Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I read a news article about a hydroponics systen in the UK. It was small and he had a water tank under his sink and it pumped water into a growbed full of wood chips. I am thinking he must be utalizing the nitrogen cycle. It said he adde chemicals, but it was not specific. I assume it may be amonia. Anyway, what got my attension about his system, was the fact that he only flooded his grow bed twice a day for a few minutes each....

Anybody use wood chips? Wouldn't they float?

wouldn't recommend, not in aquaponics, some discussion on the subject earlier on, use the forum's search facility

I know of many hydroponics systems that have used wood chips. Usually they use mostly hydroponics nutrients. Wood chips will tend to rot in the beds over time and would need to be replaced each season.

I did once test out some wood chips in a small Aquaponics system. They did tend to turn the water very dark so I could not see the few sacrificial fish I put in the system. The wood chips themselves don't seem to have killed the fish directly during the short trial period, I still would not recommend wood chips as a media for Aquaponics since they tend to stay to wet and the rotting may tend to overload the system over time.

Wood chips, even as a garden mulch, are extremely slow to breakdown and provide virtually no nutrient value.

Some, like cypress chips will kill your fish... and can swing pH (acidically) dangerously.

Most wood chips breakdown by anerobic decomposition... robbing your water of oxygen.

It is said (in soil gardening) that the release of tannins... hence the discolouration that TCL refers to... can be beneficial to the production of microzomes in soil

But in aquaponics... I simply wouldn't use them for the reasons posted.... and the possibility of introducing "soil bourne" diseases to your AP system....

Remember... we're trying to reproduce an "aquatic" environment... not a soil based environment...

I read that adding sawdust to a garden actually robs the surrounding soil of nitrogen, the bacteria uses it to break down the wood. But if you have really poor sandy soil the added ability to hold water is still a benefit, just need more nitrogen for your plants. I would be very afraid of fungus if used in an ap system, that could effect the fish. The fungus is what will break down the wood.

I think it would only be good for fishless aquaponics, or piss-ponics or what ever it is called.