactly the kind of fault tolerant system I've been looking for, and as a bonus I get to eat fish!

Can you do this with any type of freshwater fish? An amazing concept. A quick Google search tells me it works well outdoors too. Food, fertiliser and weed all from the one system. It doesn't really get much better than that!

-- iCultivate --

 

[ttystikk]

Can you do this with any type of freshwater fish? An amazing concept. A quick Google search tells me it works well outdoors too. Food, fertiliser and weed all from the one system. It doesn't really get much better than that!

-- iCultivate --

Not all freshwater fish can be produced in captivity, but there are plenty of both warmwater and coldwater varieties that will do nicely.

You think this is a symbiotic idea, just you wrap your head around using an outside fish tank to not only nutrify but also manage climate in your operation.

In other words, I'm building an AC system with fish in it. The chiller would only be for backup.

 

[ttystikk]

Ok, I've found a fantastic site dedicated to aquaponics, and am viewing a video on micro and filamentous algae control methods. One of the things they're using is some humic acid from Kelp4Less (a few people here have posted links to that site) in order to darken the water. Actually, he's discussing a whole bunch of things on management, you should just read/view yourself. :D

http://verticalfoodblog.com/algae-in-aquaponics/

Here's another link to the same site, talking about aquaponically grown produce being offered for sale at Whole Foods... in my hometown!

http://verticalfoodblog.com/bayberry-fresh-in-whole-foods-market/

 

[iCultivate]

Not all freshwater fish can be produced in captivity, but there are plenty of both warmwater and coldwater varieties that will do nicely.

You think this is a symbiotic idea, just you wrap your head around using an outside fish tank to not only nutrify but also manage climate in your operation.

In other words, I'm building an AC system with fish in it. The chiller would only be for backup.

Well, maybe not all fish, but what I meant is to ask is whether any fish that can be grown is suitable for aquaponics.

I'm not getting you about the symbiotic AC system. Can you clarify?

-- iCultivate --