Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

check this site:
http://www.farmfountain.com/ff4mov1.html

frank

Don't see it working for too long. No room for the plants. And darn they got lights.
At least it might get people googling aquaponics. Interesting link Frank.

Mmm... totally wild man!
Really efficent and those goldies look scrummo!

Been mentioned a few times....

search.php?keywords=farmfountain&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

haha that's so fancy... I like that they tried to make it look impressive but like Duff said, not a lot of room for growth. And despite those lights being low wattage, I'd rather be able to say to peeps... "You don't have to use anything else, just add fish and your plants will grow."

Otherwise, I enjoyed looking at the link.. thanks! I got some ideas from it...

well, maybe you and others have not completely understood the potentials of this design
(please take this as a friendly nudge and not as another challenge, I have enough of those)

but this TMHO is a wonderful combination of AP with arts, with recuperation (of PET bottles) and, most of all, with interior lighting

so the light is not wasted on the plants alone

I believe it to have great potential

but then I am an acknowledged incorrigible optimist

frank

Anyone thought to ask just how you get the "edible" veges out of the bottles???

Guess you just cut the bottles open as soon as the plant reaches immaturity... and toss the bottle into the recycle bin...

Makes a great AP Xmas tree though....

surely the joint effort of all our magnificent brains could come up with a solution to this enigma?

and if it doesn't, at least the dumping of the PET bottles is postponed and they are used to a good purpose in the proceedings

frank

I guess you could significantly reduce the carbon footprint....

Leave the lights out of the design... and use it as a coat rack....

The bottles are already cut open so I guess many harvests can be done by cutting bits of the plants for your salad.

It is a really pretty looking design as showed in their pictures of the brand new set up. It does rather look like art work with the shiny plastic and colored lights.

I do think it is cool for gaining some interest.

I also see many drawbacks for long term operation. Like ugly, ucky looking algae forming in all those clear pipes and on the inside of the clear bottles rather spoiling the very artistic look of the sculpture.

And I do suspect root clogging would be a regular issue as well and require regular swapping of bottles for new ones.

Still a pretty tower for growing baby greens for gormet salads.

exactly
and even with it's many drawbacks an excellent way to promote AP on exhibitions and the likes

frank

I do have a minor issue with promoting things like hydroponics and aquaponics in such ways though. It goes kinda like this. Some one goes and creates a similar type of set up and encounters the drawbacks and many of that person's friends and acquaintances might see and hear about said project and especially the problems. From these less than glowing images of Aquaponics, they get the idea that it doesn't really work very well, is yucky and ugly, and can only grow lettuce anyway and they don't look any further.

I do notice that people like to exaggerate the virtues of things and downplay the challenges. I understand that this is the way to sell things but I personally would rather be very honest and realistic in my sales pitch so that people who are really serious about it can be pleasantly surprised at how well things go rather than be always disappointed at how things just never quite meet expectations.

That is just my take, especially with Aqaponics where maturity is an important part in good production. Don't crank people up into expecting huge growth and big salads three weeks after construction.

A bit like the you tube clip one lady did on how to set up an aquaponics system. Big tub of perlite and a tank that looked like it was filled with milk. Poor fish. There has to be a responsibility when showing people new things. And the main one is not to stuff it up. Giving a topic a quick Google may give someone some understanding but to then blindly pass this on to others and to push it as art. Okay as long as it comes with a warning. Not suitable for live animals. But as long as people look at real systems and its only used as a tool to plant the seed then.

I absolutely agree with both of you
but nothing prevents one to have an attractive, easy to move around display
and still be honest about the drawbacks

frank

I think the FF is neat for demonstrations, but I wouldn't have the $10k for the LEDs.

Once you get beyond demo systems the bottles aren't the most efficient means of holding the plants.