Aquaponics Urban Gardening

[xynax]

Hey Guys!

I am reaching out to all who have aquaponics system set-up at home or commercially to discuss them here.

I have recently built my own system in our backyard to hopefully sustain our vegetable and fish consumption all year round. You can check out my progress on this link.

Please share your aquaponics setup here as well! smile

[a bottle of war]

Looked through your blog a bit, very cool setup!

What kind of challenges have you encountered so far?

[Shark Bacon]

Very cool. If my basement wasn't so cold, I'd like to try something of the same sort. But with tomatoes, I think. But I'd need lights and everything, too.

But I rent, and the landlord is fixing up the other half of the duplex and is in and out of the basement all the time, and would probably think I was growing weed xd it's too cold down there anyway.

You're growing lettuce? How does that work? It's a very cool setup.

[xynax]

@a bottle of war

Thank you!

The most challenging aspect that I have to deal with are the parts! Our geography is pretty new about this technology that there are no Aquaponics shop even, I had to improvise.

Are you planning to build your own too?


@Shark Bacon

Thanks!

You can do that on your basement, you can set up a little green house and warm it up with lights. Your landlord may like it as long as you give him a portion of your harvest biggrin ! You can do it in your room with an aquarium I have seen people doing it and growing basil on their rooms! smile

I am currently growing lettuce, squash, cucumber, basil, mint and oregano. The squash and cucumber have no fruit yet though. The set up is about 3 months old now. Oh and the tank have tilapias in it too! smile

[xynax]

Here is a video on the concept of aquaponics for you reference as well. smile

Youtube Link

[Raven Winter]

"Aqua-" is "water", but what... what is "-ponic"? What is its etymology?

[raggedy grrl]

Raven Winter

"Aqua-" is "water", but what... what is "-ponic"? What is its etymology?

It's a portmanteau of "aquaculture" and "hydroponics".

The essential concepts have been around for centuries, but I think (could be wrong) the new twist is creating a sort of an aquatic version of Bill Mollison's permaculture systems on a small, intensive scale.

Very cool stuff. smile

[GhostlyMark]

raggedy grrl

Raven Winter

"Aqua-" is "water", but what... what is "-ponic"? What is its etymology?

It's a portmanteau of "aquaculture" and "hydroponics".

The essential concepts have been around for centuries, but I think (could be wrong) the new twist is creating a sort of an aquatic version of Bill Mollison's permaculture systems on a small, intensive scale.

Very cool stuff. smile

so...it's growing stuff in the water?

[Obscurus]

Using fish poop to grow your 'dro and using duck weed to feed the fish.

[xynax]

So you have two systems working in harmony, Aquaculture and Hydroponics.

In Aquaculture, you need to constantly refresh your water because the poop of the fish pollutes the water. In Hydroponics, you need to incorporate nutrients in order to keep your plants healthy in your growbed.

In Aquaponics, you have the fish poop that the bacteria converts to nitrates to feed your plants, consequently the water gets cleaned and is taken back to the fish tank. The only input on a aquaponics system is to feed the fish.

[raggedy grrl]

GhostlyMark

raggedy grrl

Raven Winter

"Aqua-" is "water", but what... what is "-ponic"? What is its etymology?

It's a portmanteau of "aquaculture" and "hydroponics".

The essential concepts have been around for centuries, but I think (could be wrong) the new twist is creating a sort of an aquatic version of Bill Mollison's permaculture systems on a small, intensive scale.

Very cool stuff. smile

so...it's growing stuff in the water?

Uh huh.

OK, plants can grow in water, right? They need some extra stuff...minerals and other compounds they usually get from soil, but if you add these to the water, they'll do just fine.

So, someone looked at this set up and said, "hey, as long we're growing plants in water, why don't we grow some critters, too?" The whole thing becomes a system...the plants help clean and add oxygen to the water, critters like fish make fertilizer, etc.

If you're doing something like, oh, building a space station, this is really cool...you don't have to haul up tons of soil to grow stuff. Also, you can tweak the mixtures very quickly and precisely...good when plants are producing fruit, for example.

This also works low-tech, too. For centuries, people have used fish in rice paddies...they feed on mosquito larvae and provide fertilizer.

I imagine the OP can explain this a lot better, but I hope that helps.

[xynax]

This is a fairly young system and here is what it look like for now.

[r33na1]

this looks so cool!! i really want to do this when i have a house, just not enough room atm for me sad

[moon sugar mints]

This is ossim

Have you tried sprouts yet? Its fun to make a sprout carpet and then transplant them to grow the plant further. Did that over the summer and had great results.

[a bottle of war]

xynax

This is a fairly young system and here is what it look like for now.

Beautiful! Does the substrate go to the bottom, or are you just using a thin layer for support?