Planted Tank Aquaponics

**IWANNAGOFAST** · 01-28-2011, 04:30 PM

We have a guy in our local club that's doing this

here's a link to a site he used
http://diyaquaponics.com/

drlower · 01-31-2011, 02:53 PM

thought of something after the fact here. what if you place strawberry pots above the tank maybe sitting on a metal grate and just pumped water up tp them with a small pond pump. strawberry pots have holes for planting all around the sides.

OverStocked · 01-31-2011, 03:29 PM

Just an FYI, 99% of the dechlorinators we use are "not approved for use with fish for human consumption". I do not know why, but would suspect that it would apply to the plants grown in it too.

One that is known safe is Chloram-X which is used by fish farms and such.

newpatch36 · 02-01-2011, 01:29 AM

Thanks for the heads up on the dechlorinator. Someone else mentioned that earlier, and I took a look at my bottle and sure enough: "Not intended for use with fish intended for human consumption." I did some cursory research and hadn't come up with any suitable options so I appreciate the tip.

As for useful resources. Heres a good overview of different aquaponics set ups, and several design options. Most of the examples I've seen so far of home fish tanks use the Flood & Drain method with a grow bed placed just above the tank. Seems successful, but it would really limit access to the fish tank, and I don't find it very aesthetically pleasing. So I think I'll do something more like the Windowfarms which uses an airlift pump to deliver water to the top of a column of bottles. Water then drips down through the bottles filled with grow media and nurtures the plants.

Just trying to figure out the best way to incorporate this system with my tank. The airlift pump could be good, but I feel like it would add a lot of tubes and clutter to my tank. I suppose a water pump could work...

If anyone else has bright ideas on how to lift freshly filtered water 4-5ft. up to the top of the column please chime in.

HypnoticAquatic · 02-01-2011, 02:17 AM

i wouldnt use a airlift(normally wouldnt work) tube but a small pump instead will give u more height to work with when pumping water, also because its basicly a drip line system(what i prefer) you have to make sure that the line doesnt get clogged by sediment/debris. also when doing pots that are hanging with a light sorce on one side u have to make sure they are heavy enough to not get top heavy from the plant trying to lean to the light(idk what ur growing though) might/mightnot be a factor.

phoesnox · 01-09-2013, 01:27 PM

This is quite an old post so I am not sure if anyone is still interested. I have set up a 50 gallon planted tank with an aquaponics system and have tomato plants growing and recently flowering indoors. I don't yet have any fruit on the plants but fingers are crossed.

My planted tank has in it barbs, gouramis, plecos and angel fish. I have not had to change any water since I set the tank up on October last year. Ph is a bit high at 7.8 but ammonia is right on the button.

The biggest issue I have had is lighting. Initially this was simply not bright enough and I have had to up the wattage and mix the temperatures to get to where I am now. The aquaponcs system is using two 60 watt 5,000K compact flourescents and two 40 watt 2,500 k compact flouros. The tank has two 40 watt compact flouros (5,000 k) and two 40 watt compact fluoros (2,500 K). The tank is growing some water plants OK, fermns are indicating that there is too little carbon dioxide by growing lots of roots out of the leaves but everything else is growing OK.

I am about to set up a 1.5 metre tank with a bigger grow bed to grow lettuces, rocket and basil, all of which apparently need less light than tomatoes. This tank will have vastly improved lighting and I will be using a CO2 system to force the CO2 into the water. The tank also have a proper substrate and be planted out more professionally. The existing tank is using only sand.

In the existing tank I use an Eheim Classic 600 filter to pump the water up to the grow bed which has a bell siphon and drains every four minutes or so. In the new tank i am planning to use a pump and a secondary bin to decant the water using a siphon system (wife insists that only the tank should be visible in the lounge so all the aquaponics will be behind a door in a spare room).

**GraphicGr8s** · 01-09-2013, 02:00 PM

How are you pollinating the flowers on your maters? Without that you get no fruit.

cheesehead · 01-09-2013, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OverStocked

Just an FYI, 99% of the dechlorinators we use are "not approved for use with fish for human consumption". I do not know why, but would suspect that it would apply to the plants grown in it too.

Blame the lawyers. (Yeah, and I'm married to one.

)

The standard ingredient in dechlorinators, sodium thiosulfate, is pretty safe. If I'm reading things correctly, it's not recognized as hazardous.

I'd worry more about bacteria from the tank than the dechlorinator.

**GraphicGr8s** · 01-10-2013, 12:33 AM

Same thing with fish feed. Plants not so much though. In some countries they use human waste. Then we import that and eat it.

01-09-2013, 01:27 PM	#21
phoesnox Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Doha, Qatar Posts: 1	My planted tank and aquaponics This is quite an old post so I am not sure if anyone is still interested. I have set up a 50 gallon planted tank with an aquaponics system and have tomato plants growing and recently flowering indoors. I don't yet have any fruit on the plants but fingers are crossed. My planted tank has in it barbs, gouramis, plecos and angel fish. I have not had to change any water since I set the tank up on October last year. Ph is a bit high at 7.8 but ammonia is right on the button. The biggest issue I have had is lighting. Initially this was simply not bright enough and I have had to up the wattage and mix the temperatures to get to where I am now. The aquaponcs system is using two 60 watt 5,000K compact flourescents and two 40 watt 2,500 k compact flouros. The tank has two 40 watt compact flouros (5,000 k) and two 40 watt compact fluoros (2,500 K). The tank is growing some water plants OK, fermns are indicating that there is too little carbon dioxide by growing lots of roots out of the leaves but everything else is growing OK. I am about to set up a 1.5 metre tank with a bigger grow bed to grow lettuces, rocket and basil, all of which apparently need less light than tomatoes. This tank will have vastly improved lighting and I will be using a CO2 system to force the CO2 into the water. The tank also have a proper substrate and be planted out more professionally. The existing tank is using only sand. In the existing tank I use an Eheim Classic 600 filter to pump the water up to the grow bed which has a bell siphon and drains every four minutes or so. In the new tank i am planning to use a pump and a secondary bin to decant the water using a siphon system (wife insists that only the tank should be visible in the lounge so all the aquaponics will be behind a door in a spare room).

01-09-2013, 02:00 PM	#22
GraphicGr8s Banned (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Land O Lakes, FL Posts: 1,534	How are you pollinating the flowers on your maters? Without that you get no fruit. __________________ Quote me as saying I was misquoted. The problem is you don't know what you don't know. Life is simple…People complicate it. On the west coast of the east coast of North America Here's to our wives and sweethearts - may they never meet. I can't live life at 140 characters

01-10-2013, 12:33 AM	#24
GraphicGr8s Banned (View User Tanks) PTrader: (4/100%) Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Land O Lakes, FL Posts: 1,534	Same thing with fish feed. Plants not so much though. In some countries they use human waste. Then we import that and eat it. __________________ Quote me as saying I was misquoted. The problem is you don't know what you don't know. Life is simple…People complicate it. On the west coast of the east coast of North America Here's to our wives and sweethearts - may they never meet. I can't live life at 140 characters

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01-28-2011, 04:30 PM	#16
IWANNAGOFAST I see LEDs (View User Tanks) PTrader: (33/100%) Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: San Francisco Posts: 1,837	We have a guy in our local club that's doing this here's a link to a site he used http://diyaquaponics.com/

01-31-2011, 02:53 PM	#17
drlower Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: canonsburg, pa Posts: 192	thought of something after the fact here. what if you place strawberry pots above the tank maybe sitting on a metal grate and just pumped water up tp them with a small pond pump. strawberry pots have holes for planting all around the sides.

01-31-2011, 03:29 PM	#18
OverStocked Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (76/94%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoDak Posts: 10,732	Just an FYI, 99% of the dechlorinators we use are "not approved for use with fish for human consumption". I do not know why, but would suspect that it would apply to the plants grown in it too. One that is known safe is Chloram-X which is used by fish farms and such.

02-01-2011, 01:29 AM	#19
newpatch36 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 12	Thanks for the heads up on the dechlorinator. Someone else mentioned that earlier, and I took a look at my bottle and sure enough: "Not intended for use with fish intended for human consumption." I did some cursory research and hadn't come up with any suitable options so I appreciate the tip. As for useful resources. Heres a good overview of different aquaponics set ups, and several design options. Most of the examples I've seen so far of home fish tanks use the Flood & Drain method with a grow bed placed just above the tank. Seems successful, but it would really limit access to the fish tank, and I don't find it very aesthetically pleasing. So I think I'll do something more like the Windowfarms which uses an airlift pump to deliver water to the top of a column of bottles. Water then drips down through the bottles filled with grow media and nurtures the plants. Just trying to figure out the best way to incorporate this system with my tank. The airlift pump could be good, but I feel like it would add a lot of tubes and clutter to my tank. I suppose a water pump could work... If anyone else has bright ideas on how to lift freshly filtered water 4-5ft. up to the top of the column please chime in.

02-01-2011, 02:17 AM	#20
HypnoticAquatic Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (18/100%) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: arvada, co Posts: 1,267	i wouldnt use a airlift(normally wouldnt work) tube but a small pump instead will give u more height to work with when pumping water, also because its basicly a drip line system(what i prefer) you have to make sure that the line doesnt get clogged by sediment/debris. also when doing pots that are hanging with a light sorce on one side u have to make sure they are heavy enough to not get top heavy from the plant trying to lean to the light(idk what ur growing though) might/mightnot be a factor.