raydavies posted February 06, 2000 09:06 PM
Al the Aquaponics info I could find from around the web. Thanks so much for the info 10K. Respect.
RAY
AQUAPONICS:
Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (cultivating plants in a water medium). Within the aquaponics system, there are three primary organisms: fish, plants, and nitrifying bacteria. Each of these life forms is dependent in some way on the other for survival. The fish produce manure which acts as fertilizer for the plants. Fish manure is mainly in the form of ammonia. In high concentrations, ammonia can be toxic to fish. The bacteria come into play at this critical point. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia into nitrate which is non- toxic to fish at low levels and is also the form of nitrogen plants take up most readily. The fish produce fertilizer for plants and with the help of the bacteria, the plants in turn clean, the water for the fish. This cycle is closely monitored through daily water testing. Water quality is a key component in maintaining a healthy system. The main factors involved include pH, ammonia( NH3- N), nitrite (NO2), alkalinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Once a week a more complete water test is conducted to measure iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrite, carbon dioxide, conductivity, and settable solids. The combination of all of these factors helps us to asses the health of our system on a chemical level. We then incorporate this information into our visual assessment of the plants and fish to regulate our management schemes and analyze any problems Tilapia has been called the fish of the future. A member of the cichlid family, Tilapia is high in protein, low in fat, and grows out in nine months. Native to Africa, tilapia has been cultured for centuries. Also called St. Peter’s fish, tilapia is said to be the fish Jesus fed the masses in the Bible. Tilapia is a warm water species requiring water temperatures of 82 degrees Fahrenheit. It can withstand extreme shifts in water quality and is an excellent converter of feed to fish flesh. One and one half pounds of good quality fish food will produce one and one quarter pounds of fish in 9 months. At optimal water quality, growth rates exceed that of any other recirculating system farm raised fish. Walleye, yellow perch, and large mouth bass are other species of interest, but have yet to be widely proven in recirculating systems. Refer to Table 1 for water quality requirements for tilapia, yellow perch, and walleye.
Leaf lettuce is our primary vegetable crop. We also grow small quantities of basil and watercress. Vegetative crops do best based on the nutrient makeup of the system. Vegetative crops primarily require nitrogen for growth as opposed to fruiting crops which need high levels of phosphorus and potassium. An aquaponics system is rich in nitrogen but generally lacks the other macro nutrients in substantive enough quantities to grow fruiting crops. Plants grow out in five to seven weeks depending on the season. the quality of the crop is heavily dependent on fish stocking densities, bacteria populations, and overall water quality.
Good management practices involve checking the fish regularly for disease. A brief examination during dip netting is usually sufficient. When examining the fish look for scale loss, bruising, lesions, and discoloration of gills. Lesions and scale loss can indicate fungal disease or external parasites. The gills of the fish should be dark red in color. Brown colored gills indicate stress caused by high levels of ammonia. Pink colored gills can indicate low levels of oxygen and / or parasites. If at any time these symptoms are noticed, fish should be sent to a lab for diagnostic testing such as the Aqua vet department at Cornell University. It is also good management to send fish to a lab periodically for routine disease and parasite testing.
PLANT HEALTH
Plant health is monitored in several different ways. The color of the leaves is a key indication of nutrient availability in the water. Mottled and pale leaves indicate low nitrogen and other nutrients. A healthy crop is the product of good water quality and a healthy population of nitrifying bacteria. Pest insects populations are monitored via yellow insect sticky cards placed throughout the greenhouse. Preventative measures such as releasing ladybugs every two weeks helps to keep pest insect populations at a minimum. Disease outbreaks are also controlled through preventative measures such as washing the hydroponic channels weekly with baking soda and water solution. Seasonal variations such as temperature and day length largely contribute to potential disease problems. It is important to be aware of the environmental factors that will promote certain diseases and pest populations and to then work at monitoring those conditions and controlling them if at all possible.
If at any time a disease or pest insect infestation is suspected, send out plant samples to the nearest extension office for identification and control recommendations. When dealing with these problems, it is very important to remember that anything you treat the plants with will affect the rest of the aquaponics system. The greenhouse environment needs to be managed as organically as possible so as not to harm other beneficial organisms living throughout the system such as nitrifying bacteria and fish.
Aquaponic systems are designed around the specific goals of the group involved. Generally, systems are either for education or commercial production. If you ate new in the field of aquaponics, we suggest you investigate the many different aquaponics systems out there. Components to research are biofiltration, solids removal, treatment of waste effluent, and crop selection. In addition to the physical aspects of the system, you should investigate markets in your region for selling your product. This is very important. Even if you have the best aquaponic system in the world, with no market for your product, commercial viability is impossible. This process will help educate you about what works and what doesn’t work so you don’t try to 'recreate the wheel".
There are several other factors to consider in building an aquaponic greenhouse:
Licensing - We suggest you contact your state, county, and local offices for licensing requirements to assure you meet all applicable regulations for greenhouse construction.
Greenhouse Structure and Cost- The construction cost will be determined by the layout of your site. This refers to any existing buildings, land preparation, ect. We can make recommendations about style of greenhouse to use. There are many greenhouse companies out there to choose from.
Aquaponic System Cost- This is totally dependent on the type of system you create. We can help you estimate your construction cost.
Other Cost- This includes electricity, heat, water supply, shipping cost of materials, ect. These will vary depending on location.
Project Revenue - This will depend on your products and marketing. We can suggest vegetable crops and fish, but marketing research will depend on you.
We can assist you in making some of these decisions before you start construction of your aquaponic system. Aquaponics is an exciting field with lots of potential as an educational tool in schools and for commercial production.
Ours is a simple, reliable, low-cost growing system used to produce a supply of safe, superior quality foods. We integrate hydroponics and aquaculture in a closed system to produce premium tilapia and fresh herbs and vegetables. Although creative, this method of food production is no mere novelty. It is a low-cost, no nonsense system.
Complex synergistic relationships take place in an uncomplicated setting. It seems the more natural we can make it, the better it works. The effluent from the fish tanks is not filtered or purified before reaching the growing beds. Some similar systems are based on a hydroponics mindset and purify the water to go through expensive feeder lines and emitters. In our system the growing beds are in effect fluidized bed bioreactors (a most efficient biofilter for water filtration) using commonly available materials, without the need for separators and clarifiers for solids removal.
Each growing bed contains pea gravel as a growing media. Effluent trickles through and down the length of the growing bed before being pumped back into the tanks. The plants get all the nutrients they need, while bacteria in the gravel remove harmful ammonia produced by the fish, perpetuating the water purification process. Fish must never be left without plants in the growing beds or water purification stops; the growing beds should never be permitted to dry out or bacteria in the gravel, essential for the purification process, would die.
Simple to Operate
You supply the water and electricity.
You feed the fish.
The fish feed the plants.
The plants take care of the fish in return.
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Plants get what they need without the fuss of mixing chemicals. The unfiltered effluent (nutrient solution) is pumped straight to the growing beds through 1-inch PVC pipe.
After the initial effluent is pumped from each tank, the return through the beds takes from 10 to 30 minutes. A bucket containing a pump in each node holds 10 to 15 gallons. When this fills up, the water is pumped back into the tank and forced through a PVC cap drilled with numerous 1/4 inch holes, creating a showerhead effect. This oxygenates the water to optimum levels for the tilapia. Additional aeration is unnecessary.
IMAGINE GARDENING YEAR-ROUND WITH NO WEEDS TO PULL, NO BENDING FOR PLANTING OR HARVESTING, NO WORRIES ABOUT WATERING OR THE WEATHER.
PICTURE YOURSELF IN MID-WINTER WORKING IN A GREEN, VITAL, HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT - DOING SOMETHING YOU LOVE TO DO.
The system is simple and revolutionary for the very reason that it does not make use of technology normally assumed to be necessary for aquaculture, hydroponics, or both.
The system is flexible. A “node” is a tank of fish connected to one or more growing beds. A node can be constructed small enough to fit into a kitchen, one or more nodes could fit into a backyard greenhouse, or any number of large nodes could function in commercial greenhouse operations.
In addition to flexibility of size and simplicity of operation, the system is environmentally friendly. There is no effluent runoff. Plants and bacteria in the gravel beds use nutrients in effluent and purify the water for the benefit of the fish.
There is no mixing of fertilizers for hydroponic production, and the synergistic relationship between plants and fish actually necessitates the use of NO chemical pesticides or medications. Clean, pure and wholesome food is the result.
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
From a system point of view there are three main components of the operation - fish, plants and bacteria. The rest of the hardware items are there to optimize the life cycle of each of the three main components.
ABOUT THE FISH
Tilapia, a fish that produces delicious white flesh with few bones, are a hardy, disease resistant, warm-water fish. They’re native to Africa and the Middle East and have been raised for food since the days of the ancient Egyptians. Some believe Christ fed tilapia to the multitudes. Tilapia is the most popular fish for culture in the world.
Tilapia are fast growing, reaching 1 to 1-1/2 pounds by 9 to 18 months, are extremely disease resistant, and will provide firm, white boneless fillets (approximately 40% by weight). They are readily marketable at 3/4 pound and up. We prefer to sell our fish at over one pound live weight - most generally at a pound and a half.
The feed conversion rate for this fish is excellent, with one pound of feed yielding one pound of fish. Tilapia devour algae in addition to their regular feed, and excess plant cuttings add to this nutrient source. In addition, they will tolerate low oxygen and poor water conditions that would kill most other fish. We have found them to be extremely hardy.
ABOUT THE PLANTS
Currently we are producing lettuces and salad greens for local restaurants and subscribers for our own specialty mix. Our retail sales are primarily on a subscriber, or pre-order basis, with excess being sold at the local Farmers Market. Additionally, we are now producing some value-added products.
We have experimented with many different types of plants - ornamentals, herbs and vegetables. Most attempts have been successful. We’ve grown from seed, from seedlings, from cuttings. We’ve produced food crops, rooted cuttings, fresh cut herbs, and become our own supplier of starts for flowering basket sales. We’re excited about what this system can do!
Plants grow in half to one-third the time required for plants grown by conventional methods.
Cuttings from almost any plant (including trees) will root and grow if placed into a growing bed and exposed to the nutrient-rich water, with NO rooting hormones or chemicals.
ABOUT THE BACTERIA
A healthy bacterial culture is a necessity in this system and the limit on how many fish you can maintain will be gaited by the health and growth rate of your bacteria. What do bacteria need? They need warmth, moisture, dark and oxygen. All these are present in our system except for the surface area of the growing beds.
Plants alone do not purify the water for the fish. They only take up the nutrients that the bacteria put out after they work on and convert the fish wastes. The bacteria are a critical element in the system and should be treated with proper respect. Take steps to insure a good oxygen supply. Aeration of the fish water by the methods we prescribe, and cultivation of the growing beds when empty will provide more dissolved oxygen for the fish, as well as provide an improved oxygen level for the bacteria and plants.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND
There is no effluent discharge from our system, making it environmentally friendly. Due to the recirculation and efficient reuse of water, only 7 to 7.5 percent of the water must be replaced per month as a result of evaporation and plant uptake.
We believe in growing as naturally as possible, but our system also demands it. Any pesticides sprayed on the plants would find their way back into the fish. Any antibiotics poured into the fish tanks to treat diseases would find their way to the plants and kill the bacteria. Predatory wasps, ladybugs, lacewings, Bt and other specific organically approved methods are used to control whiteflies, aphids and other pests and diseases that affect the plants.
A minimum of electricity is used because the solar greenhouse design doesn’t require it. We do all we can to maximize the use of solar energy. The fish tanks are black to absorb and retain heat. Warm water, a high level of nutrients, CO2 from the fish, and frequent flow are what allow us to grow all through the winter.
LOW COST MATERIALS
Basic items for operation consist of:
- A building - the system can be adapted to suit most any greenhouse style and size.
- Tanks - we use hatchery tanks from PolyTank.*
- Growing beds - may be as simple as wood, lined with plastic or as durable as prefab poly.*
- Pumps - common submersible sump pumps are recommended
- PVC piping and fittings
- Water supply
- Gravel - it’s an efficient grow media. It’s also low-cost, low-maintenance, and readily available in most locations.
- ADD fish, plants and bacteria - the three main system components.
- PolyTank, our tank supplier, now manufactures 4’X8’ growing beds of the same material as our tanks (no maintenance, and virtually indestructible).
OPERATING COSTS
Basic operating costs will include:
- Labor
- Electricity
- Fish food
- Seeds and plants
SIMPLY DIFFERENT
Our system is unique.
The system’s design offers flexibility.
It can be operated on a small scale or in a large commercial set-up.
Parts and equipment are readily obtainable, most from local suppliers.
Elements in nature enable the system to function successfully, not some exclusively patented device.
What is AQUAPONICS?
- Aquaponics is a semi-closed loop ecosystem.
- Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (raising fish in a controlled environment) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil, providing the nutrients to the plants mixed into the water fed to the plants).
- Aquaponics is a manmade version of Mother Nature’s pond, stream, and field ecosystem.
In an aquaponic system, you feed the fish, the fish wastes feed bacteria, the bacteria wastes feed the plants, and the plants clean the water for the fish. Fish live in their own bathroom. They can’t help it, they have nowhere else to go. And fish waste is mainly ammonia nitrogen, that evil smelling stuff you clean windows with. If you feed the fish too much, and their ammonia laden wastes build up, the fish do the same thing that you would do if immersed in an ammonia bath,… they die. Even if they don’t eat the food that you toss in the tank, the natural breakdown of the food will kick the ammonia level through the roof (fishtank?), and poof, dead fish. Luckily, nature provides a way to eliminate this deadly hazard. Good thing for us that it does, or else the world’s seas would be big pools of water filled with dead fish long before man crept out of the primordial ooze. Certain bacteria eat ammonia, they LOVE it. They thrive on it, can’t live without it. The most voracious ammonia eating bacteria are called Nitro Sommonas bacteria. They gobble the ammonia down, use it to fuel their tiny bodies, and give off wastes full of nitrite nitrogen. Most fish can handle up to 10 times as much nitrites as ammonia. BUT…if the nitrites become to strong, there goes the fish, belly up again. Now, fish have been doing fine for eons. So obviously, something is taking care of the nitrites. Nature always provides a way of taking care of wastes. This time it’s another bacteria, Nitro Bacter. These wonderful little beasties feast on nitrites, eat it like we would feast on ice cream on a hot afternoon. And when their bodies are done, they excrete nitrates. NitrAtes are 10-100 times less dangerous to the fish. Still, if the levels of nitrates ever manages to get too high, it can still kill the fish. Luckily, nitrates are the form of nitrogen that plants love to eat. Not just one or two types of plants, nearly all plants love nitrates. From the lowest form of blue/green algae to the tallest Redwood tree, they all use nitrates as their nitrogen source. And, next to Carbon Dioxide, nitrogen is the highest chemical on the plant’s food list. Without nitrogen (nitrates), the plant won’t grow. Give a plant plenty of nitrogen (along with plenty of light, water, CO2, and about 13 other tinier amount of other elements), and it grows big and strong. It also locks that nitrogen up in it’s leaves and stems, removing them from the food chain. When the plant dies, other forms of bacteria (along with bugs, fish, animals, and humans) feast on the plant. Their wastes start the cycle all over again. nitrites>nitrates>plants>animals>ammonia…" An AQUAPONIC system contains all three of the necessary parts of the ammonia/nitrate cycle, fish to produce the ammonia, bacteria to break the ammonia down to nitrates, and plants to feed on the nitrates to create fishfood to start the cycle all over again. In the simplest classroom sized aquaponic system, the fish live in a standard fish tank. A pump that sits in the tank with the fish pumps the water (and fish wastes) up to a series of troughs sitting nested into the top of the tank. As the water sprays out of the pipes leading from the pump, it picks up oxygen, and flows down the troughs. Plastic pots sitting in the troughs contain blocks of rockwool, a sterile growing media similar (in appearance) to fiberglass. The water (and dissolved fish wastes) feeds up into the rockwool by capillary action, where bacteria are cultivated. The bacteria do their thing on the ammonia, and feed plants that are also growing on the rockwool cube. The cleansed water then flows down the trough, and pours into the fish area in the tank, completing the cycle. More complicated (and more efficient) aquaponic systems use the same basic concept, but they are more efficient at gathering the fish wastes, have several types of hydroponic systems to handle separating the fish wastes into suspended verses dissolved solids, more elaborate hydroponic systems for nitrate removal, and perhaps other systems to maximize the growth of bacteria and removal of non-organic materials from the water. They also may contain automatic monitoring systems, backup pump systems, auto feeding systems for the fish, and other systems to maximize the growth of the plants. Aquaponics can be integrated into an indoor pond system to create a beautifully landscaped show system. Picture a mountain lake glimmering in the sun, with fish leaping and breaking its shining surface. Picture a babbling stream with fruit laden trees lining it’s banks. Picture a pristine waterfall feeding that stream, with vines trellising down the sparkling rocks that bracket the falling water. Now picture this idyllic scene, in miniature, babbling away in your atrium or a corner of your living room. It’s possible, quite possible. A aquaponic system needn’t be a geometric conglomeration of plastic troughs and tanks. With a little ingenuity and foresight, you can form an aquaponic system into a work of art. All of the basic ecological processes are still integrated into this miniature mountain glen. The lake can be formed from a preformed ornamental pond. The stream can be formed from properly prepared concrete, with the “fruit laden trees” being bush-type cherry tomatoes and sweet basil. The waterfalls can be formed from a mound of native stone, or easily positioned mock stone blocks, covered with trellising spider plants. And all of the plants can be rooted in rockwool cubes to provide the home for the bacteria that handle the “dirty work”. You CAN bring Mother Nature into your home, it just takes a little planning and the right resources. For more information on setting up YOUR own aquaponic system, whether it be a hands-on learning system for students in your school, or a awe-inspiring miniature alpine glen in your private atrium, contact Hydro/Aquatic Technologies. We can help you set up the perfect system of your dreams!
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Breeder Steve posted February 07, 2000 04:13 AM
Excellent post, Ray. I’m sure that explains it pretty well for most. There are a few things I would like to add to that. When the water leaves the growing beds (flowering in my case) the water travels through more “cells”(rubbermaid buckets filled with aerated rocks) and mothers are planted in 3gallon mesh pots with wicks that sit in a hole cut in the buckets lids. This way when you harvest all or part of the grow bed, the mothers continue to clean the water for the fish. After the water has gone through the beds and the buckets it is returned to the fish via the float pump in the small return reservoir.
The other thing is conventional wisdom told people that it would only be good for green leafy crops. Not True! I’ve grown over two pounds of rock hard killer bud using this technique with two 430 son agros! I have also grown incredible Broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, poppies, strawberries, as well as the conventional lettuce, basil, and green onions. All produce was beyond prime. Whatever whoever tasted said it was like trying them again for the first time. “Like Wow, these tomatoes, it’s like trying tomatoes again for the first time.” The buds are exquisite. See my above post for an idea of a bloom booster, naturally. Top dressing or nylon sock. Your plants will really love you, and you will really love your plants!
shiva posted February 08, 2000 11:16 AM
I’m looking at that picture and thinking about how I would convert my current system to work with that. It looks like it wouldn’t be that hard. I’m interested in this bacteria/rocks filter thing … how would that come into play with an existing system like an aeroflow. I have a 60 site aeroflo, 1200 watt garden I would need another reservoir, a big fish aquarium, some fish & some pumps & plumbing. I’m almost at a point where I could break the “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it rule” … I understand the difference between organic & chem salt bud flavor. You can clear your garden & the buds are good but they don’t have the same complex flavors of organics.
It doesn’t look like this would work as well if you just refilled your reservoir with fish tank water … my aeroflo reservoir goes through about 4-5 gallons a day on high demand & holds about 25-30 gallons (counting whats in the tubes). I wonder how that would work, kinda seems like fish tank is probably very important for keeping the pH in check. Fish would add a fun dimension to this hobby … I’ve never had a big tank before, just 20 gallon small ones.
cool thread,
Shiva
Breeder Steve posted February 08, 2000 11:43 AM
Shiva, fill the tubes halfway with gravel or lava rocks, after rinsing well. Wick the pots and fill them with a light organic soil mix lined with a thin layer of clay corn. The water that drains out of the tubes can run through “mother marshes”. If you want to go crazy run a half inch fizz hose down each tube under the rocks. This helps keep the water aerated and misting inside the tube. Play with it, and have fun.
shiva posted February 08, 2000 12:48 PM
I gottcha … that would be a good way creating the rock/bacteria environment right in the tubes. So use poly-wool liners with coconut & worm castings in 3inch pots … hmm I will have to get in touch with harvest springs and spec out some equip to make this happen … I keep my moms in a partitioned off section of the flowering room so routing a line to the mum reservoir would be easy. I’m very happy you found your way onto the web Steve, your experience is an amazing resource and I thank you for sharing.
-Shiva 
Breeder Steve posted February 11, 2000 11:41 AM
Monitor water quality with Ph meter, aim for around 6.2, I let it fluctuate a little. Also, use a test kit for aquariums, you can test for oxygen level, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and several others. The kits are droppers and tubes. The optimum levels are shown on the packaging. You will see the ammonia rise at first, then it drops as it is converted into nitrite, which drops as it is converted into nitrate, which will maintain a healthy level as the plants absorb it.
If the aerobic bacteria responsible for the nitrogen cycle are healthy it will not smell. However if the water is not moving enough, our the Bio filter area is not aerated enough the bacteria will not be able to do their job and the water will smell foul, of ammonia, or rotten eggs. Better aeration of the solution/biofilter solves this. The water returns to my tank through a series of holes drilled in 1/2" pipe that goes around the perimeter of the tank. My oxygen level always reads the max of what the water will hold at it’s current temperature, best between 22-24°C. Talk to you soon.
Breeder Steve posted February 12, 2000 04:26 AM
Dear HI420, the algae eaters swarm the sock in the aquarium, providing more food for the bacteria in the biofilter which becomes more food for the plant.
Avoid the saltwater.
First get a few little fish, neons, guppies, goldfish, after the first two weeks, start adding more variety, cichlids, oscars, crawfish, freshwater lobsters and crabs, eels, sharks, fresh water shrimps, cories, loaches, knife fish. Your aquarium can hold a denser amount of aquatic life than your average aquarium with your mega biofiltration system, the plants.
Grow lots of aquarium plants both anchored and floating and don’t forget to add lots of hiding places for your fish. Enjoy
