Hello everyone!
I've spent the last 6 weeks seeking inspiration for a new setup I'm going to be doing as a present to my family (and myself of course). I have a pretty good idea of the setup I'm going to be doing but it's not as much fun without other enthusiasts to share it with, and I'm sure I could benefit from the wealth of experience around here. Of all the places I ran across in my searches this board seemed to not only be one of the most active but also have some very nice folks who appear quite eager to help each other out. So here I am
A little bit about me...
This could get long winded so I will endeavor to limit it primarily to the subject at hand. I'm originally from Southern California and have loved gardening as long as I can remember. I also enjoy animals of all forms, they have always fascinated me and been a constant source of excitement. I am also a big fan of (and off and on hobbyist in) alternative energy/transportation, symbiosis (finding harmony between man's activities and nature), and of course, organic food.
Relevant experiences include gardening in general, hydroponics, aquaculture, and many years of aquarium ownership. It is actually interesting to me that I did aquaponics beginning in 2001 but I had no idea that such a term existed or that there was so many people doing it, even on large agricultural levels. I simply put two and two together and thought "hey I bet I wouldn't have to change the water in this aquarium as much if I had live plants absorbing the nitrates and phosphates" and so it began...
My first system consisted of a couple of simple NFT pipes and some hoses from a hydroponics setup I wasn't using at the time and my 55 gallon planted freshwater aquarium. I never grew edible plants in it but I had many years of enjoyment out of both the aquarium and the various houseplants I had in the system. Which grew voraciously I might add, to such an extent one could hardly even notice that the NFT pipes where there!
I have moved around a lot since then, and as such I haven't had either a garden or an aquarium since about 2005. I moved to Seoul in 2007, got married, and now have two young boys - the eldest just turned 3 a few days ago, and the youngest turned 1 last month. So the one thing I miss most about my 'past life' is my garden, and my aquariums (not to mention my reptiles and backpacking through the northwest of America but those are stories best left for another day) and I would like to share some of those experiences with my children as they grow.
I've wanted to setup a garden for the last 3 years but I never had the space or access to a yard of any sort, they really cram people in here in Seoul, I have had closets in America that are bigger than some of the apartments I've stayed in here lol. I moved about 9 months ago to a (still small) two bedroom apartment, it doesn't have the ample lighting that my last place did (10th floor, huge south facing window, no obstructions) but it does have enough space for me to setup a small (perhaps 1sq meter) indoor aquaponics garden near a southwest facing window in my main room. The window doesn't get the best light, I would say direct light is limited to 1-3 hours a day depending on season and weather, the rest of the time the sun is blocked by other buildings, but it is the brightest window I have in the house so I'll use it as best I can and supplement with lighting as needed.
I will reserve my questions and a full description of my designs/plans for another thread but the gist is as follows...
I have two primary goals with this system:
1) To produce some delicious fresh herbs, salad greens, and possibly some vegetables depending on how well things are going and how much space they require.
2) To create an attractive aquarium for my family and I to enjoy, with crystal clear water quality.
Goal 1 is a goal that I'm sure basically everyone in the community shares, goal 2 is really based on the fact that this is a very small scale system that will be a component of my 'family room' so I would like it to be as aesthetically appeasing as possible, particularly to my wife lol. I would love to grow edible fish in the system but I wouldn't attempt that with less than about 1,000 liters of water and a lot more grow bed space. As such I have decided I will attempt a community tropical fish tank. I have a lot of experience with tropical fish and while gold fish or koi may be great for some people with small setups and colder homes, my house is always warm anyway so I will strive to find that happy medium between the temp that makes the fish happy, my family happy, and the plants happy. I would have loved to do cichlids but the PH they require wouldn't be good for the plants (and vise versa).
I will post more specifics on the system I have in mind in another thread, I just wanted to give everyone an idea of who I am, why I am here, and what I intend to do in the near future.
I look forward to sharing my progress and conversing with you all, thank you for welcoming me to your community.
Cheers
Backyard Aquaponics
