Likoma Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 So for sometime now my partner and I have been playing with the idea of incorporating an aqua-ponics scheme that could work within our current hatchery setup. I love the concept that we end up with herbs and vegetables as a by-product of our fishkeeping. It has been a steep learning curve as most new ventures are. I am wrapped with results so far. We are experiencing great growth and massive increase of root mass. This week has been the first opportunity to sample some of the produce. They were some very powerful chillies. A wide shot of one of the aquaponic setups. Basil, lettuce and chillies Root mass being investigated by an Azureus male. Lettuce, perpetual spinach and silverbeet. Plant-lings growing on the Poret foam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Massive Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 Nice work! How long has it been going for? Has the tank been established for a while and you just started pumping it into the grow bed/raft system? The water looks great! Is there some sort of filtration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwalk Posted March 18, 2013 Report Share Posted March 18, 2013 very clever, you could stock a whole heap of fish in those tanks and the extra nitrate etc would be sucked up by the veggies in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bettarazzi Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 Are you using artificial lighting or natural? Aquaponics is an interesting concept especially if you can eat the fish as well as the plants. You could have a complete meal right there in your fishroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhong89 Posted March 19, 2013 Report Share Posted March 19, 2013 eat the fish? What kind of fish would you have to keep that looks good and editable? I had the same question as I had with a fully planted tank... the amount of dissolved organics would be through the roof without water changes or are you doing water changes as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted March 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 (edited) Thanks for the great feedback. The tanks are all filtered using the Hamburg Matten Filter technique. Very pleased with the clarity and quality of the water. I haven't cleaned a filter in 11months. All this extra free time has allowed me to experiment with the aquaponics. Currently running under artificial lighting. I am about to change of iron roofing for clear sheeting. Next step is to find clear insulation. With winter temperatures of 2degrees overnight its an issue. Yes the plants absorb heaps of nitrates and the Matten filters are doing good job of limiting nitrates. That said I would never forgo water changes. WC Regimes has stayed the same to remove pheromones and keep nitrates as low as possible. I am planning to increase plant load drastically over the next few weeks. Edited March 20, 2013 by Likoma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigger Posted March 20, 2013 Report Share Posted March 20, 2013 I see you have an Azureus male in the tank,so are you using hard alkaline malawi water perameters? Just wondering as its an often asked question as to the suitability of using water change water from rift lake water aquaria for watering the plants in the garden as its so full of salts and minerals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Likoma Posted March 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2013 Yes, good identification on the Azureus. The water I run is around 7.4 with the addition of Epsom salts but not NaCl. Plants seem to be doing alright. The biggest difficulty is mixing species of plants that require higher nitrates(Leafy greens) and those that need less(Chillies). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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