Aquaponics

[AQPC]

Hey guys, its my first post!!

Anyways, I was wondering if anybody on this forum has any experiences with greenhouses, and or specifically aquaponics (fish + veggies) or hydroponics (veggies grow in water)

I would eventually like to start a small greenhouse which has a combination of aquaponics, and some hydroponics. Anyways I was just wondering if any of you have had any experiences dealing with greenhouses, and aquaponics.

Thanks!

 

[forgeblast]

Google it, there is a ton of info from Minn on using fish in green houses. There are sites with plans also.
Aqua farming and advanced aquaculture knowledge library

Northern Aqua Farms Aquaculture, Agriculture and Aquaponics

diyaquaponics.com/aqua_plans.php

 

[ustmd]

It is a shame, but in my part of the country, getting involved in either of those topics is the quickist way to get a visit from the DEA/sherriff.

 

[AQPC]

It is a shame, but in my part of the country, getting involved in either of those topics is the quickist way to get a visit from the DEA/sherriff.

Really? How come? Is it to do with possible contamination of food?

 

[PILOON]

Shucks, around here the local enforcement even warns you not to mess with this or that neighbor as they know that he is a grower.
Easy to spot a 'gro-op', all windows are covered over to hide the gro lights and the yard is unkempt.

Enforcement says that they can't bother with the small growers but that they are concentrating on getting the wholesalers.

Biggest worry is to stumble upon an outdoor gro-op as often they are protected by armed thugs.
Generally a 'grower' merely gets a $300. fine and a slap on the wrist with no jail time as jails are full. They calculate that the risk is minor for the returns and so carry on growing.
I heard it said that they even have a self regulated 'clearing house' kind of like a stock exchange operation.

A friend owns a public storage facility and I could fill a book with tales of growers and the competition amongst themselves.
Unfortunately he has no control on what a client stores and in fact, by law, he cannot access a unit as it is deemed 'private property' and falls under same rules that prevent landlords from entering rental homes.

Often after 3-4 months of non rent payment (and legal notifications*) is when we'd find thw 'tools' of a gro-op setup.
* generally the tip off is phoney name and contact info.

If I had one suggestion to law enforcement, it would be to have trained sniffing dogs patrol every public storage facility during crop season. I'm shure they would get quite an eye opener.

 

[forgeblast]

aquaponics is a little different. It is a closed loop system, where the fish feed the plants which clean the water for the fish to live in. Some people use plant eating fish to make their system totally closed loop. Others have two areas for fish one with minnows to feed the bigger fish. Many are constructed out of blue barrels and a water pump to keep water flowing. some of the systems are very impressive. I would need a green house to keep it running in the winter, plus i worry that a hoop house would let animals in to eat the fish.
It is a system that i plan on implimenting at some time.

 

[AQPC]

Yes, in Canada grow ops are very common in corn fields or clearings in the bush. Every year at least 5 busts are made in my county alone. One year we had a police helicopter land in our field and we asked them and supposedly their was a grow op in the fields adjacent to ours. Helicopters routinely fly over and check.

 

[AQPC]

aquaponics is a little different. It is a closed loop system, where the fish feed the plants which clean the water for the fish to live in. Some people use plant eating fish to make their system totally closed loop. Others have two areas for fish one with minnows to feed the bigger fish. Many are constructed out of blue barrels and a water pump to keep water flowing. some of the systems are very impressive. I would need a green house to keep it running in the winter, plus i worry that a hoop house would let animals in to eat the fish.
It is a system that i plan on implimenting at some time.

Yes most people do use greenhouses, even in hot climates like Australia most people have some sort of shelter to protect the crops from wind, and rain. What I wonder though is if one could put a small woodstove in the greenhouse which heats the water in the fish tanks?

 

[PILOON]

aquaponics is a little different. It is a closed loop system, where the fish feed the plants which clean the water for the fish to live in. Some people use plant eating fish to make their system totally closed loop. Others have two areas for fish one with minnows to feed the bigger fish. Many are constructed out of blue barrels and a water pump to keep water flowing. some of the systems are very impressive. I would need a green house to keep it running in the winter, plus i worry that a hoop house would let animals in to eat the fish.
It is a system that i plan on implimenting at some time.

I know of one operation as you describe.
He grows lettuce on top (in floating foam slabs) and trout below.
His setup is the size of an olympic pool but a mere 2-3' deep covered with a poly 'green house'.
Basiclly he feeds the fish and the fish poo feeds the crop.
He, however pumps a lot of air into the 'pool' for the fish.
New crop about every 2 weeks.
Due to our local climate, heat is his big overhead cost as well as grow lighting in short winter months, it is however viable as this is his sole source of income.

 

[pat32rf]

While we have 80 acres, the only all day sun is in one corner which is he muddy shallow end of a small lake. To much decaying vegitation to over winter fish of any size but full of nutrients.(and very acidic) I've always wondered about "floating" some flats of tomatoes, lettuce etc. Maybe next spring.....

 

[forgeblast]

http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/education/documents/barrel-ponics.pdf
This is the pdf i was looking for. I will probably build one similar to this.
This is filled with pics, and will give you an idea of the system.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/garden/18aqua.html


AQUAPONICS SYSTEMS [Archive] - Aquaponics HQ

bunch of different systems

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/systems.html

 

[AQPC]

I know of one operation as you describe.
He grows lettuce on top (in floating foam slabs) and trout below.
His setup is the size of an olympic pool but a mere 2-3' deep covered with a poly 'green house'.
Basiclly he feeds the fish and the fish poo feeds the crop.
He, however pumps a lot of air into the 'pool' for the fish.
New crop about every 2 weeks.
Due to our local climate, heat is his big overhead cost as well as grow lighting in short winter months, it is however viable as this is his sole source of income.

Interesting, I wonder how he heats his greenhouse in the winter because that would definetly become pretty pricey. Does he sell his produce to local stores?

 

[PILOON]

Interesting, I wonder how he heats his greenhouse in the winter because that would definitely become pretty pricey. Does he sell his produce to local stores?

Yes, and does fairly well at it.
Heat is costly, but fortunately during winter so is importing of fresh produce so things balance out.
That lettuce is shure tasty!
He uses oil to heat. It is the electricity that kills him due to the short daylight in winter.
Also the municipality made him install in an industrial park and the adjacent residential neighbors complain about the bright grow lights at night.
In winter he uses a dark screen over the hot houses to attract the sunlight for free heat, so on a sunny day he needs only heat at night.

The whole set up is very clever.
So much so that most of his set up costs were the result of a government grant.

As it turns out he is a childhood friend of my son hence reason for all the 'inside info'.

 

[dave1949]

http://www.aces.edu/dept/fisheries/education/documents/barrel-ponics.pdf
This is the pdf i was looking for. I will probably build one similar to this.
This is filled with pics, and will give you an idea of the system.


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/garden/18aqua.html


AQUAPONICS SYSTEMS [Archive] - Aquaponics HQ

bunch of different systems

http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/systems.html

Did you work on a system? I've been reading some on them, trying to figure out what sort of edible fish might work best here. Seems like tilapia, yellow perch, trout, and arctic char are the common species. The trout sound finicky, and I might have well water iron problems for trout.

Getting the energy costs under control would be a challenge.