Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Conas ata tu - I registered a while back but have only begun poking around the forum. Am looking to build using natural materials, as far as possible and was wondering if anyone had tried lining the base of their fish tank\water trough with mulch or a high grade compost? Was think that the heat that this stuff generates would keep the water temp a couple of degrees higher than without? Thoughts and comments are welcome
madman

Anaerobic composting processes are cold, and heat producing aerobic composting eventually cool down, and mulches don't heat either. In terms of insulation, because they are not particularly dense their thermal mass is not particularly significant.

I think you should look at burying parts of the system or building a greenhouse, or both. If you cannot dig, there are some examples where fiberglass roofing insulation has been used to be good effect, but it's not as effective as in ground heat exchange/insulation. Growbeds are massive heat exchangers, so any thermal protection you can offer these ie greenhouse or enclosure, will be important in a thermally sensitive design.

thanks for the reply bunson