Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi guys....my name is Marin and i am from Croatia.
I am very fresh in this, from today, so i have still much to discover, but i am eager to learn more...
Just want to clear something wich is unclear to me.
Fish waste that floats in water is turned in amonia. How can you be sure that all or most of water containg amonia from fish waste is sucked by water pump?


Second q is? with wich fish/vegtable are u most happy to grow/raise?

Thnx all.

Hi and welcome Marin.


not quite. Solids waste does get cleared by the pump but it is not ammonia. Solids break down in the beds if you use media beds of rock, clay etc) and provides direct 'food' for plants.

Usually the pump 'cleaning' is waste that accumulates in the bottom of the tank and suspended in the water.
You try and avoid having too much floating waste (may have to use a net or skimmer intake to get rid of it).

Ammonia comes from urine and respiration etc. And things breaking down in the fish tank.
That ammonia is transferred into the system where nitrifying bacteria that live in the systems and mainly in the media convert it to nitrites and nitrates.


answered frequently around this forum and over time reading posts you will see lots of examples.

The primary product is nitrogen (as nitrates) which is the primary nutrient requirement of things like lettuce, spinach, beets, Asian Greens, various herbs, and other 'leafy veg'. These go well in AP - you just need to add a little bit of iron and potassium and few trace elements to your system - usually use a low nitrogen liquid seaweed extract to do this with additional iron if required.

Other things that are popular include tomatoes, and some other types of fruiting vegetables.
These need some additional things to be added - particularly potassium.

Fish vary by location and what people are allowed to keep. Some people simply use goldfish.
Common fish types outside of Australia (particularly in Asia and Africa) are Tilapia which are fairly easy to raise. Various forms of carp, trout, catfish and various perch are also popular.

As you come from Croatia you will need to choose fish based on your location and expected water temperatures. It would depend on whether you are on the coast or in the higher mountain areas.
Also what sized and type of system you will have.

you can get some information here....
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/guide ... quaponics/ (BYAP what is aquaponics)
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/information/ (BYAP misc information)

another good reference is the FAO small-scale Aquaponics guide... which can be found here
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4021e/index.html

Welcome to the BYAP Forum, Valodja!


Not only is it floating fish waste that converts into wonderful plant nutrition, the majority of ammonia excretion in fish passes through the gills. I'm sure there are many exceptions on this diversified planet (like lungfish?) but as this lecture points out.

Helen Chasiotis of York U in Toronto Lecture: Nitrogen Excretion in Fish


Frontiers in Physiology agrees in this article:

Ammonia Production, Excretion, Toxicity, and Defense in Fish: A Review

But in answer to your question about water flow, we try to design fish tanks, sump tanks and growbeds so that there is adequate and thorough water-flow. It may be that with water going out and water going in, perhaps in the time it takes to pump the volume of the fish tank, only 60% of the actual water that was pumped is old water and 40% of what was pumped was new water that recently enter. Somewhere I saw a study on this, but I haven't tried to find it again. I'm sure it is out there! But with directed water flow and agitation and no dead spots in a tank, in a timely manner statistically almost all of the water will most likely pass on to the next stage.

Unless you want to provide your own environment (climate controlled greenhouse,) the temperature one is in largely determines what is easier to successfully grow (e.g. tilapia in warm climates, trout in cold.)

Sorry about dumping research papers on you your first day in class!

Please tell us about Croatia and your interests in aquaponics!

--
Sam

yep, may be better to stay with references for the basics.....

Thank u for clearing out lit of thingd. Of course ill dive in more into this, exp.trough this forum. Havent manage to look at much topics but what i have seen there could be mist of it to figure out aquaponics. Now, in Croatia aquap.doesnt exp, limited tehnology and know-how. Corp, pike, trout. Vrgy all...spinych, tomatoes, green salads.... there isan consulting firm i Slovenia ponnod.com, wich offers advices. Startedas backyard project 10y.ago and now ltd has few employes and can be helpful. Will look intp that. Other things i will look here on forum and other pages. I am reaser hing this with my friend for a bigger project. He his people in Pentair and there will be from help.

Now. Just another thing. U people mesure on your own Ph in water? And is there some num.of fish suitable for optimal living/producyion of waste in tanks...tank size/fish population?

Also, has anyone tried fish tank with laterally tiled bottom for easyer waste colloectiom?

>> limited tehnology and know-how
this one will help you a lot - it is one document with most things in it.
FAO small-scale Aquaponics guide... which can be found here
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4021e/index.html

re: sloping floors. They are used in aquaculture quite a bit and can do the same in AP.
with circular tanks they usually slope to the middle as this is where solids accumulate.
Can definitely be done but not essential.

measure pH ? = yes, you need to be able to do this. As well as ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
You can get digital pH meters quite easily. Most ammonia etc is done by chemical tests.
At home level most people here use the API Freshwater Test kit - can be purchased on eBay quite easily.
Commercially it can be tested by titration - most chemistry or laboratory type people will be familiar with this.

Carp is a good easy to raise option. Particularly if you can source grass carp or silver carp.
These are common aquaculture species and probably in your area. Else European Carp.
Also catfish. Google says all of these are common in Croatia.

With some experience trout are relatively easy to raise providing you have access to a hatchery for babies.

FYI from... http://www.fao.org/fishery/countrysecto ... croatia/en

Total freshwater aquaculture production in 2013 amounted to 3 235 tonnes, out of which 2 884 tonnes of cyprinid species and 351 tonnes of salmonid species. Production of warm water species comprises common carp (Cyprinus carpio) - 2 100 tonnes, grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) - 209 tonnes, bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) - 303 tonnes, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) - 127 tonnes, European (Wels) catfish (Silurus glanis ) - 35 tonnes, pike (Esox lucius) – 6 tonnes, pike perch (Sander lucioperca) – 11 tonnes, and other less important freshwater species with total production of 93 tonnes. Freshwater production of cold water species, is primarily focused to one species, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), which production in 2013 was 345 tonnes. The production of brown trout (Salmo trutta) amounted to 6 tonnes per year.

Grass Carp, Silver Carp and trout are all mentioned.

Common Carp = European Carp

Wooouuu. Many thanks. I hope i will bite into this as u did guys.
Thr next tounf is on me!