Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

They tend to shift stuff all over the tank so it`s capped at both ends
Even a huge chunk of slate weighing 2kg out of water gets bulldozed about.

Yes, my fish have even rooted up the undergravel filter, plowed the gravel into a pile in the center, and pushed all the flower pots to the corner. I'm not going to fight with them. If that's the way they like it, I'll let them be happy.

Doing there own house keeping

Just a quick update: my first system that started in the basement under fluorescent lights and then moved out to my wifes's small greenhouse has now produced 20 or 30 tomatoes. Somehow two of the tinfoils have disappeared -- one I found with its head and tail missing -- I don't know if it was the Pacus or the other barbs or the Pleco? One of the Pacus is getting large -- maybe 10" long. I'm planning on moving all of my fish into the garage and housing them in chest freezers that I got from the dump. I'm trying to figure out a way to grow plants that won't cost a bunch for electric lights (I have plenty of lights, just don't like to pay the electricity) Anyway, that system has produced enough tomatoes that the cost of production is down to maybe $50 per tomato.

The Tilapia Michael sent me are growing. One male is 10" long the others range in size down to 6".

3 Oscars and 8 goldfish have survived. I have a few more tomotoes ripening on my basement system under a metal halide light.

The big greenhouse has an outer skin but no end walls or second layer. I haven't gotten the bubble generators or control systems finished (or even started) so it seems like I shouldn't even try to get it running before winter.
So I've pretty much decided to keep the fish in the garage this winter and try to keep my bacterial culture alive in a few growbeds -- if we can grow some produce, all the better. I suppose if I didn't want to run lights, I could just circulate the fish water through gravel and that would keep the bacteria alive -- I'd just need to feed moderately and change the water more often. (Yuck)

On a related note, I've noticed that my growbeds are getting so choked with roots and other organic material that they take a long time to drain. One grow bed has a mat of black on top that almost covers the hydrotron. Perhaps 10 tomato plants is too much for one 2' x 2' growbed.
And now I can understand why experienced aquaponic growers tear up beds once in a while -- and also why Resh is such a proponent of mineral wool blocks for growing tomatoes -- the growing medium gets so choked with roots that it is more efficient to dispose of the whole plant, roots, growing media, and all.

Nice update. Have you thought about adding some composting worms to help clear debris from the growbeds?

I've added some worms but I don't know if they were the right kind. And they may have drowned

Further update. My garage system is started -- One 200 gallon white enamel foam insulated steel tank (started life as a freezer) has two large oscars, a sick tilapia and a sick goldfish. I grabbed a heavy duty tub that was laying around in my garage (dumped all the junk out of it onto the floor) drilled a hole in the bottom, filled with gravel and supported it over the tank. Then I uprooted a large squash plant, a bell pepper plant with two golf-ball sized peppers on it, some mint, and a strawberry plant from my wife's greenhouse -- shook the dirt off the roots, and planted them in my new growbed. Then I took a handful of slimy gravel from each of my other established systems and sprinkled it over the surface of the new GB. Started a submersible pump running. and then wired a 400W sodium vapor light to run off 120VAC and plugged it into a timer so it comes on in the morning and shuts off at night.

I check it every few days (hours on weekends when I'm home) and move the outlet of the hose so that the whole growbed gets some water.

I have been amazed at how little shock the plants have displayed. The pepper hasn't wilted. the squash already had about 6 3" squashes started -- they have continued growing and the plant has thrown out another 7 or 8 flowers. My wife was so impressed that she cut some suckers off the other tomato vines and stuck them into the gravel -- they wilted but have recovered after about a week.

And amazingly, the ammonia levels are at zero already. Nitrites were a bit high last I checked, but the fish seem to be doing OK. The Tilapia and goldfish were runts that were being harrassed by their respective tankmates. the goldfish had all his fins nipped off by the barbs.

I love this low-care gardening! I can't wait till this spring when I'll fire up my big greenhouse.

The nip of winter has all but destroyed my outside plants. It was very sad to see my cherry tomato plants loaded with green tomatoes -- with all the leaves curled up and brown.

I decided to move all my fish into the garage. To do that, I had to clean out all the other junk in the garage -- and finish a bunch of unfinished projects. I finally got around to installing my garage door opener -- and discovered that it had been installed once already and was missing parts. GRRR! But I bought it a year ago and it has been sitting around in my garage since then and I didn't figure Lowes would take it back.

Anyway, now I have 3 freezers lines up along side the wall. One has two Oscars, 2 plecos, and about a dozen goldfish ( Oscars don't seem interested in live fish -- though they love slugs) the second has some male tilapia. (I had a couple of my females die -- turned black, lost scales.... They were the smaller ones that got harrassed the most -- but perhaps I've been feeding them too much protein -- with my trout pellets) The third tank has my Pacus.
Funny thing happened when I moved the Pacu's -- I had them in a heated aquarium in the greenhouse. I caught them and put them in a 5-gallon bucket half full of water. I was halfway to the garage when SPLASH! One of the pacus jumped 2' out of the bucket and onto the ground. While I was picking him up, two more launched themselves out onto the ground. So I threw them in, held my hand over the top and raced for the garage. Their new home was much larger than the old so the water from their tank only filled up the new tank about 3". I dumped the fish in and they had to lay on their sides because the water was too shallow. So I felt sorry for them and added some water. This was water straight from the garden hose -- out of our well -- probably colder than 40F. By the time I had enough water for the Pacus to swim in, they were all laying on their sides or upside down. My wife and kids were all sad: "Daddy killed the Pacus!" I figured it was either temperature shock or pH. I sprinted downstairs and filled up the bucket with hot water from the bathtub and added that to the fish tank. In a few minutes, they were swimming normally.

I installed the 350W heater that had been out in the greenhouse and went on to other things. The next day, however, I checked the water temperature. It felt HOT! I guess the heater had to run hotter in the greenhouse to keep the tank warm in the cold temperatures outside. I don't think the water got over 100F but it felt hot. the Pacu's were OK
so they are definately tropical fish.

Watch the Pacus carefully for ich over the next week. That was quite a bit of stress you put them through. You might care to proactively add 2ppt salt to help de-stress them.

they had it when they were babies. I had to be careful because the books said Pacus (characins, I believe) are sensitive to salt and all the other ich medicines.

Another update. I now have three freezers full of water and fish. I call them my 200 gallon insulated enamel tanks. The one closest to the garage door had 2 tinfoils 2 two-pound oscars 2 1/2lb goldfish and about 7 feeders. The next has 6 one-pound Tilapia, The last has 4 pacus. One Oscar and two tinfoils died this weekend. I think fungus took them out. The remaining Oscar looks very passive and looks to be infected with fungus. The water quality in the first tank is excellent. Probably because I used two established growbeds and I have a second started.

This weekend I rigged up a heating loop from my hot water heater so the electric heaters don't have to work so hard. Set up a second metal Halide light. set up two more growbeds. I seeded one with gunk from my inside tank but it hadn't decreased ammonia and nitrite by yesterday morning. I guess I'll just have to feed lightly and be patient.

We got our first snow yesterday. This morning it's a winter wonderland of frost -- the snow all melted by evening but the moisture fed the frost crystals.

My wife rescued a couple of heads of romaine before the snow and I didn't have any growbed space to plant them in so I tucked them into the filter on my female tilapia tanks (20 gal tank to keep the females away from the agressive males) It was amazing to see the plants perk up and become greener in a few hours.

I purchased the Solviva book and devoured that too. It was very encouraging. The author ran a solar heated greenhouse year round in northern Massechusetts and averaged $100,000 in salads and tomatoes.

pictures

yet more pictures

Emsflojo

How did you manage to watertight the freezers? (big thread and I havn't found it yet).
BTW Metal halides can be dangerous if the outer shell cracks (v high uv's) not always easy to notice.

Lovely...looks like the kids have a nice warm place to play during winter