A closer look at the tomatoes in my grow bed.

Some of the salad greens I'm still harvesting.

Hi Lou

Your Aquaponics set up looks very nice and productive! you have the space for sure. How are you planning to do maintenance? the same as regular crops, do you use everything up including the fish and then start again? do you have one set or are you going to add more? It looks like you found a project that you are satisfied with it, good for you!

Silvia

Silvia,
I set up this first aquaponics fish tank & grow bed as a test to see just how well it would work. I'm pleased to say it has surpassed my expected results, the greenery you see in the grow bed is the original spring plantings, I haven't added a thing to the veggie garden in the grow bed. The fish in the tank will mate and make new baby fish if I don't eat them all up. During the winter I will be setting up the seven other totes I bought to make the aquaponics my prime growing veggie garden since I cannot grow veggies in my sandy dirt. Maintenance is easy, just pull up anything that has died or needs replacing and plant the new stuff in the bed of round pebbles. Nothing gets changed or cleaned, it just keeps on going. I'm amazed how easy it is to maintain. Just feed the fish twice a day, and harvest the veggies and greens you need for the day. My 10 acres gives me all the space I will ever need to set up anything. The lot is around 400 feet wide and almost a 1/4 mile long. Plenty of space here to set up a few totes for growing fish & veggies and my orchard, vineyard, berry patch, etc.

Lou

You have a great system there. I have been observing the way Disney grows items in sand and the hydri and air spray systems. I have been attempting to figure out how they do things there. I need to take the backstage tour before I leave them and see if I can learn some more details. I would be most interested to know how your system is set up and how it is put together. I love hydroponic veggies and would like to experiment with my own system.

Lou,

Impressive. It amazes me when I stop over just how much bigger the fish are after not seeing them for a couple months. I bet they did not like the recent cold snap though.

>I bet they did not like the recent cold snap though

Yes, out of curiosity, what do you do for cold weather?

It's an impressive setup.

I have a ground mounted huge solar panel array 12' tall X 70' long that offsets the electricity I use to run the fish tank heaters. My electric bill runs from zero to less than $100 a month depending on the sunny/rainy days ratio. The heaters have been keeping the water temperature up even when the temp went to 32.9 F here on Thursday morning.
For people interested in building a simple aquaponics system like my system, watch this video in the link below;

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make a IBC tote Aquaponics system

Thanks. I might have room for a tank, but not for the solar array!

Writersblock,
You could set the Aquaponics system up for only the spring through fall operation. The electricity for that would only be around 10 to 15 watts per day. The small water pump uses 8 watts and the air pump uses around 5 watts. That is the same power as two Christmas candles people put in windows at Christmas time. You wouldn't need heaters for spring through fall operation. You can use any fish in the fish tank, even the inexpensive goldfish or guppies at pet stores. Some people even use crawfish or freshwater shrimp. I have one sunfish and some guppies caught at a local pond along with my Tilapia in my fish tank.

Lou

Thanks, Lou.

Very nice set up! It has me wondering if I could have tillapa in my pond. What do you feed them? At what size do you eat them? Are their needs similar to koi?

I would be so happy to have a couple of those tanks you've converted into your aquatic garden for rain barrels.

Lou - I watched the YouTube video. That lady looks like she has made many of these systems before. Did you have to do all of that cutting (with the angle grinder)? The video didn't mention anything about using a heater for the fish. You mentioned that you have solar panels. Did you have the panels before considering the aquaponics?

So, have you eaten any of the fish yet? I presume that there is a particular type of fish that thrives in this environment. What an interesting project you have undertaken.

Christine

Keiki,
Tilapia will grow in a pond just like Koi but there are some state limitations as to where you are allowed to grow Tilapia and you may need a permit for your pond. I feed the fish with pelleted organic fish food for Tilapia & Koi. You can start harvesting the fish for eating when they reach 3 or 4 lbs. They are delicious and you know how your fish are raised and fed. One inch baby fish in your fish tank in spring will reach eating size by fall, they grow very fast. Check Craig's list to locate the IBC totes near you.

Christine,
Yes, I had to do all the cutting with my angle grinder. She does not use fish tank heaters because she did mention she raises trout (a cold water fish) in the wintertime. My winters are too warm for trout, so I use the heaters to offset the few cold snaps I get here to keep the Tilapia (a warm water fish) happy. The solar panel array was setup a year before getting the Aquaponics system setup. The heaters keep a minimum water temperature of 65F and shut off when the water goes above 65F. The Tilapia are the 'Blue Tilapia' (the only Tilapia allowed here in Citrus County to be grown without a permit)

Lou

Interesting, Lou, but why does raising tilapia need a permit? And, have one type that is exempt?

What did you put up to support the tomato plants?

Christine,
Because Tilapia is not a native species of fish found in Florida the State is trying to protect the native fishes of Florida by requiring permits once they check the proximity of your fish tank or dug pond to natural Florida waters so that the new species of fish do not get introduced through spillage. Blue Tilapia will not survive in natural waters in the northern part of the State as the water gets to cold for them in winter. Citrus County seems to be the cut off point where they are allowed without permits, the more southern counties would need permits. The Blue Tilapia will die when the water reaches a sustained temperature of 58 degrees or lower, other species of Tilapia can endure lower temperatures and are not allowed in my county except by permits.

Scogebear,
I hung a nylon fishnet from the roof rafters of my partially finished wooden greenhouse. I found a fishnet online that was a perfect size 5' by 16' for what I needed to surround the grow bed. Now that it is cooler outdoors I will be trying to finish enclosing my wooden greenhouse for the Aquaponics. The wooden greenhouse will be 24 foot square by 10' high in the center with sloping sides at 45 degrees. On the initial build only one sloping side, with room for expansion with the other 45 degree sloping side when it is completed.

Lou

Wondering how your AP setup is doing. Lost interest? Gravel bed get loaded with fish/food waste and turn anaerobic? Or is everything still chugging along just fine?

aufin,

Everything is still chugging along well. I've had some losses along the way, but that is to be expected while a person was learning. I now have set up five external tubs just to grow my various duckweed plants for fish food. It helps defray the costs of pelleted fish food when feeding around 1000 fish. The fish tote tub bottoms are just the plastic of the totes (no gravel but I use large 2 inch or more diameter plumbing pipes scattered around the bottom for the fry hiding places) the water pumps suck up the fish poop and deposit it in the grow beds for the plants to use. The normal fish movements as they swim stirs the poop into the pumps which keeps the tote tub bottom fairly clean (no buildup of waste). The wooden AP building has now grown to 24 feet wide and 32 feet long as I keep expanding with more fish tanks and grow beds.

Lou