Oh and damn all this hydro reading. I’ve decided with March as Hydro month, I’ll aim for May as aquaponics month.
I’ve toyed with the idea of aquaponics for so long. Fish have been a long term love of mine. About half of what I read on the subject at a home level I find concerning, based on how certain instructions leave the fish’s well-being to the wayside in favor of production. I am an animal lover and I was in charge of a pet store fish department, so I’m always invested in pet well being above all else. A lot of home aquaponics seems to be based on commercial ideas which don’t focus on that because the bottom line is top priority, and I think I can see a better way involving things I already have around the house.
After changing jobs I downsized over a couple years from 12 tanks to just 2. That leaves an awful lot of leftover equipment, which I’ve got in mind a unit to make. It’ll support 1-2 plants max and use an ebb & flow tray on top.
May is the aim because I’ll take the time to season, prep a good bacteria colony using my main tanks and blockout the tank within the grow room for algae. This’ll happen I’m thinking in March, after the hydro systems go in - either 20 or 29 gallons, I have two spare of each 😂 I already have aquarium NPK and micronutrients since my main tank is a 55g planted. There’s not much gear to get at all for this plan, surprisingly!
So many thoughts!