Why no aquaponics?

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

A bit ago I asked if anyone was doing aquaponics with peppers.  Nobody replied.  So I am going to guess there arent enough folk doing it to notice the post.  Makes me wonder why not?  I know we have folk who grow via hydroponics.  Could there be something extra challenging about growing peppers with fish poop instead of chemicals?

The lack of interest makes me wonder if maybe my idea isn't a bad one for one reason or another.  My thinking was that a person could use aquaponics to not only grow peppers and fish, but to keep your green house a wee bit warmer in the winter time.  Lots of winter green houses use barrels of water to hold the days heat.  Was thinking take it a step forward and heat the water to a comfortable level for the fish and let that heat help heat the green house. 

Is that too nutty?
 
It's a great idea but it takes up a lot of space and set-up
I have some great videos saved about it and I will post them tomorrow for you
 
I´ve been wanting to try aquaponics eve since i saw some ppl´s set-ups on youtube.  The main obstacles are logistics; i need to commit a lot of space, time, and money to do it right-- and I´m not entirely convinced it would work for me as well as it´s supposed to.  Basically, itś not the type of thing you can just dip your toe into, on a whim.... at least, that´s the impression that i get.
 
lek said:
it's easy to build this kind of system.  aquaponics is a great idea but for large scale, it may be difficult to control bad bacteria.  one may end up using bad chemical.
 
Click to expand...
 
 
This kind of large scale? (Note the recycle angle?)
 
 
 
Bathtub-Aquaponics-537x402.jpg
 
dragonsfire said:
That's really cool, should check locally if theirs anything I can use for my 20gal tank :)
 
http://www.justaquaponics.ca/aquaponicals-white-mark-ii/
Click to expand...
 

Its a neat little unit for sure, only thing I see that they could improve upon is how do you feed the fish?  I assume you have to lift up the top grow tray and I am just wandering how messy that is. 
 
If it were about half that price I would buy it, still too much to draw any interest from me. 
 
I'd like to get an herb garden over a 30 gallon tank set up in the kitchen when I move... I'll update if I get it done!
 
My thought was to use a Rubbermaid 300 gallon stock tank as the fishtank, with smaller, shallow 50+/-gallon containers overtop as growbeds.  A pump strong enough to handle the head could move the water through a simple mechanical filter, than cascade through each grow bed before returning to the 300gal container.  With careful planning, I think it could be artfully done and probably come in between $500 and a grand.  I be tempted to eff with albino channel catfish, but I´m thinking goldfish might be a more realistic choice.... but yeah, if i did it, it might end up being an eyesore and a failure, plus i got other priorities so....
 
Something like this, but with the mech filter above the main tank for ease of maintenance, and maybe 2 shallower but larger growbeds instead of three.... and
Iĺl probably just keep dreaming and watching youtube videos lol.
 
 
 
My interest has been peaked and now that i look online the possibilities are virtually endless. Theres alot of design options to choose from. I'm thinking maybe a koi pond?
 
Edmick said:
My interest has been peaked and now that i look online the possibilities are virtually endless. Theres alot of design options to choose from. I'm thinking maybe a koi pond?
Click to expand...
Koi are super hardy and can stand a pretty wide range of temperatures. They can be expensive, but definitely look cool.
 
Mystere said:
I figured that since you aren't supposed to water peppers too much that hydroponics wouldn't be a great idea.
Click to expand...
 
What matters is that the roots are aerated
In hydroponics only some of the root is in water - the rest is in a fairly dry heavily aerated medium such as stones
 
  • Like
Reactions: lek
I too am thinking koi.  My reason being money.  From what I can figure, they are one of the highest dollar things a person can raise in out door aquaponics.  Tropical fish might get more money but they are harder to keep alive due to the heat requirements in the winter time.  I understand Koi are fine as long as the water doesnt freeze.  Even then, there are some articles that say as long as the water is 3 feet or deeper, if the top freezes they will survive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top