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Show your Aquaponic system.

23K views 138 replies 20 participants last post by  HD Blazingwolf 
#1 · (Edited)
I just bought 35 Tilapia fry and 2 IBC totes ( 275 and 330 gals) and will set up an aquaponic system soon. I learn a lot from this page but would like to know if also planted tank people have aquaponic systems?

Show me your systems, or tell me what you know about it :)

Whats more fun than keeping fish, plants and get veggies, herbs, fruits and fresh fish from it!

I will post pictures later on while I make my system.

Thx
 
#104 ·
Sounds interesting, maybe when I upgrade I'll try carrots. Like most people 1st realization is my grow bed is too small. :icon_roll

My lettuce, spinach, parsley, basil are doing good. Found some miniature tomatoes which are not Cherry tomatoes. Should be interesting. The heirloom seeds I bought off E>Bay were very good, maybe 90% germination rate.

My Bhut Jolokia (Indian Ghost Pepper) ran out of summer on me I got a few fruits starting but I won't have Enough Sun up here to produce mature fruit. I've start a dozen clones. I have them in the grow bed. I cut back the mother plant hopefully I can winter it over and get a head start on next year. They need 180days. So maybe next year I'll get Peppers.

I got a new camera and I'll try to get picks up this wk.
 
#107 ·
Thank you, chad!

Yes, got my rest, its time to go back at work.
I started my own private chef/catering company, working hard to get the website going and preparing dishes for pictures.

I saw your tank, it looks amazing, nice find those rocks!

I'm setting up 3 more grow beds for lettuce, kale, spinach and herbs, so I can use my IBC growbeds for tomatoes, cucumbre, zuchine, squaches beans, and other tall plants. Pictures will follow when its all set up.
 
#111 ·
Yeah, its never big enough, I'm seriously considering to sell my house and buy a farm or so with a lot of land for aquaponic farming.
 
#118 ·
You could research commercial greenhouse design to see how the pros do it. I think many use retractable shades, hid lights on movers, and gas burning/co2 creating heaters. I had to stop researching that kind of stuff cause it makes me want to cry that I can't have.

Alternatively you could search for an operating greenhouse at a similar latitude and call and ask for a tour.

There was a pretty well publicized roof top farm in either Cleveland or Milwaukee(forget which) that had an aquaponics system going. I will see if I can find a link. I am pretty sure they give tours too.
 
#119 ·
Couldn't find it right now, but you could check out plantchicago.com
They combine aquaponics with beer brewing and kambucha tea.

It is a pretty good model and I have seen many similar projects as they tend to compliment eachother. I have a ton of academic papers on my kindle that talk about alternative fish feed, winded corn based commercial feed has been shown to reduce the nutritional value of tilapia. Beer sludge among other things is on that list. (What is left over from brewing)
 
#120 ·
Hey yall,

Love all the enthusiasm about aquaponic systems. So I have a room in NJ with HUGE east facing windows which will provide light. I plan on setting up a 55 (fish) and a 30 (plants) tall (they are the same height) right next to each other. I will run both with two continuous siphons. The siphons will be at the same height (about halfway down) in both tanks and be "boosted" with a powerhead. The powerheads will be powerful enough to turn the volume of the 55 gal over a few times in an hour. It will be the same powerhead, same amount of piping in both tanks. The plants will sit in a sytrofoam floater with plastic mesh pots with gravel from an old fish tank inside the pots.

I am trying to keep this system as simple as possible and I don't want to have to tinker with it much except for top off's and feeding the fish.

Is this too simple? I would simply choose plants that are okay with their "feet being wet".

Please tell me what yall think!
 
#122 ·
House is sold and we are in the process of buying house in commercial area on 1.5 acres.
 
#123 ·
I'm happy you got rid of that anal association, nalu86. Good luck with the new place!

Back to A-ponics, I just started making a new home aquarium-scale setup:
 
#124 ·
What is that? Inquiring minds want to know.
 
#126 ·
Great design, and great Idea, window gives sunlight to the plants, but the tank is in the shade of the system. Something I have been thinking about for a while. Maybe a future project for me, if I can steal the idea. Post pics when you are finished, or even when you are setting it up.
 
#131 ·
Wow! This thread is awesome! I read through Dogfish's thread a couple day ago & was inspired. I've already found a guy who is giving me two used 55gallon aquariums for free. I will probably only use one in my build. I feel like I've still got a ton of information to absorb, so I probably won't rush into this. I'm hoping to grow lettuces and other greens. I'm sure I will be asking lots of questions!
 
#132 ·
What are the advantages & disadvantages of using an open grow bed(kinda like Dogfish's) where you've just got your grow media in a tub versus using net cups to hold your grow media?

I like the idea of a constant flow with the bell siphon to drain the grow beds.

With a 55 gallon tank at the bottom I'm thinking of using two of the same concrete mixing tubs as Dogfish. Do you think these will be big enough, or am I probably going to wish I had more room as soon as I get my first couple crops? Suggestions on other larger items that can be rigged for this?
 
#133 ·
A Grow Bed like I use gives you more options for where to place your plants. A system with pots in some sort of trough gives you a more structured approach. It also gives you a defined flow path. Both work well. I think it comes down to space & your engineering ability. I tried to keep my system as simple as I could and recycle as much as I could.

I the 1st thing we all learn is the grow bed is never big enough. :hihi:
 
#134 ·
Thanks Dogfish! I'm going to go with the same style grow bed that you've got. I'm trying to keep things simple and fairly cheap. Searching Craigslist for as much of my build as possible, either cheap or free! I picked up two 55 gallon tanks yesterday for free, one leaks pretty bad, might consider resealing with new silicone. I wouldn't mind finding a 75 or 90, they'll fit in the same 4ft space and provide more room to grow fish and more ph stability. I found a guy in upstate SC that raises and sells tilapia commercially in an aquaponics operation. He sells tilapia fry to people for their home setups for less then $1 ea. Although I haven't decided what type of fish I want yet.
 
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