Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi Scott,

20 mil LDPE liner it was listed as food grade and was rated to last 20 years. So far it has held up just fine the last 4 years.

I brought my Tilapia 4 years ago and just save some fry each year and grow them the next year. This had been completely by accident I would just see some fry in the tank and put them out and that has keep me going. I had 60 one year old fish last fall and going to grow them for a second year but it got to cold last winter and lost them all. But I still had some fry in a heated tank and they made it through the winter.

I have seen duckweed all over the state in the water ways also all the fish clubs in the valley have it and I have it also.

The heat and cold just required you to grow the crops that for that season. Phoenix has 4 growing season 3 months long so you have to steal a month from one of the other grow times. Shade is required during the summer and plastic covering is needed during the winter. I have tomatoes growing now for my spring harvest. The trick will be to keep them alive through the winter. If they make it I’ll have 100’s of tomatoes from 3-4 plants. The other trick is to plant crops that are ready in 60-90 days. During July and August the only stuff I could get to grow well was the same stuff the America natives grow 100 years ago in the valley. Just Google native seeds. Most of the stuff doesn’t appeal to my taste buds. So I don’t grow much in July and August just fish.

Thanks
Bruce

Thinned out the beets and chard and got a hand full of green bean from 5-6 plants after 8 weeks from seeds.

here is the link to the update

Thanks for the info Bruce



My concern fo winter was the cold affecting the h20 affecting everything else. I have a container garden in my greenhouse which I grow tomatos/squash eqqplant etc just about year round. I found the intensity of the sun here can carry veges through the year as long as you house them and stop the cold from killing them. I was more worried about liner failure as I plan to add a DWC and make my system(s) hybrid.

As far as the duckweed, I haven't found any yet due to the fact that they stock the canals here with Tilapia!!! Crazy, I was out scrounging the canals in the SE valley and find only tilapia, and no duckweed. Maricopa county has multiple licenses now to stock supposed sterile tilapia to keep the canals free of plants (go figure they would actually do something green?).

I was thinking about snagging some fingerlings i found in a irrigation canal and putting the in a hospital tank, test the water, and maybe populate from those because they don't appear to be sterile? Unless of course I just so happen on the canals repeatedly with fry and fingerlings? I think theyre breeding..


Scott


Scott