Is Aquaponics Economically Viable for Mothers

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#1

I’ve been doing some reading, well a lot but only absorbed some, and I’ve got my heart set on an aquaponic venture. One plant, one tank of guppies, one light. The plant will be left to veg indefinitely. I don’t care too much about flower results; this would be to veg or keep a mother.

I’ve read a lot of what OG has to say based off a cursory look around today, but I still am unsure on a few things… sizing. I think, if I am correct, I would want my first test to be 15 gallon tank and grow bed. Perhaps up to 30 gallon tank. Any more than that for one plant seems a waste? I felt a heavy draw to organics from the start and in my research to figure how to produce my own nutrients for my plants I really fell in love with the idea of aquaponics. I find very little info on anyone who keeps all their fish as pets; other people in the house aren’t fond of breeding them, and honestly it sounds like more hassle than I need.

Let’s say, I already have the tank and everything to keep the fish alive… what is a good system to “add on” a plant? DWC vs media? I see some in soil with worms; but I am unsure how to go about that.

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#2

Guppies aren’t appropriate for one. Root zone at 78f just isn’t going to work.

You need to look at cooler water fish (carp/goldfish)

As for the rest - I ran 4-6 plants on a perpetual system off a 20g that was heavily stocked. How to plumb it - look at sump plumbing - decide which end you want level fluctuation on and work from there, I used the 20g as my sump and kept water level consistent in the grow tubs. But you’re going to fight with PK levels if you’re only trying to keep a mother that way.

I’d say you’re much better off using one of the more normal ways especially at a beggining stage.

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#3

Sorry I’m prone to experiments, this would be one plant practice. My plan is keep growing in organic soil, get some fish and learn to care for them. Then when I feel comfortable start mixing the two. Just planning a bit far out… maybe too far out. Lol.

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#4

Way too far… You end up balancing 2 systems simultaneously. It’s definitely possible - but you’re going to forever fight opposing needs. No harm in starting to play but expect it to be challenging and moms you usually don’t want a bunch of variables - super consistent is the quest.

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#5

Maybe you could combine the two…ya know fish prefer clean water. You could change the water and then ad that to a brew to water the plants in soil…

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#6

Economically viable? Unfortunately not. At that tiny scale it will cost more than it saves. Maybe if you got into guppy breeding and had a little room, but that’s another hobby unto itself.

Might be a fun project though.

Were it me, I’d just have the aquarium on display and water the plants with the water from weekly water changes. Guppies like it around 75 degrees. 15 gallons is too small for goldfish.

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#7

Vegging and mothers are very easy in aquaponics. The trick and skill set come into play when you flower them.

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#8

Watering with the fish water for sure, I may have to settle for that. The guppies aren’t a requirement, just had the best hope in smaller space and are more exciting to housemates than a tub of goldfish.

How this would work would be an aquarium with the fish, set up to keep them happy, which ideally isn’t too far from our comfort zone, so really not tropical fish. Goldfish could probably work better in a large tank- I envision a 55 gallon aquarium feeding a 3x3 bed. This is much too big for me though. Oh well. Maybe just a pipe dream until I could scale it up. That’s ok, aquariums are expensive.

#9
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