Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I wouldnt let warm blooded animals shit in my AP.

Thanks for everyone's inputs. I am not convinced enough with some of your very rigid but thought-provoking arguments.

I think it is about as rigid as "look both ways before you cross the street." Sure people have done it, but eventually you will get hit by a car.

It also depends on what animals. Poultry, rabbits and others may be ok but pigs would be a very bad idea.

Ronmaggis concern about salmonella is valid but doesn't seem to be a problem in these systems where the water is irrigated to crops. If the crop is handled and harvested in such a way so that system water doesn't come in contact with the edible parts of plants then it shouldn't be a problem even if salmonella is present. Since this is a practice that is widely (but not universally) recommended anyway for similar reasons it wouldn't be much of a change.

My concerns are more so for the fish I will be eating.

Hence why pigs would be a bad idea.

Unless anyone has mentioned it before how about snails as part of the diet ? er for fish etc; I don't mind escargot occasionally but prefer fish.

Pig poo = bad
Every other little piece of pig = YUM!

Its not that pig poo is bad just that you have to be careful. Since so many pathogens infect both pigs and humans you want to process/compost the pig poo before you use it. That means it generally better for dirt.

Interesting discussion. On a lighter note... not a debate please.

Poo is poo whether is fish poo or any other bird poo or animal poo. We are okay with fish poo... good for our AP plants... why not others?

I think using rabbit, goat, or cow for manuring the pond is good... not pig or human. As I understand, fish do not eat these but they help only to produce planktons along with sun light.

E-Coli.. Salmonella... understandable.. but why UN agency FAO is recommending and promoting those small farmer practices world wide. Nobody answered this. Did you check the link I posted before? If yes, are you talking against FAO guidelines? It is easy to say NO but please have a look at the above link... there are several studies happening to combine fish/plants/animals/birds/farming... success stories, failures, how to make cheap fish feed, etc.

We are only trying to adopt some of their proven aqua-cultural practices into AP. After all, Aquaponics is Aquaculture+Hydroponics.. and it all started 2500 years ago... Chinambas or Chinese or Taiwan models? Can we do those aqua-cultural practices in modern AP or not? If yes, how should we do it? If no, please give clarity. Or, is it Hydroponics supremacy?

This is a thread about feeding fish (at minimal cost) and I suppose at a relatively small scale.

As far as growing vegies on a larger scale (well particularly mono crop) Hydro is cheaper and there are less variables. Set up capital costs (*sigh*) and labour are the killers as well as over regulation. Which is why the Western world imports (well Australia anyway) from cheaper labour markets or over subsidised farmers in certain countries.

Came across this
http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-0 ... .5.1.3&x=1
from here
http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-0 ... .5.1.3&x=1

or this



from here
http://agritech.tnau.ac.in/fishery/fish_ifs.html

lots of stuff here too

http://www.nzdl.org/gsdlmod?e=d-00000-0 ... 547bcc.7.4

Then again, governments say GMO crops are safe too...

Irrigated crops are not closed loop. The pathogens remain dilute in the irrigation water. In ap we are reusing the water. Hopefully the beneficial bacteria keep the pathogens down, but I doubt that they will always be effective.

+10000