Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Okay so im a guppy nut, a plant nut and (duh) a frog nut....
In this post I'm'a asking how many guppies i would need to feed 1 parsley plant really well
right now it's germinating so I will have the time to stock the tank... I have all the stuff I need but i would like to have suggestions on this
I need it per gallon....


I only have a 2(.5?) gallon tank to use for a while so i need to know how maany fish to place in it
I have plenty of frozen bloodworms and algae wafers for the critters and im sure thay will be really good for the plant as well so no worries there
-Thanks

Couple questions...

What is you grow bed size? L X W X H
What grow media are you using?

I have chosen to do a modified version of the deep bed system i think it is... float plants on top of the water with fish underneath- regardless I just want to test the thing out so i need a number to know what to buy you know?

ok, so hopefully you'll still have some mechanical filtration going, to remove solid waste
but as long as you keep your mechanical filter going and an aerator in the fish tank, you can float a couple plants on top, and provide some lighting
i'd only do a few at first and see how it goes

i did not read that as a requirment in the websites and blogs i have looked at... that is to have a filter- the solid waist is part of the system from what I have read... I will continue to look for that now but it seemed to me it needs very little filtration- sorta like a micro-pond or lake (:-\

+1 Keith.

The T - I can understand your confusion but you will find that the guys that are running float beds are also running either some sort of filter or a media bed that acts as their filter and usually both. It's a common misconception that the plants benefit directly from the solids. They do not. The plants benefit from nitrates that nitrifying bacteria create from ammonia produced mostly from the fish breathing not pooping. It's this ammonia and nitrifying bacteria that power the system not the solids. If left in the system the solids would eventually breakdown and release a lot more ammonia which would overwhelm the bacterial colonies capacity to process ammonia into nitrate. Ammonia would build up and the fish would die.

This is where the media comes in. It provides a home (surface area) for the bacteria to set up shop. This is why your stocking density is derived from the amount of wet media you have.

I would suggest building a small media bed over your fish tank. The media will provide the missing link in your system and lead to much better result for you.

Hope this helps.