Starting an Aquaponic System

Hi. We are in the process of setting up an aquaponic system in the house on a very small scale. We expect to plant no more than 12 plants and using our 140 gallon fish tank as a water source. We don't have fish in the tank yet, so we will just be using water in a reservoir.

Can anyone assist me in figuring out:

1) what goes in the solution tank? Just the liquids or do we need something else? (We'll have a pump in there)

2) what levels do we test for in the solution? ph? N? O?

3) We're going to have water constantly circulating from the reservoir and over the roots. We have containers with holes in the lid. We were thinking about inserting pvc pipe into each hole to hold each plant. Should we insert wool cubes in the pvc pipe with a piece of screen at the bottom or do you suggest something else?

Thank you for any suggestions you can pass on.

Megin`

Megin,
I don't have any advice for you sorry. I'm just so curious about your idea and am going to watching this thread in hopes someone does because I'm thinking of trying the exact same thing but have no clue about how to go about doing it.Mine is to start seeds though ,I hope. Don

Mzz...

While I can't give answers to the specific questions you asked I can give you some advise re the fish tank as I have been keeping fish for mannnnny moooons .

Before counting on the fish tank to provide the nutrition that your palnts will need, put fish in the tank. Remember to think of a fish tank as a living organism. Fish will release waste (amonia/urea which is very toxic to fish) into the water which will have to be broken down, in a two step process by nitrifying bacteria, into nitrates which can be utilized by the plants. Nitrates are tolerated by fish in hugely greater concentrations than amonia. (high amonia less than 10 ppm will kill fish nitrates in the hundreds ppm will not) However, nitrates do build up in the water column which is why we do periodic "water changes" in the tank or we face a build-up of algae coaing everythging in the tank. Depending on the load ( # of fish) it could take several weeks for a sufficient number of these nitifying bacteria colonize the filter media in the tank. That is why a new fish tank will be cloudy for severl days to a couple of weeks after you first set it up with fish. Also add fish gradually to allow for the build up in the bacteria to keep up with the increasing biological load. The number of fish that you can put in a tank is limited by both the physical size of the tank as well as the filter's ability to break down the toxic waste into the non-toxic end product. "Fish water" is great for feeding plants but not before it contains enough of the final by-product of the breakdown of the fish waste.

The plants in your system will be acting as an additional filter by removing the nitrates and keeping the water cleaner and reducing or maybe eliminating most of the need for "water changes" .

But it will take some time for the fish tank to produce the required nutrients for your plants. Once the fish tank is set up and running you won't have to concern yourself with measurements or _ " what goes in the solution tank?" or " what levels do we test for in the solution? ph? N? O?" _.

If the fish are thriving the rest will fall into place automatically. BTW... DO NOT add any outside fertilizer to the system. The fish tank will provide all you need. If your plants are hungry.... just add some more fish until you reach the needed equilibrium.

Hope this helps !!!

Laska 1

Laska --

Thank you! I will post pictures of our initial set up. Maybe I'll set up a journal. That would be fun and help us keep notes.

Megin

Megin I have a Homemade system, growing lettuce now, under lights.
I found a tom of info through google.
One tip....Change the nutrient (goes in the tank solution ) (it's not too costly) each week, that way you don't have to worry about PH and balance of the nutrient.
Buy the way I read that some one uses Miracle grow as a nutrient , haven't tryed it yet.

My GH this AM

Love Compost Tea

Hi,
Been off the board for over a year.. good to be back. I just resubscribed.

I couldn't agree with LASKA1 (sp) more than 1,000,000 %. Forget all of those tests and test products, kits, etc. You don't need them. You said that you don't have any fish yet. (How can you have an aquaponic system w/o fish??) The nutrients derived from fish water is from left-over fish food and fish "poop". My old saying after spending $100's maybe $1,000's on testing equipment is simply this, "If I can see them and they are eating, then they are o.k."

I have a 2,000 gal recirculating system plus a 1,000,000 gal pond that I built. I have been doing this for several years.

You can propogate basically anything in an aquaponic system. I have. BUT, forget tomatoes. And someone said something about adding plant fertilizer for nutrients..............OMG.............maybe on another planet. How would you like to have to eat Miracle Grow???

I do consider myself an authority on aquaponics. I even belong to the "Platinum" club. You get an automatic membership in the platinum club when you have killed your 1,000,000 fish. You do this by making a lot of mistakes and hopefully learning from them.

Hope to be on the list more. Lots of luck.............I am Steve.....Bye

I am surprised to read some of your questions. Go to Google and research the subjects. You can find almost anything about
anything. I suggest that you do your research before spending any money.
Having said that I am excited that you are beginning a small system. The latest economic times require we have some form
of contingency plan for food.
Picture thousands of folks out of work in the winter and no way or knowledge for growing food. Start Noe and get to learning.