Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

As mentioned in this post http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=13995&p=354753#p354753 I plan on building a small pond using a kiddie pool and a tiny waterfall, with some fish, for the express purpose of growing edible plants. The pond should be about 70 gallons, give or take, when installed.

the area of florida my yard lives in has about 2-3 freezes a year for about 4 hours each. just enough to not let me grow citrus. otherwise, i think it is a similar climate to Brisbane, with very distinct rainy and dry seasons.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for me?

-i did find azolla at a local shop that i can use to feed my rabbits.

-i'm working on getting a native cattail or two, but it's difficult because i don't want to illegally harvest from the wild.

-water hyacinth is strictly regulated here, nay, illegal?

-i already have taro/dasheen/elephant ear and cannas which so far are going to be the bulk of it, i guess.

is there a southern rice? does anyone have experience with it? would it need a lot of depth?
aren't some or all water lilies edible? again, do they need a lot of depth to thrive? the asiatic ones are readily available.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, and any suggestions are appreciated!

-Tentance
http://oldescrubland.blogspot.com

http://www.pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=79

cheers

thank you for taking the time to share that list, it does have wonderful pictures.

I've seen some posts about using kiddie pools but my understanding is they are not food grade, and indeed leach algae liking chemicals into the water? I have heard stories in koi forums of koi dying from this kind of thing.

*algae killing

Algaecides is the word your looking for.

Algaecides can be either natural or chemical.

Organic/natural = barley straw and alike.

Chemical Liquid = used to control algae plumes in pools (usually a combination of chlorine and bromine) Algaestats are used to control algae as well as kill it in high dosages.



Some other examples of algaecides are..

Quats:- "quaternary ammonium salts." Which are surfactants and if added in excess, will cause foaming on the pool surface. Surfactants lower the surface tension of the water and "wet" algae cell walls. This "wetting" splits open the cell wall and kills the algae.

Polyquats:-are non foaming algaecides. Polyquat algaecides are very effective not only on green algae but also with the chlorine resistant mustard and black algae and work well at destroying visible algae.

Copper Salts:-soluble copper salts can precipitate from pool water and deposit on pool walls, creating a "blueing" effect. In the presence of chlorine, these salts will turn to cupric oxide and cause grey to black staining of the pool walls.

Colloidal Silver:- Lets be honest, what isnt this stuff good for? Silver is similar to copper in may ways, colloidal silver attaches itself to the pool walls and floor, giving these surfaces a residual and continuing algaecidal action. Silver can also cause a black staining to occur on pool walls if not carefully administered. Silver is also a very good bacteriostat that may reduce the need for chlorine. Some ionisers use copper and silver plates to produce both silver and copper ions in the water.

No offense, but I did mean to say "algae killing". I am aware of the word algaecide. To make a correction to you, natural algaecides are also chemical. The word you were looking for is "synthetic".

I am speaking of what has been incorporated into the plastic by the manufacturer. There are other chemicals added as well for other purposes.

Actually I wasnt looking for the word 'synthetic' but thanks for your input.... no offence.

And yes I agree, the decomposition of barley will produce a chemical component.. among others, which have said to prevent the growth of some algae.

Thank you for taking the time to offer your advice on the subject of edible bog plants.

Like many other plastic tubs, these pools need to be washed thoroughly before adding clean water. then plants. then fish.

there are plenty of examples of people using kiddie pools to house their turtles and worms, so it cant be as bad as you intimate. Perhaps these cheap pools are underutilized because of their small stature. Some quick math assures me the pool is going to be about 70 gallons, which does not offer much temperature stability for fish.

and for the high price of $8 (for small size) a pool, how much long-lasting toxic chemicals can they be spraying on it? also, i still haven't ruled out simple white paint, as it will keep the water temperature down and protect the plastic/look nice.

there was even a guy on youtube using a kiddie pool as his aquaponic grow bed, so the chemicals have to be overrated. your concern, noted, but unless you're a plastics engineer and can tell me exactly what chemical they use and in what concentration....

most chemicals of this type do break down, over time, in sunlight.

so far the list is at:
-Taro
-Canna
-Azolla/Duckweed
-watering wick to Cavendish Banana planted outside pool
-Watercress, possibly seasonal
-Waterchestnut, possibly seasonal
-Water lilies that can grow in shallows.
One humble goldfish

Any other suggestions for a warm water bog? The list above at Plants for a Future is great, but most of those plants need a cooler clime. It's too bad sea cucumbers need cool depths and salt!!

Thanks!
-Tentance, http://oldescrubland.blogspot.com

Thank you for your advice

I've seen kiddie pools used and Ive even used them myself.
Question is it the harder rigid plastic pool or is it one of those with the semi hard sides and vinyl bottom that is a bit bigger?

Either way, both choices can fail, that is how we got a huge amount of our pond plants, they guy at the shop near our old house had a pool spring a leak on him and called us to take a bunch of the pond plants before they died since he didn't have time to replace the pool that day. He was using the pools with the vinyl bottoms. Those are the pools I would worry most about chemical leaching but I've used them and hand bluegill survive in them. I've also used them and hand bluegill die in them.

The smaller hard plastic pools are less likely to have plasticizers and chemicals in them since they are so much smaller and likely to simply be dumped and re-filled. They can spring a leak too, Ive had it happen. Termites ate from the pallet supports into the plastic......... Don't place the pool on pallets if you live in termite territory.

And those You Tube videos of some one using one for a grow bed........ Well did you see a video that had a system that had been in operation for a long time or was it just being built? Just because some one does it on You Tube, doesn't mean it is "safe" or that it works long term.

Of course kids use them so they aren't instant death or something, and drink out of garden hoses, but it isn't something you'd want to consume a lot of long term. I mean, there's a reason they are cheap and aren't labeled "food grade"... I've also seen someone set up an aquaponics system in galvanized metal buckets, and all sorts of things I never would. You can do what you wish, of course. It no doubt varies from brand to brand, age, etc... but without testing how could you be sure? Surely there'd be less complaints about Tupperware type containers leeching things if we just let them sit in the sun for awhile and presto!

would it be possible to delete all the posts that don't specifically mention plants, or move them to the other kiddie pool thread?

Edible pond plants.

Water chestnuts
lotus
water cress

I've grown water chestnuts and water cress but usually in a mortar tub half filled with gravel with water flowing through it. In the hot summer the water chestnuts do well and in winter the watercress does well. The water chestnut plants, you can harvest the "chestnuts" and re-plant the plants. They will die back and go dormant in cold weather. I would sprinkle some watercress seed after re-planting the water chestnut plants in fall. The water cress will grow on the surface and you can keep picking it once it starts getting big and then the bugs will usually do it in when it gets too hot in summer and the water chestnuts can take back over.