Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

HELLO!

My name is Connor John Schmitz, 22 years old. I study Ecology at a state University(certainly not Yale) and am just as interested in plants as I am animals. (As everything in this world is connected and effects everything else. Sometimes humans forget that....)
I live in the US in New York. (NOT, the city.) I volunteer and live at the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge and Rehabilitation Center in a 28 ft. mongolian yurt and act as a wolf handler. Soon i'll consider myself a bird handler as well. ...Well, I moved here about a month ago after living in the remote mountains on a commune in Colorado for more than a half a year taking care of wolves and horses and learning about sustainability and living in a tipi with a flat. I fell in love with sustainability and decided to help a less developed, but eager, organization.
In colorado we used vegetable oil to run our vehicles and used solar to run our technology. No phone wires out there!!! But here, it's much more "on-the-grid."
Anyway, let me get on with the important stuff.

We decided to build an aquaponics system in my yurt and with the help of a local company, Grow Buddies, Inc., and the owner Derrick, built this beauty:


The top buckets have: Spinach, Kale, Tomatoes, and Snap Peas.
The bottom buckets hold: Basil, Squash, and Eggplant.

(Since we are a rehab center- we can have rehab turtles living with the fish until ready for release! And fish that die can go to our raptors!)

I'm sure I'll have questions in the future which is why I singed up to this forum today. But for now I've only got two questions.

Will fish change the pH of the water? Right now I keep it at a steady 6.9-7.0. But I can't find online if the fish actually change the pH of the water. Another volunteer(who likes to say more than he's sure of) tells visitors that fish keep the pH at a certain level. I don't like saying he's wrong in front of people, and I'm not sure if he has done research himself but I would imagine the contrary where fish drastically change the pH level, especially when they die?

Also, I was using rock fibers as a substitute for soil because of the great absorption properties. But we decided to then use coconut fibers in order to eventually introduce worms to our roots.(Vermiponics) My question is, do I need to plant the seeds in something, then place them in coconut fibers, or can I simply spread seeds over the fibers and then place a small layer on top?

Thanks so much! Right now our spinach and kale is sprouting and green and healthy and lookin' great! (I accidentally let the yurt get too cold and now the tomatoes have barley germinated, we live where it gets to -30 in the [long] winters, today we add a propane heater so keeping the stove alit isn't such a task )

I'm sure to ask and ask and post pictures of our probable success!! Thanks again.
Connor John

Sorry about the picture size!

that's the biggest post I've ever seen
welcome ADK looks great

So jealous... sounds like you're living the dream there!
Really want to call you John Connor, but I guess you've heard that before? If Arnie comes looking for you I'll send him on a wild goose chase...

so what do you use to keep the pH at a steady 6.9 - 7.0?

Nitrification will tend to lower pH,

pH is dependent on many factors, make up water, media, feed rate.

are the 4 pots your only bio-filtration?
how many and what type of fish do you have

Yes I get that a lot! Thanks for that, it's tough with arnold on your tail...!

To keep the power of hydrogen in check I use "General Hydroponics" pH up and pH down solutions. I test multiple times a week and provide the change as necessary. A few drops can make a difference and I'm learning exactly what I need to supplement the water.

The four planters are my only bio filters, would you suggest having more?

I'll have around 40-50 fish, approximately one for each gallon of water. Mostly bottom feeders that can survive if it ever gets too cold if any of my heating sources accidentally turn off or I forget to get up every few hours to put a log on the wood stove. (I can get the yurt to 105F if I needed, so there is plenty of heat. It's just tiring to wake up every two hours to put a log on.)

way overstocked for the amound of planters you have.. you'll need some additional filtration or go with 4 or 5 fish..
for every 100 gallons of growbed space, you can grow out 20 to 25lbs of fish

This is why I am asking questions before actually putting the fish in!

Okay, I thought 50 fish sounded like a whole lot. Thanks for that.

We also have carbon filters in the main pump.

I would start with leafy veggies and herbs. Fruiting and vine type plants clog up small beds quick and cause drain issues from my limited experience. More yurt pics please! An attached yurt greenhouse would be awesome!

Well roots shouldn't be too much an issue as we have a planter, inside of another bucket with space for the water to pool and drop out into the next planter, with the same on the second planters... hoping that is enough but I'll make a few inquires and see what happens. There is plenty of space between the tomatoes and other plants that I feel as if they would not cross and clog up the bucket, there's just so much space for them to grow that I can't see them competing over space like they might do in soil. (I use cocounut fibers as the soil replacement, and it provides a lot of space as well as a great absorption material.)

Here is a few pictures of the yurt, as requested. And as you can see, even though winers get to -30 here, my heating sources are good enough to grow tomatoes.

Another question I have. As far as feeding the fish go, does it matter what type of fish food I use or will any store-bought fish food produce the correct nutrients needed for my plants? Thanks!

where do you get your power from, are you on the grid?

might be worthwhile using the search option in this forum, tons of great info.

and yes you need aquaponic fish food.

Will do that.
On the grid, yes, unfortunately. We're in a forest and have been discussing where we could place solar panels btut it is difficult.

For sure the solar panels would sort of destroy the looks of your yurt!

But the beauty of sustainability far overcomes the beauty of aesthetics in relation to manmade structures, at least in my mind.