Aquaponics

[The Storyteller]

Having recently finished Will Allen's book The Good Food Revolution (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13273545-the-good-food-revolution?from_search=true), I'm inspired to again take up vermiculture and for the first time, aquaponics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics). I have a large pond, but the idea of starting it on a small scale and later expanding to a larger scale really appeals to me. I'm really taken by the idea of fish and fresh veggies grown in a system that allows year round production. The book I am currently reading on it (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12632217-aquaponic-gardening) makes it really seem doable.

So has anyone here done it? I remember seeing threads on hydroponics on the old board, but this is somewhat different. Much easier to maintain, I understand.

[iris lilies]

Oh aquaponics. ok. You people are nuts, but whatever.

So here's my latest interaction with acquaponics: My friend and neighbor who is rather manic built a small empire here in my neighborhood, growing the business of crime fighting to a new level, getting on the good side of city fathers and almost twisting himself into an actual paid job with the city heading up neighborhood watch sorts of efforts. He is a talented salesman, and I mean that sincerely.

So one evening both of us had a bit to drink (as sometimes happens here in the 'nabe) and he starts spouting off about Phase II of the Crime Plan. Once we send off these perps to prison, they will only be there for a couple of years. And then they will be released, and they will come back to the area. We've got to employ them to keep them off the streets and out of our 'nabe committing crime! So you know what the plan for Phase Ii is? Acquaponics! He's going to confiscate city buildings all over the north side (the abandoned areas of the city) and make--fish farms! and grow some veg.

This is some crazy chit, and I do not care that some heavily goobermnt subsidized project in Detroit is doing that. Show me a real money making operation.

I tire of yuppies and their completely unrealistic ideas, their community gardens of tiny raised bed plots where they barely grow any real pounds of veg a year, their chest beating . I want to move to a place where there are real farmers.

[The Storyteller]

Oh aquaponics. ok. You people are nuts, but whatever.

Well, that's harsh. :)

I suppose I should explain why this intrigues me so much. First, since a kid I was interested in wild fish breeds. Always wanted to grow some. I did have an aquarium for while with typical tropicals, but it bored me. I wanted something more interesting, more along my interests as a child, and something more practical.

I have a friend with an organic farm who sells several thousand dollars of produce at the farmers market every time she shows up. She is our go-to farmer for veggies. I noticed she was selling fresh lettuce in the middle of July and August with temps at 105 degrees. I thought that wasn't possible. She said she has branched into hydroponics and is growing in her green houses (which she shades in the summer) and that is where she grows the lettuce. She said she is growing it year round now.

Next comes my new health kick. Salad has turned into my favorite dish of any meal. I just love the greens now. Add to that fish. I want to eat more fish, but I'm nervous about all the toxins in wild fish and keep reading bad things about many farmed fish. If it isn't done right, it can be bad for you, too.

Then there is my passion for locally grown food and feeding myself and my family. We are doing pretty well with the eggs and meat birds, and plan to ramp that up in the coming year. You can't get much more local than your own back yard.

Enter Will Allen of Milwaukee, Wis, who shared his trials, tribulations, and successes in the above mentioned book and it all just clicked. I can up my fish intake, grow my food locally and sustainably, and have fresh greens year round, any time I want. I don't yet see a downside.

Now, I might ramp this up to larger production scales for sale. I'm not sure. I have tried dirt gardening and find it bores me. I kept being drawn to the animal side of farming. Hard to mess around with plants and weeds when I have real live critters to interact with. Maybe with the fish thrown in it will be more fun.

Plus, no weeds.

We are the only local producers of meat birds within 60 miles. Might be fun to add fish to that, for which there are fewer USDA and FDA rules. We can process and sell as many as we want off farm without a USDA inspector onsite. We just need to have the proper permits and the right facilities. Now, we may never get that far, but it does intrigue me.

For now, just a fun hobby setup in the garage with a few square feet for lettuces and a couple dozen catfish (less finicky than tilapia and more local) will suffice.

[puglogic]

Very cool goal, Storyteller. I've not done it, though I had friends who tried and gave up -- he was trying to grow market-quality tomatoes, and I think that was overreaching. Way daunting to me.....I've requested the Bernstein book from the library though :)

[Gregg]

My only exposure really wasn't aquaponics at all, just a river flowing through our place when I was growing up. We went down and 'harvested' fish any time that's what Mom wanted to make for dinner. It was obviously sustainable because we had all we wanted, any time we wanted, for years and years.

Overall I think fish farming is going to be a HUGE future wave. The ocean's fisheries are in severe decline, but the demand for fish isn't. It is inevitable that the void will be filled commercially. The difference between that and what I picture your goal to be is probably the same difference between Tyson's huge chicken warehouses and your pastured operation. If I'm not going to catch the fish myself I'm going to seek out someone who is raising them in the way you describe, Storyteller. I will try to avoid the steroid and antibiotic filled tilapia coming out of the underwater warehouses. IOW, I think its a great idea. Good luck!

[CathyA]

Oh aquaponics. ok. You people are nuts, but whatever.

So here's my latest interaction with acquaponics: My friend and neighbor who is rather manic built a small empire here in my neighborhood, growing the business of crime fighting to a new level, getting on the good side of city fathers and almost twisting himself into an actual paid job with the city heading up neighborhood watch sorts of efforts. He is a talented salesman, and I mean that sincerely.

So one evening both of us had a bit to drink (as sometimes happens here in the 'nabe) and he starts spouting off about Phase II of the Crime Plan. Once we send off these perps to prison, they will only be there for a couple of years. And then they will be released, and they will come back to the area. We've got to employ them to keep them off the streets and out of our 'nabe committing crime! So you know what the plan for Phase Ii is? Acquaponics! He's going to confiscate city buildings all over the north side (the abandoned areas of the city) and make--fish farms! and grow some veg.

This is some crazy chit, and I do not care that some heavily goobermnt subsidized project in Detroit is doing that. Show me a real money making operation.

I tire of yuppies and their completely unrealistic ideas, their community gardens of tiny raised bed plots where they barely grow any real pounds of veg a year, their chest beating . I want to move to a place where there are real farmers.

Wow........tell us what you really think IL. haha
First of all...........The Storyteller doesn't live in the middle of St. L. He seems to be doing well with his chickens, and now he wants to expand his self-sufficiency. How can you possibly compare the 2 people and their projects? Your buttons are so easy to push IL!

Storyteller.....don't know anything about it, but good luck with it! Keep us posted on your progress.

[puglogic]

Storyteller, I was reading about Fukushima yesterday (and the impending "cleanup" that could easily go awry if not careful) and its possible effects on Pacific fish stocks, and I started thinking about your fish farm! Safe, edible fish! Whooooo!! :D

[CathyA]

I had even thought in the past, of raising fish myself.......just enough for our family to eat, since all the fish you buy seems like it could be a bit questionable. Never followed through though. I raised kids instead. haha

[creaker]

Oh aquaponics. ok. You people are nuts, but whatever.

So here's my latest interaction with acquaponics: My friend and neighbor who is rather manic built a small empire here in my neighborhood, growing the business of crime fighting to a new level, getting on the good side of city fathers and almost twisting himself into an actual paid job with the city heading up neighborhood watch sorts of efforts. He is a talented salesman, and I mean that sincerely.

So one evening both of us had a bit to drink (as sometimes happens here in the 'nabe) and he starts spouting off about Phase II of the Crime Plan. Once we send off these perps to prison, they will only be there for a couple of years. And then they will be released, and they will come back to the area. We've got to employ them to keep them off the streets and out of our 'nabe committing crime! So you know what the plan for Phase Ii is? Acquaponics! He's going to confiscate city buildings all over the north side (the abandoned areas of the city) and make--fish farms! and grow some veg.

This is some crazy chit, and I do not care that some heavily goobermnt subsidized project in Detroit is doing that. Show me a real money making operation.

I tire of yuppies and their completely unrealistic ideas, their community gardens of tiny raised bed plots where they barely grow any real pounds of veg a year, their chest beating . I want to move to a place where there are real farmers.

All those "real" farmers are heavily goobermnt subsidized as well.

[bae]

All those "real" farmers are heavily goobermnt subsidized as well.

I don't receive any significant subsidies for my "real" farm. I do pay a heavy cost in complying with foolish regulations though. I suppose that is an anti-subsidy.

[bae]

As to aqua phonics, whenever the vendors show up at our county fair, it is clear to me that their goal is to sell you expensive filters, pumps, tanks, and fish food produced non-sustainably, while trying to convince you that you are boldly leaping into a sustainable, low-energy, food-secure future.

[The Storyteller]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I don't know if my project will be successful, but it will be fun trying, I think. Puglogic, I learned from growing meat birds that it is a good idea to start slow and make sure you know what you are doing before going beyond providing food for yourself. My first couple of crops were disasters because though I read everything I could and watched lots of videos and had raised some heritage breeds, I found I still wasn't really as prepared as I thought. Experience is still the best teacher.

I already have some of my materials from around the farm. I have a couple of stock tanks I can use for grow beds and fish tanks, and can use the florescent lights from our seed starter room for grow lights. That isn't a long term solution, but it will help with my learning curve. Then there is the worm farm, which we hope will supplement the fish food. I figure all the additional supplies I need to get started is a pump (no heater... catfish are fairly cold hardy), grow media, and the plumbing.

Oh, and fish. :)

As to sustainable, I have found that to be a relative term. There is no such thing as a system that is 100% sustainable in agriculture, not that I have seen. But some systems are more sustainable than others. If done right, I think this can be sustainable in the long term.

Relatively.

[creaker]

I don't receive any significant subsidies for my "real" farm. I do pay a heavy cost in complying with foolish regulations though. I suppose that is an anti-subsidy.

I meant "real" farmers (sarcastically) - the ones with the big factory farms that get huge subsidies even when they sometimes don't grow anything.

It's one of my buttons, we have wonderful smaller scale and family farms here in NE are actually making inroads into the local food chain that the factory farmers are trying legislate out of business - lobbying money provided in part by the government subsidies they receive.

[The Storyteller]

Here's a link to a simple system designed especially to be easy to build with items readily available...

http://www.fastonline.org/images/manuals/Aquaculture/Aquaponic_Information/barrelponics_manual.pdf

Using food grade, second hand 55 gallon barrels, the originator created it especially for use in third world countries and calls it Barrelponics.

http://www.windward.org/notes/notes67/verm6715.jpg

[The Storyteller]

Still researching the subject, I came on this interesting vid something like the sort of system I would like to grow into...


http://youtu.be/ch-Sif24CV4