Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi,

I'm a senior in high school. I found out about aquaponics last year and was immediately hooked. I decided to do a science fair project with aquaponics as an excuse to get my mom to let me build a small system in our house . I started the system back in october with a plan to grow bibb lettuce and compare it to hydroponic lettuce produced the same. After many problems, research and development I got the aquaponics going fairly well but not competing with the hydroponics. Now the science fair project is done with but I'm going to keep the system going until I head of to school next fall. So now I get to see what else besides lettuce will grow in my system I'm excited to keep messing with it over the summer as well as reading and learning more on this great site. I learn more everyday. Hopefully after state science fair I will have time to post pics and details of my system.

Hi SFB,
good reasoning to convince your mother have fun with it

Well done.
There is unfortunately reasonable empirical and anecdotal evidence that says AP does not outperform even dirt gardens in it's first season. However generally after they've had a chance to mature, and you've become a bit more confident and experienced, they really start to shine.
Good luck with the project, and continue the science fair style report comparing it to hydro next season, it would be good to have the trait properly documented.

How old was your aquaponic system when you compared it to hydroponics? A young aquaponic system (less than 6 mo. old) will not be as efficient as hydroponics but after this time period, there is a growth spurt in aquaponics that far exceeds hydroponics and maintains it; so far the researchers assume it is the microbiology that is mature at this age but they don't know specifically what causes it.

THE FUTURE OF AQUAPONICS LOOKS BRIGHT AT BROOKS
The first bar chart (2003) shows that aquaponics, before it has fully developed its all-important microbiology to change fish wastes to plant food, is not as productive in greenhouse growing of food plants as inorganic hydroponics.
However, the second chart (2004) shows that when the microbiology is fully operational after six months, it leaps ahead of inorganic hydroponics in the comparison. It means earlier maturity of greenhouse crops under aquaponics, and much heavier cropping.
http://www.greenhousecanada.com/content/view/965/38/

My system is currently about 5 months old and most of my data was collected over the last month. After I started the system I found research supporting that they get better with maturity. I wish I could have started earlier last year so the system would be older but wasn't able to so I had to collect what data I had because of when science fair was. But my last data trial showed a tremendous increase in productivity of the AP system which is very exciting!!! So now that science fair is done I'm start getting the exciting results lol. But I plan to still continue the lettuce trials and other plants over the summer for my own enjoyment . Unfortunately I will only have till august to experiment, because even my small system would not exactly fit into my tiny dorm room I'll be living in. So unless my brown thumb family keeps the system running (unlikely) thats when the project ends, until after college anyway
But hopefully in the next couple months I can learn a lot more and the system will continue its productivity increase so I can gets lots of good AP experience.
I also can't wait to get the details of my system up so I can gather some of the great advice and expertise that seems to be floating around this site

Sounds like you have a good start in AP future. Maybe you can get one of your family members interested. I have seen others on this site get things started and members of the family almost took over they became so excited about it. In either case, enjoy while you can.

Pretty neat! Great to start young. Welcome

Welcome SFB

i think you might want to have a closer look on this forum for the micro systems that some people have

the one that jumps to mind is the closet system and there was another that was on a window sill too

hope you have fun with your system until you go to college

You never know, you may be able to get a professor at college interested, and move your system there, or just start a new big and well funded system for the college
Dunno if you could get extra credit though.

Hey now thats an idea! Maybe I could introduce aquaponics to the university. It kinda goes along with my major so maybe I could get a spot in their greenhouse. The other thing I thought would be cool but maybe not totally realistic, is to start a small hydroponic or aquaponic after my first year to make some money on the side. The aquaponics would probably be hard to make a profit but I was producing some nice big bibb lettuce heads in the hydroponic part of my project and I could see maybe being able to make that work. I've always been the entrepreneurial type with the pumpkin patch etc. so I guess I'll see what I can do when the time comes.