Hey Guys, I want to jump in here on the Aquaponics. I will be retiring in about 1.5 to 2 yrs. I want to have raised bed intensive(4X8 plywood) stuff,using my own 3 part mulch mix, bla bla bla. I wanted to water the Aquaponics with my pond water and use the gardens as a filter to take the nutrients from the pond with water return to the pond cleaner than when it was pulled out of course and the water provide nutrients. I do not want to high-jack either,but I looked at the pics and it begs a question or two since I have ZERO experience with Aquaponics,except for the ride at Disney Land.
Well first of all your pond water is great for watering a conventional garden but won't have the nutrients and nitrates in the densities you would need for aquaponics. You just don't have the density of fish in the pond to produce those that you do in a closed system, and if you did they would have some serious issues as the pond would not be able to keep up with the ammonia produced to have those elevated levels of nitrogen. Filamentous algae, phytoplankton, and macrophytes are all competing for those nutrients and nitrates in the pond.
Are the plants and beds actually setting on top of the fish tank that you said was made with the 2x12's? Does the water run under the foam and across under the roots or does the water run across the top of the foam and trickle through the cups and into the fish tank?
There are holes cut into the high density foam that is floating on top of the water in the raft tanks. The plants are in net pots that are inserted into the holes and the roots grow out of the net pots into the surrounding water.
Is the water clean enough with one pass to go back into the pond or do you cycle it many times until it is clear and then make a water transfer?
The water is cleaned mechanically with a barrel packed with garden netting which traps suspended solids that come into the bottom of the barrel via siphon. The water is cleaned biologically with a biofilter which changes ammonia produced by the fish to nitrites and then to nitrates. This barrel filled with plastic media that tumbles with air that is injected via the bottom of the barrel. The water goes in from the barrel that mechanically cleans the water through the side bottom of the bilfilter barrel.
A mature aquaponics system does not need a separate biofilter tank but it's not a bad idea to have one anyway in times of low plant density or starting up a system.
If the water was run into a pond and back again you would dilute the nitrates and other nutrients so much the plants in the system would suffer. You also run the risk of fueling algae and other plants in the pond as it doesn't take much to get them going.
The water in my system is gin clear.
I want to focus on a fish tank like you have but it would be greatly appreciated if you could give more details as to how you built it. If I got it right, basically you have a plywood base(braced), 2"x 12" for side frames to support the plastic and hold the Aquaponics unit? Yes/NO.
The raft tank with the plants is NOT the fish tank. The fish tank is a separate circular tank complete with a center drain and external pipe to purge settleable solids twice a day.
The white tank in the background is the fish tank. It's under the tarp to keep rainwater from falling in that could leech arsenic from the deck wood. It also provides shade that keeps algae under control. Keep in mind the system is set so far off the ground to gravity flow waste water into an adjacent raised garden that is 15 inches off the ground. As long as your fish tank is lower than your raft tank you can gravity flow water back into your fish tank. At least that is the way I do it.
The raft tank is not braced. It's simply a 1/2 inch plywood base with 2 X 12's screwed to it around the perimeter and down the center to create two separate raceways. This is supprted by a framework of 2 X 6's under the raft tank. The raft tan is on attached to the framework but rests on top. As heavy as it is it's not going anywhere and this makes it easier to decommission or move in the winter.
It's lined with a double layer of greenhouse plastic. If you use greenhouse plastic be sure to scrub it with dishwater detergent and rinse. Then fill and let set for a day or two and drain. There is something used in manufacturing that keeps it from sticking to itself, which may be harmful to your system.
Another thing. You must provide aeration for the plants in the raft tank. I have a total of 4 small stones spaced 4 feet apart in the two raceways of the raft tank.
Water drops in on side of the tank via pvc piping and gravity from the biofilter tank, and goes to the end and crosses over. Then it comes back and dumps back in the fish tank via pvc piping and gravity.
If I got it right, then what in the way of water flow (GPM) would be good for the plants.
I'm hearing a maximum of 60 to 90 minutes retention time in the raft tank. I'm flowing about 11 gpm into 32 cubic feet which is about 239 gallons. That comes out to about 22 minutes retention time.
Is there a book you would recommend, or it that just unnecessary. Any book I would want, would need to be focused on using pond water(to clean up the water)for the plant growth and the clean water back to the pond which hopefully would reduce needed chemicals etc to control algae and the like.
Like I said using the pond would not be aquaponics and your nutrient and nitrate levels would not be high enough in the pond to support the plants in the raft tank.
There are three books I would recommend for aquaponics:
Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Aquaponic Gardening by Meg Stout
Aquaponic Food Production Nelson and Pate
[quote=mpc]The water I would try to pull out of the pond would be around the feeding areas for the most part.
On the aerated fry bucket, I too want to have my own forage for my CNBG and LMB, FH for the most part. I am curious how big or in another way how small x deep of a hole could I effectively raise FH minnows to produce say 50 to 70 # of minnows a year using the out flow of water from the Aquaponics garden?
There is another thread on forage ponds but like I said aquaponics is not really an option with a pond.
All that said, could I have any effective impact on nutrient load with this system in a 1 acre pond with fed fish? Sorry for the High jack and thanks for the great info, pics and hope I will get there too.
No worries about questions and the answer to your question is above.
