Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Great site and info. I have been thinking about raised concrete formed beds for gardening and this seems so much easier, perhaps cheaper. I have several questions as I ponder starting out.
1. I see mention of worms here and there. What are they?
2. For placement of a system outdoors, what should I do about rain and or roof run off from a shingled roof (that pigeons poo on).
3. Will aeration alone eliminate my water supply chlorine?
4. How much electric usage does a system take?
5. Full sun vs shelter?
6. How much does testing and treatment cost?
7. We do not eat much fish. If system size grows what does it take to sell them?
8 I've seen pond fish get fed dog food, any thoughts?
9. I'd love to see some systems nearby and when travelling north on 95. My email is in my profile.
Thanks

Welcome to the forum 4nursebee

1. Red Wriggler composting worms are usually used.
2. I would make sure no runoff from a shingled roof gets in the system. Opinions might differ on this but I think it's safer not to let this happen. The pigeons concern me less than the shingles.
3. Yes, but sunlight helps as well.
4. This depends entirely on how you set up the system. For low energy use info you might want to do a search for LEAP - low energy aquaponics. Airlifts are another thing you might search for.
5. Go for full sun - you can always shade using shade cloth but it's tough to move the system into the sun.
6. Depends a lot on your water and how many fish you have as well as the size of your system.
7. - You could just grow goldfish or Koi.
8. Probably not a good idea, I don't know of anyone on BYAP that does this. Here's a thread over on MonsterFishKeepers forum that talks about Koi - http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/feeding-fish-dog-food.30834/ - Definitely not as good for the water quality and might hurt the fish. A good quality food is important to growing the plants in AP as well so whatever you do, pick something that has enough nutrients for good plant growth.
9.