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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: Homestead List <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Homestead] Aquaponics
  • Date: Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:38:20 -0400

Paula, if you are out there, please please please delurk and chime in...
I miss you.
Some years back, I decided to make a small aquaponic setup with two wooden beds 1 foot deep, 2 ft wide, and 4 ft long. Each box is outfitted with a drain, and I modified a bench in my greenhouse so that the drain flows through the bench and falls/drips into the fish barrel below. Inside that barrel is a pump which pumps the water up through pvc tubing at the surface of the growing bed and it is spread out over nozzles. I may need two barrels because of the volume of water the bed will hold, and I don't want the fish to be subjected to rising and falling water levels, but with these . Over the years, one of the growing beds has been attacked my termites and is now unsuitable for aquaponics, but the remaining grow bed should be large enough to produce salad in the winter in the greenhouse. I wish I could afford those large tubs that you really are supposed to have but I'm using what I have and trying to make do. I never really got the system up and running before. I can't even remember why, but I think it was because I did not have enough growing material in the box.
So, I am about to start round 2 of aquaponics...to grow lettuce and maybe more stuff in a single 8 square foot box. Hopefully, I will be able to expand this setup at some point.
I have timers, PVC, and the beds are constructed and sealed. I have fish(I bought a whole bunch of comets for the house aquarium to introduce my grandbaby to the joy of fish, and now, I have a good water supply that I did not have before(to top off evaporative loss)

I think Lynn is still doing this, so I will address my questions to her, and Paula if she is here, and to anyone else who has some kind of aquaponic setup..
What is the composition of your grow beds?
Do you have issues with nozzles clogging over the beds?
What issues do you have?
I am hoping to avoid certain temperature requirements by using comets instead of tiliapia.
Paula gave me some inoculant bacteria to use, but I did not use it all. do you think it might still be good? I'm going to try it, but just to hedge my bets, I will add some water from my indoor aquarium.
Lynn, did you say you had a raft system? If so, can you describe it? I have plenty of barrels that I could split lengthwise and support for a raft system.

Bev



--
I am having an out-of-money experience.
http://erthnsky.blogspot.com/
EarthNSky Farm, Northwest Georgia, USA




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