Keith,
What method do you prefer to determine plant surface area output vs. fish pounds or amount of fish feed fed daily? UVI says about 7.1 ratio of surface area of plants to fish tank surface area with raft culture. Another text I have is more specific and says 60 grams of feed per day per square meter of the raft for nonfruiting plants to 100 grams per day of fish feed fed for one square meter of the raft for fruiting plants. Seems to be quite a difference.
My raft is about 3 square meters. (4'X 8') and 1' deep with a divider in the middle. Flow goes to the end on one side of the divider and cuts over and comes back where it dumps back into the fish tank via gravity. Preceding that is a clarifer tank and an outside standpipe that removes suspended and settleable solids respectfully. Before flow drops into the raft it's treated with a moving bed bioreactor (mbbr).
Circular fish tank is 5.16 feet in diameter and has surface are of 20.90 ft2. Water volume is 286.1 gallons.
Just now assembling outside. Probably going with 3 to 5 inch tilapia only because these fish -- for a change -- will be for the table.
Thoughts? I'm new to aquaponics but I'm excited! Probably going with lettuce and tomatoes.
Last edited by Cecil Baird1; 06/09/13 04:11 AM.
