Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

We may know PI for more than 6 didgits but we usually round it up to add that saftey factor Just like how we round up your Bill.

Special morning deal eh jtjf

It's better than the yard!

I was thinking it might have something to do with assisting in water to run off - my slant on things

Hi Doug,

To put my system in perspective.......my interest is in integrated food production involving plants, quail, chickens, rabbits, worms, snails and fish......and pretty much any other food source that is practical for a backyard.



Doug, it doesn't matter if the nitrates build up because, by watering the "open loop" plants, I use water which has to be replaced.....which has the effect of diluting the nitrate levels.

Having said that, I probably go through less water watering coco peat that I would in the equivalent size of gravel grow bed.....for the following reasons:

- gravel beds heat up quite considerably in hot weather....dramatically increasing the water lost to evaporation. Coco peat remains quite cool.
- the aeration that occurs in gravel beds almost certainly increases the evaporation rate, too. The coco peat trays and pots only get watered once per day in the peak of summer and less so in cooler weather.

Tom Sperano has been quoted as saying that his plant to fish ratio was eventually 45-70:1. I guess the variation comes down to the type of plants he was growing.

I've made the observation that most large aquaponic farms are more in the plant business than the fish business.........simply on a production volume basis.

I've noticed, for example, that it takes very little in the way of nitrates to make basil and some varieties of lettuce really fire up.

Gary

Gaz, not dissing the coco peat as i've not tried it yet (but would like to!), but have you considered that maybe the reason the cocopeat does stay cooler is BECAUSE of the evaportaion of water from its perpetually moist surface? Sort of like an evap cooler.

I have to dig right down to the flood level of my gravel bed (about 2 inch) to find it wet, so its oly the top water less gravel that gets hot, the gravel under that is roughly tank temp + a few C. sort of like mulch.

Just something to ponder...........................

After all the hot weather we have had my system is still only 22

yeh, mine 22C as well.

Hi Steve,

You could be right......but another possibility is that coco-peat doesn't heat up anything like the same extent that gravel does.....wet or dry.

Another point is that coco peat really holds water. Watering once a day in Summer is more a question of nervous anxiety on my part rather than any real need on the part of the plants.

When I do water the plants, the nutrient runs out of the drain hole very quickly which suggests that the coco peat is holding moisture very well.

Of course, a proper trial is the only real way to resolve the matter.

Gary

Gary
Is coco peat the same as coir or only related?
As a homestead oriented person, I admire your operation.
What does coco peat cost? How long can you use it before replacing? Do you cycle it out to compost or mulch when it needs to be replaced?

Doug,

Coco peat is my pet name for coco coir.......and I think it's someone's brand name, too.

The coco that's in my system at the moment is Canna Coco (a particular brand of coco). It's more expensive than other coco but it's also cleaner (less dust) and it has been adjusted to offset the magnesium and calcium deficiencies that otherwise applies to all coco.

I pay AUD$30.00 per 50 litre bag for it. I can also get a compressed bale of coco which is AUD$65.00.....for a much larger quantity (expands to about 300 litres) of a lesser quality product. It's available in compressed bricks for about AUD$2.00 each (expands to about 8 litres).

Two things to note about cheap coco is that it may contain high levels of salt (not surprising when you consider where it comes from) and, as I mentioned earlier, all coco is deficient in magnesium and calcium unless it has been added back in.

Recently, the major hardware chain in Australia has begun to sell 5kg blocks of very coarse coco for about AUD$9.50. I'll be arranging alternative supplies of this product at a considerably reduced price.

Of course, you'd be able to get Michigan prices from your local Hydroponic shop.

It can be re-used several times......preferably with different plant species each time......and when the coco is finally spent, we plan to use it for worm bedding (food). When we attempted this in the past, we found the fine dust that the birds kicked up gave us hell. This year, we're planning to trial the coarse stuff as deep litter for our quail and chickens prior to using it for the worms.

This way, we recover the coco peat, after several incarnations, as high quality (weed-free) worm castings.

Gary

Murray is getting a pallet of it very soon, will have forum member rates

Jaymie,

Yep.....we've already been chatting about it.

Gary

Hi,

This afternoon, we processed our three remaining meat birds. As a matter of interest, they averaged 2.3kg dressed (over 5lb for our US friends).

I kept the chicken hearts and livers. The livers went down well.....sauteed in butter and lemon juice and served on toast.

I chopped the hearts up and fed them to my Jade Perch. None of it got to the bottom. So much for omnivores.

Omnivore does mean they eat meat and veg dude. I don't think it means they need to have meat and veg on the same fork though