Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hey everyone!

This is my first post and I wanted to share my first aquaponics system.

The system:
Tank: 8 l plastic bottle
Type: only two pipes, less than 2 m in total, 18 holes for plants
Medium: expanded clay
Fish: none, only snails
Plants: several different perennial leafy greens
Pump: Airlift, moves about 50 ml per minute
Light: natural light from the window
Price: less than 15 euros (not including plants and pump)

The pipes are filled with the extended clay, there are no pots, just 18 holes in the pipes. I don't plan to put fish in there, but snails. Maybe I should call it Snailoponics I prefer snails because of the low volume and the fact that snails need less care and I can feed them with kitchen waste. The system has perennial leafy greens only. It's purpose is to experiment with various kinds of plants and see which one serves best to produce salad greens in the long run.
Right now I have the following plants in there:
Murdannia loriformis (Beijing Grass)
Callisia fragrans (Basket Plant)
Gynura procumbens (Longevity Spinach)
Gynura vitelina (Embirbiri)
Gynura crepidioides (Okinawa Spinach)
Anredera cordifolia (Madeira Vine)
Nasturtium officinale (Watercress)
Centella asiatica (Gotu Kola)
Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi)
Ipomoea aquatica (Water Spinach)
Persicaria odorata (Vietnamese Cilantro)
Marsilea minuta (Sushni)
Eclipta alba (False Daisy)
Alternanthera sissoo (Brazilian Spinach)
Peperomia pellucida (Shiny bush)
Ocimum species 'Mammut' (Giant Basil)

Right now, I am still in the process of rooting some cuttings. The system is about 3 weeks old, the snails will arrive in the next days. As you can see I have still space for two more plants, I was thinking about Sauropus androgynus (Katuk) and Hibiscus acetosella (Cranberry Hibiscus), but I'm not sure if I can keep them to about 30 cm in height without stunting their growth. Any opinions on that or other plant suggestions are very welcomed!

..
Ummm.. snails don't swim and can't breathe under water..
What is the link between snails and hydroponics..

The concept sounds OK.. food.. poo... plants.. :-)
..
.

I will put in Planorbarius corneus, I thought that's what you call a snail. The link between snails and hydroponics is exactly the same as with fish.

are you going to eat the snails?

Right now, I don't plan to.

Hi
I am intrigued.
Not sure if it is happenstance, coincidence or serendipity!
Right now I am waging war against slugs and snails that are devastating the plants in my NFT tubes.
BUT......... but
I have eaten many snails!
From curried snails to Paella de Campo. Rabbit and snails in Spain.
The classic French L’escargot is a family favorite.
Butter, Garlic and Parsley.
See photo of one of our snail dishes!
I need to do some research but will be fascinated to follow your thread.

My system is way too small to consider eating anything that's not a plant, besides Planorbarius corneus is a bit small to eat. But the idea of growing snails as food is actually not bad, would be great for a low maintenance set up for very busy (or lazy) people. Apple snails should be suitable for that purpose. http://www.eattheweeds.com/are-slugs-ed ... -snails-2/