I also believe that being responsable for growing your own food is such a revolutionary act that can lead us to a better future. Good things like sharing and caring for the Earth come along with it.
ferghingaro17 It's all one big package deal, quite right! Growing even a small portion of ones own food is such a liberating and empowering experience, growing a better future!
JT Bear I've only been at it since April of this year, but I really enjoy it, and I am seeing great results. It is on a far smaller scale, but I am looking to expand. I am going to enclose my back porch and try to continue through the fall and winter. Luckily, the fall and winter here in far west Texas are very mild.
twitchunlimited Ya, I love that hat. Almost lost it to the lake once but it kept it's shape even after it's swim! I guess a year four update is due soon isn't it? I'll have to get on that! Looking forward to your upcoming video!
Maaan I watched this video way back in 2014 when I was thinking about getting into Aquaponics. Been trying to actually get a setup for it since I own some land now. Been looking for ya for like 3 days and finally found you, lol.
@@JTBear If Aquaponics was going to be my main source of gathering food, what plants / fish would you recommend? Have you ever tried Crawfish in a system? 0o
@@mynamewastakin Lettuces, chard, and tomatoes can all produce exceptionally well in an aquaponic garden. As for fish, tilapia are said to be quite rapid breeders!
Still working on a working plan. Got a big tank but still just making friends with the pretty fish and other inhabitants. Did start the process of PHing the soil and water. My kid is rather attached to the little beings living. My soil greenhouse is full which keeps pushing the time clock. Great update!
A year ago you advised us beginners, to 1. Start small 2. Talk to neighbors 3. Its an investment 4. Grow what you wanna eat 5. Take time to research... 6. never give up... So I decided to start my home garden .....with Bean Sprouts - mungo bean sprouts, fengreek sprouts, alfafa sprouts. ...lol
If anyone is interested in aquaponics the best results that i've ever had was by using the Keiths Ponics Site (just google it) without a doubt the most incredible info i've tried.
C3 Voyage Thanks! Looking forward to the projects & new knowledge I'll get along the way with that myself. Really need to get a few things fixed before I can move forward though & finally getting a couple of IBC totes into my system would be nice too. All things in time!
You've probably noticed from watching my video's, I love to share and teach... This said, I'd love to start an Aquaponics store/classroom. I think you and I have grown a lot, over the last several years. To you my friend, good luck and good job.
DEW W Best of luck to you as well my friend! I'd love to see people setting up aquaponic education centers everywhere, maybe more folks will get a similar idea! Peace to you brother Dew!
Man I understand where youre coming from. Ive been working on my aquaponics green house for 10 months now and I my system finally cycled for the first time and its finally coming around. Im a plumber by trade, so the plumbing had to be perfect. I put the fish tank underground, with a sump. The sump wasn't big enough, so I have 2 fish tanks now with a sump. I had at least 6 epic failures but its all coming together. My advice for someone starting out is to keep it simple. I have a flood and drain system, raft and took to the air with NFT though. It all paid off, and I just stare at it for about a 1/2 everyday. My experiment paid off.
Well JT, One way to get rid of your algae problem is to use Crawdads or Fresh water prawns in the bottom of your fish tank and separated from your fish with a 1/4" netting on a rack of PVC. and they will eat it and any waste food that drops to the bottom of the tank. But it looks like you'll have to have a deeper tank for that. here is the link: Well I can't seem to be able to post a link here, So look this up in the search to get there, Grow Dinner Aquaponics.
I discovered your videos this morning and have watched several of them now. Thank you. They are inspiring to me. This winter (southwest Michigan) I have been experimenting with hydroponics and will now be setting up a aquaponics system too. One question. What are the fish fed?
These fish were fed a food called 'Microbe-lift' that was designed for Koi fish. It was a bit pricy but the health of the fish made it well worth the cost. These days my fish mostly eat aphids, basement flies, herbs from the garden and leftover pea soup that's dried on the soup pot. Goldfish are equal opportunity consumers ... Have fun with your garden adventures!
Interested concluding and encouraging comments indeed. As you said, Aquaponics remained an expensive affair. Gradually, I hope and believe that the overall cost of the equipment, setup costs and costs of the tools required for such systems should go down. At the same time, much better and improved yield will offset the higher costs. I should also say that hardly any videos and comments talk about overall financial gains or payback overa period. Good Luck with your endeavours in your Aquaponics endeavours!
Thanks for the great comment, I think the costs are already starting to go down a bit for a good system. Well, everything but power anyway but they are making more efficient pumps every day! :-) Thanks for taking a look!
For power, there is no solar option for medium to largescale setup. Also, costs will drastically come down when sourcing of required equipment is done from more than one source. I have done quite a bit of study and wish to do a commercial venture for exotic vegs and Tilapia. Will be glad to ask/share critical things with you. Thanks again.
I'm in my 2nd year of research for aquaponics. I agree that this is going to become a new way of farming in the future, which is my dream. how much gardening experience did you have prior to starting? I have tried traditional gardens in the past but didn't do as well as others. I like the hat as well :)
+Chris Kellogg - Does gardening as a chore with Mom count? I did plenty of that as a child but not too much in the years that followed. I tried gardening where we lived for a couple of years before I decided to give aquaponics a try. With the dry conditions we had, the automatic watering aspect of aquaponics sold me on the idea in no time! Although I was hand watering when I first started, it didn't take long before I figured it was work the cost of a good pump! Thanks for asking!
Nice video man! We've been looking at starting an AP system for months and after some financial magic we have been able to sink an 800 gallon tank in the ground, get it bordered somewhat and get one 4'x12'x10" grow bed built and in place. I'm hoping to have the second one built this weekend and then get the media and plants in. We were lucky in that we were given two pumps (6gpm) and we have an acre in which to set this thing up. The only two issues I have so far is that I set the water tank in the ground months ago for our ducks and a handful of goldfish (I'm putting edible fish in there once it's running) and the thing is so full of algae that I can't see more than a couple of inches into the water. Probably have to pump most of that out. The other is that I cannot wrap my head around getting a siphon built no matter how many videos I watch and was hoping just to install a stand pipe and drill a half dozen 1/8 holes in the base so the water will drain out slowly. I'm planning a flood and drain system where the pump fills the two beds in just about 20 minutes and is then off for 40 minutes, basically once an hour the beds will get flooded. Thanks again and keep up with the videos!
The Productive Garden I've heard they are natures little composters. I look forward to raising some of those myself one day ... Chooks are chickens right? lol.
JT Bear yes JT chooks are chickens and they are great composters. You feed them weeds and scraps from the kitchen and they turn them into manure that can be composted and put right back in the garden. It really is just like the fish poo going back through the aquaponic beds.
I'b be all over that, but bylaws here has basically shut down chickens in town. There's a new 'pilot' project to see if they will be okay but it's kind of a bad joke really. Waiting is!
i like your hat jt, it's cool. ha! i think i like your original aquaponics system best of all. no pipes or plumbing. that's where i get lost. hey i pruned my tomato after i watched your pruning vid. how long should it take before i start seeing blooms? i think it's been a couple of weeks now...
hippy chick If you don't have flower clusters forming yet I don't know what to suggest. I guess you could try cutting the growing tip from the very top of the plant and see if that does it. That would force the growing energy to redirect itself to other parts of the plant and might do the trick ... wish I had more to offer you on that one. I'll do the recreation video soon but it really is very straightforward. I suspect there will be giggles from certain viewers but I don't mind. :) Live life with love & laughter. It's more fun that way!
Just watched your 2nd year review and now this. You had mentioned about forgetting to water plants. I have been trying to figure out doing a ebb and flow system on a timer to flood the tray daily so I don't have to worry about forgetting to water. Maybe you could make a flood tray to water them until you do something with them. Just a thought.
now that you're in your new place and all settled in. I know the snow is on the ground and it's bitterly cold outside however it would be kind of fun to watch you do a little outdoor gardening in a greenhouse with aquaponics again. Any thoughts to that? Also I am thinking about regrowing my peppers and trying my hand at aquaponics again.
Always thinking about greenhouse gardening out here. If I had more faith in these old trees I'd just put up a hoop house like I had before but I just don't think it would even last one winter. So many falling branches in the wind ... I do have ideas for a stronger build but I lack the cash. Seems like no matter how much comes in it's still only just enough to cover what's going out ... :-(
Hello fellow Canadian, awesome job with your GH/Aquaponic set up. I also built a 8 foot by 10 foot GH this last November and added a ( 10 gallon fish tank with 10 goldfish) aquaponic set up a week ago in side it. I am still fighting with my siphon and need a larger pump soon, but have a million questions and want to watch your first year video still. Looking forward to following your progress! Thanks from Southern Ontario. Zach
Zach Dube Hey! Welcome to the family! Drains are one of the biggest challenges that most people face with aquaponic gardens I suspect and a larger pump is always a good idea. My pump is a 400 gph Laguana if it helps and those fish will soon need at least a tote or something that holds more water. I've found these fish grow fairly quickly in the AP systems ... A good note, check for any updates or fail notices before trying an idea you see on my channel, they don't all end in success. ;-) Ask any questions you want, I try to get back to all the comments but sometimes the community will beat me to it. Best of luck & many happy harvests to you! JT
mine is 94 gph , and it sucks......looking at 140 gph for 20 bucks.I could use a basics view of how your system started, and a slow flow of where things go from fish to tank to fish again. what is the difference between bed and float with drainage.
I can do a walk through of what I've got going on for you in the next couple of days if you'd like. If you can spare the extra I'd suggest springing for a larger pump. I spent mid 70s on that 400 gph and it's been running for 3 years straight ... That's only like $3/mo for the pump and it still works great! I'll go into a couple of bed styles that I have running for you as well, might help. :-)
wife is holding tight to purse strings...lol I am usually doing a repurposed and second hand project when I get started on things COme summer time I will be looking at making changes and then throw a little money at it then, just got a free 80 Liter tote. thinking of going to that for fish tank giving me more room to have larger top bed.
I do love the hat. LOL Happy 3 years. Some day I will give it a shot. I'm still playing in the dirt for now. But learning so much for you and others for now.
Really depends on where you live. Somewhere warm(ish) all year round, I would say why not. Somewhere with 4 feet of snow come winter, I say wait it out. Good production? My basic position is any fresh produce in the winter is great production so I may have a slanted view on that one. Kale did well, many plants survived the winters but peppers or tomatoes was right out of the question. Does that help? and Thanks! :-)
***** I suspect that the biggest problem you might face with hydroponics in Africa would be keeping you water cool enough. Shade cloth over any large water tanks should help to keep it reasonable during the heat of the midday. Other than that, I can't think of anything that should cause you too much concern. What are you planning to grow?
Hi. I liked your video; it was inspiring. I've been interested in aquaponics for a little over a year, and I think I'll finally get the chance to begin my own experiments this spring. I just have to wait for Chicago to thaw... Anyway, the more I research and learn, the more I'm convinced aquaponics is one of the best, easiest ways to reduce fossil fuel dependence and provide low cost organic produce anywhere--and everywhere. I started nodding along like a hyper bobblehead when you spoke about turning unused buildings in urban areas into aquaponics facilities. I want to do that. I want a five acre hobby farm to do aquaponic gardening and frolic with a couple goats. I also want telekinesis and a hoverboard, but one thing at a time, right? :) Cheers.
The dirty aquaponics has been wrapped up. The idea seems solid and I would like to try it with a few different crops once space allows me to do so. I think the potential is there for a lot of in ground crops to still enjoy the benefits of the aquaponic system and it would also be a way to possibly introduce rock dust to the garden as well. Lol, I need more land to do all of these different projects at once. How awesome would that be though ... Thanks for asking!
Jt, there are at least 60 trace minerals and elements that need to be supplemented into the system. Some people call it rock dust. We need to consume these minerals and trace elements through plant uptake. It's called bio-availability
Jon Vaughn I was talking to my friend at the nursery about rock dust and aquaponics. Still not sure where the best place to add that would be. I'm leaning towards a nylon bag hanging in the sump tank but the suggestion to put them into the grow media is tempting too...
POVadventure It did alright as I recall. I kept it contained like the mint but we still got a few harvests off of it. If I remember correctly it died at the first sign of frost but that one was a while ago. I may have done a quick video on the stevia and aquaponics ...
+botaeng2 - Lol, I do love that beat up old hat! I did add it all up once for a video ( ua-cam.com/video/I14V5WDfDUM/v-deo.html ) but as I recall it only came to about $500 or so over a couple of years of changing everything to make it work a little better.
+Cindy Sijtske Powell-Atsma - We're in BC at the moment but moving back to Manitoba on Friday. I suspect that means zone 2 or 3 for there ... not sure yet!
I do love the hat...as a Texan I'm a little jealous of the hat!! How do you put those trace minerals like magnesium in your system without hurting the fish? i'm in the research mode...which includes convince the wife mode...so I'm watching a bunch of videos and trying to ask reasonable questions.
+Monte Turner - Magnesium can be added by using small amounts of Epsom salts, calcium I would add by having a stocking full of eggshells hanging in the swirl filter, and iron was just standard (Chelated?) iron from the nursery. I'm currently looking into getting some local mineral rich rocks for adding the other missing bits. Many of the plants that can be seen in this video did well without any extras at all though! Kitchen herbs do VERY well with just the fish water. Good luck with the wife, the research part never ends! Hope you get to build an AP garden soon, let me know if you have any other questions. :-)
Hey JT, I like you do not monitor the water quality, I am sure it has hurt the outcome. It has been literally weeks since I checked the quality. Fish seam to be happy. Its mid Summer in Florida and its very difficult to get plants to respond in this heat. Even Using screen to cut the sun. The Heat Has the same effect. I seam to have better luck in the winter months. beans lettuce and Peas do Great. still having a hard time with Tomatoes in the system. How often do you clean your grow beds? I am Coning on 18 Months and I think I need to clean them. They are packed with worms and just way to much old roots. If I move the beads and the system drains its really a mess for the fish. I have been hear 18 Years and only once have seen water in a bucket frozen. I would have thought the Aquaponics could beat the summer heat and sun. Oh well. Love you videos Thank You.
Golfingferdie The first question that comes to mind would be what is your water temperature like? Some of my plants seem to prefer the water a bit cooler and struggle a bit when it warms up too much. With that said, lots of plants like things a bit warmer and will thrive. You may want to check out channels like gardening4fun , I think they are in your gardening zone and have seen success in the summer heat. If it's been 18 months then a quick clean might be a very good idea. I hear you about how messy the water gets for the poor fish during a cleaning, I'm still trying to figure out a side drain or something so the messy water can just go straight to the garden or a storage barrel. I always feel so bad for them in all that muck. :( My greenhouse can get pretty hot in the summer so I've had to switch what I grow to hardier plants. For example I grow lots of kale now and very little lettuce. I've found that the kale just does better in the heat of summer and still lives (barely) in the cold of our winters. Perhaps ask at the local garden center about plants that are good for the local temps? I hope that helps & thanks for watching!
Thanks for the shout out JT Bear. The heat had been grueling here. My water temps are running in the 90's. I have found some things that actually work well like okra. The video is here. ua-cam.com/video/D31aLa3U2oU/v-deo.html I'm experimenting on some other vegetables as well. I will post results as I get them
Great video JT Bear . I was kinda of the same way when I started about water testing and stuff. The only things I really test for not though are ppm and ph. Those I feel are pretty important. I dinyt really do nitrogen and ammonia tests no more since its been established. I'm really wanting to expand my system. I've learned a tremendous amount since I've got mine going. I studied about it for a year probably before I built my first system which has been running for about a year now. Looking forward to the updates.
gardening4fun Thanks! I would like to find a decent quality digital ppm meter, may I ask what you use? I'm thinking I probably should do regular ammonia and nitrogen testing since I am always messing with things and making adjustments. Things should be interesting by next season! Many happy fall (& winter) harvests to you my friend!
It's just a generic one I got from the local hydro shop. A really good one is the truncheon they are about 100$ I think I paid 40$ for mine. I used to do the regular ammonia testing but it's running so well now. every time I've tested lately the ammonia is basically zero. I also have a separate bio filter beside the grow beds to convert the ammonia so that's basically been a non issue. Thanks for the good words.I hope you get to grow stuff in the frozen tundra as well.
Lol, I've got a few things that seem to keep growing during the winter so I'll have fresh mint teas at the very least. Mmm, chocolate mint tea in a quiet snowfall doesn't actually sound so bad ... :)
is there a faq or forum available from what you learned? I'm curious about what new testing you have adopted to maintain quality as well as where you live in (to obtain light calculations). Would you be interested in working out an energy balance and conversion rates to see where all the nutrients and costs of input and possible outputs? I have a sneaking suspicion that a system will work once built but is hard to generate income to pay for the capitol start up costs (on small or large systems).
There are LOADS of great forums out there for aquaponics. aquaponicsjournal.com/ has a lot of good info ... I'm getting into pH testing and will be getting proper chemical kits to test for things such as ammonia, nitrites & nitrates as well and we are currently located in Penticton BC, basically Pacific Northwest for lighting and Arizona for summer temps. As for energy my garden uses 25 watts/hour all day every day and a 300 watt fish tank heater in the winter, but it's only on about 1/2 the time. So far the only nutrient I pay for is iron so I don't have a lot to offer you there ... The value of possible outputs is a very relative thing. Crops vary, prices vary, supply and demand go up & down. Grow what rare & in demand and your outputs should be high? I fully believe that aquaponic farming can work but the investment capital is a _____ to get together. Hope that helps, if not just let me know! JT
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Magnesium phosphate/Epson salt for your tomatoes, and your fish will benefit from it as well. Iron as well.
dala109 Long term goals include trout, kokanee salmon (lake salmon), white sturgeon & koi. Two for the plate & two for the market. I am planning to take this adventure to acreage one day so that I can really begin to learn more about large scale & commercial aquaponics while providing a place for enthusiasts to visit and learn about domestic & hobby aquaponic gardens. That's still a little ways down the road though ... Thanks for asking!
JT Bear Trout need fast flowing highly oxygenated cold water; hard to do in an AP setup. Sturgeon is an interesting idea though; damn things are dinosaurs...
JT bear, I heard about floating rafts where plant roots are fully submerged in water, and I was wondering, don't the roots rot? besides, is it necessary to put an exact amount of DO in water?
+Samer Azar - I've used rafts in my garden and the roots get dirty but still seem to grow very well. It's all about the type of plant grown in a raft, some can handle it while others can't. Lettuce for example is great for a raft garden. As for an exact amount of DO, I try to get as much fresh air into the water as I can but I've never been worried about getting the exact amount ...
Good recap video. I'm wondering if you would make a video which shows an itemized list of all of the items that you have in your full system (including the green house). It would be interesting to know exactly how much a person would have to spend to setup exactly what you have built & compare that against the cost of the produce that you get each year to determine exactly how long it would take to break-even on such an investment.
A B I could work something out for that ... but you have to bear in mind that this garden is 3 years old and has grown far more herbs than vegetables. I would be interesting though, I'll try to get that up in the next few days!
That would be great as long as you show your growing area (usable floor sf + usable shelf sf) as available growing square footage along with your costs (gn house structure, tanks/pumps/aerators/h2o test kits/etc, tables/shelving/trellis/etc, pots, growing medium, seeds, seedling plants, fertilizers, etc + some reasonable production numbers (i.e. plant yield numbers), then it should be pretty straight forward to do the break-even analysis. It should be interesting!
:-) I know costing isn't a small task. As much as you'd be willing to do to satisfy your curiosity (and hopefully mine too) is more than I have a right to ask for. Thanks in advance.
1. Medium: Coconut Coir What can't you grow. As far as I know ALL plants can be well grown from aquaponics except root crops. Some of them do well. Some like carrots are misshapen. Some are hollowed out and woody textured. 2. Regarding your vision of upgrading whenever you can afford it: The Garden Pool I definitely see you in one of these! gardenpool.org/ 3. Regarding your ideas on industrial farm scale: Epcot (they are mix hydroponics/aquaponics/aeroponics though) thephotogardenbee.com/2010/01/03/disneys-epcot-greenhouses-are-amazing-part-i-the-land/ You want to start growing for restaurants and farmer's markets, I can see you doing that too. I think you need to be thinking talapia or perch depending upon where you reside rather than koi/goldfish for that though for the additional income their sales provide.
Powell Gammill 1- I've heard that coco coir can be a risk to dogs, so I avoid that one ... 2- GardenPool has done some amazing work with what they have going on, very awesome setup. 3- Leaning towards trout and other colder water varieties of edible fish when the time comes. The goldfish are just so I can slide past bylaws in my town. To raise anything more interesting I will need some paperwork done & some permits to display ... Thanks for checking out the video & for the feedback!
I am shifting to build a new aquaponic system myself in the next few weeks. My system will have both vertical and horizontal versions. Have you experienced where some plants work better one way over the other? Do you use some sort of solid filter for the fish poo as this seems something I should put into my system. In my hydro system I used a submerged pump - would this also work for an aquaponic system? I will start with gold fish until I get my system balanced then I want to move towards fish we can eat so any advice for me on that?
I still haven't really tried much vertical growing but from what I've seen herbs do great with those setups. I've tried a few different things for solids filters over the years and settlement tanks are still my favorite way to go so far. I've been using a fully submersed fountain pump for 4 years, seems to work fine ... Still at the goldfish stage myself but I wish you the best of luck when you switch to edible fish!
what should be the fish and water ratio while using grow tower?i mean as far as i know while using grow bed we should estimate 1 pound fish for 1 sq ft but how can we calculate that thing for grow towers?
Width x Length = Sq Ft? Not sure, have yet to try a grow tower but would say use as many fish as you can safely hold in your system and then stuff as many plants in the towers as you can. Give some room for airflow though ...
Need help.i can not get my nitrite levels right ., they are too high. How can I bring it down to a good level for my fish. That and my ammonia levels are the only ones that test high. I have added some macicrop seaweed to help plants get going but they still are limp and wilted. Any help would be great.
Sara Jane Garcia Well, remember that I'm only just learning about testing now ... after 3 years of gardening, my first question would be how old is your garden? Sounds like maybe the micro bacteria haven't quite set up shop yet ... Second would be, how long ago did your plants get put into the garden? While aquaponic gardens will usually perk up a plant fairly quickly, there's still going to be a period of wilting as it sets up new roots to replace any lost in the transplant. Also, I have found in the past that sometimes I don't get the new plants quite deep enough into the grow bed to be properly watered and they get a little wilted. Don't know if that helps ... I don't know what that seaweed is all about since I don't recall hearing about it before but I'm always interesting in learning about new stuff so feel free to fill me in. If you need to 'fix' your water biology right away there are usually products available in pond a nursery supply areas that are basically a liquid rich in the bacteria needed to cycle a tank & garden. Get back to me and lets get this working for you!
I wonder how many fish you are using in your system? My outside set-up is mainly focused on peppers and tomatoes, too and it seems to me like I am just not getting enough nutrient from the fish that I have. The plants just are not getting very big. I have some of the same tomato varieties in a shady area in soil and they are doing much better than those in the aquaponics. And that is basically straight up dirt with no amendments at all aside from 2 catfish carcasses that I buried over there. Don't get me wrong, they are still producing, but just not very much. I see other peoples pepper plants and they are HUGE compared to mine. Anyway, sorry about the novel. Just wonder what you might suggest.
Eric Mastenbrook My system took 3 years before I got it to produce peppers for me. I almost think the epsom salts have something to do with it but I'm not sure yet ... As far as how many fish I really haven't counted them lately but I would guess somewhere around 2 dozen goldfish in the entire system but they are pretty big for goldfish. One thing that could be an issue is that the two types of plants prefer different pH levels from what I have seen. It almost seems as though if one plant does well, the other will not ... Have you checked your pH level to see where it sits? If it's not at a dangerous level you could always try adding a couple more fish, I forget at the moment what type you are using in your garden, but more may just help ... Also, trimming the plants to stress them may be a good idea as well as they will think it's about survival and hopefully produce more seed bearing fruits for you. Hope that helps!
Thanks, JT. I have Bluegill, Tilapia and Goldfish outside. I actually tried trimming the peppers back a bit a few weeks ago and that seems to be helping them. My PH meter broke a little while ago but it was running high when I was checking it. Around 8.2 usually, but I think I might add some more anyway. There are only about 25 in there right now and only 5 of them have any real size. I think I will pick up another 20 or so Goldfish and see how they do. Thanks for the advice, bro.
You've been doing this for 3 years with no water testing, that must be a testament to your gardening skills and maybe the hardiness of goldfish. Just one small correction. By chemical definition epsom salt is a salt, as are almost all the nutrients your plants get from the water. acid + base = salt + water So hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide = sodium chloride+ water (table salt) and sulfuric acid + magnesium hydroxide = magnesium sulfate + water ( epsom salt) There are thousands of salts of which only one is table salt.
ghz240 You make a very valid point! From a chemistry perspective it absolutely is a salt, from a freshwater fish perspective it's not one they worry about. About the water testing, I give all the credit to those fine & hardworking goldfish! Thanks for checking it out!
do you still feed your fish commercial fish pellets/flakes? almost every brand contains soy meal or isolate which is most likely GMO. have you thought about making your own fish food instead to avoid gmos
PStimeless I do still feed my fish a premade food but I am fairly comfortable that it is as healthy as can be found on the market. I have thought about making my own fish food but aside from growing a little duckweed here and there I really haven't given it a try. Fed them some baby food a few times ... and a few random clippings from in the garden ... Thanks for the thought!
When I figure that out, I'll get back to you! There are a few different things that can be tried, as far as natural solutions, but they all seem to bring one risk or another into the system. pH Up or pH Down are popular but people question the food-safe aspect. I've used cleaned & crushed eggshells to bring the pH up in the past but have had zero success at bringing pH down naturally. Currently trying to add more bio filtration to the setup we have now to see if that helps.
FWIW in the aquarium/fishkeeping world, sometimes driftwood and dried botanicals are used to bring ph down. Look up blackwater tanks if you're interested
Great video. Your speculations into commercial aquaponics is a bit over-enthusiastic. It's been tried a lot of places and is marginally profitable at best.
Jeremiah Robinson Lol, but my interest isn't in profits, I'm more interested in what it could do for community groups and people in need. How it could turn wasted industrial land into usable landscape again. When I talk about high rise aquaponic farms that's the drive, not how much money can I make but how many people could we feed! How many acres could be turned back over to nature if we farmed in cities, how many thousands of gallons of gas could be saved in transporting that food by growing it in urban centers. Lol, got nothing to do with money ... Thanks for watching!
JT Bear That's a beautiful vision - I love it! There's a group in Chicago called "The Plant" that's trying what you suggest. While you might not need to be profitable, you'd have to at least break even to support the capital investment of a large aquaponics system or a high rise. Plus you'd need employees, and presumably want to pay them a living wage. Most aquaponics farmers have found those goals to be out of reach. I think the day will come when it's viable as fish prices continue to rise, but don't think we're there yet.
Most of the early years on this channel are all about the aquaponic garden and it's evolution. Best of luck with your system, feel free to ask if you have any questions. :-) (Still have & love that hat)
Deborah D Colebank Thank you for the kind comment. Is Dr Emoto the gentleman that's basically into the radical permaculture in the far east or am I thinking of the wrong fellow? Glad you enjoyed the video!
Enjoyed your Video. I m trying to collect information about aquaphonic. I have heard about aquaphonic about a weeks ago. I m very much interested in it. I watched lot of videos and googled as well but confident enough to start. Can I contact u through email or any other way??
E-Mail works, or you can use the Private Message function here on UA-cam from the 'About' page of the channel. It's a great way to garden, be happy to help if I can!
Starting an indoor project myself, these are the beginnings over the last month or two, any suggestions would be helpful: totemsoup.com/2014/10/25/totem-soup-science-aquaponics-project-phase-3/
hey ,if anyone else wants to uncover aquaponics book try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor (just google it ) ? Ive heard some decent things about it and my mate got great results with it.
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
I am SO pumped to get into this and try to maybe start a small Vermont Aquaponic farm, thanks a ton for your videos!
Starbuck It's my pleasure! Good luck & happy harvests!
Aquaponics is a science and an art. Aquaponics is worthy of our best efforts.
I agree 100%! Thanks for watching!
I also believe that being responsable for growing your own food is such a revolutionary act that can lead us to a better future. Good things like sharing and caring for the Earth come along with it.
ferghingaro17 It's all one big package deal, quite right! Growing even a small portion of ones own food is such a liberating and empowering experience, growing a better future!
great update video. you can see the progression as you have learned how to work with this system to the best of it's ability.
David Crawford Well, as best as I can anyway ... lol.
Thanks for checking the update!
You are honest and unpretentious - great job & video. THX
D.T. Grosz Thank you, very glad you enjoyed the video!
Great video! It's good to learn from someone who actually practises the use of aquaponics on a daily basis. Very inspirational.
David Morales Thanks, glad you liked it! Are you gardening with aquaponics yet or still looking into it? If you have any questions, feel free to ask!
JT Bear I've only been at it since April of this year, but I really enjoy it, and I am seeing great results. It is on a far smaller scale, but I am looking to expand. I am going to enclose my back porch and try to continue through the fall and winter. Luckily, the fall and winter here in far west Texas are very mild.
David Morales Sounds like fun! Good luck with your garden, Blessed be & happy harvests!
Thanks!
yay... looking forward for those complex systems you mentioned ;) and you are welcome :D
Aquaponics Me too! Got a few loose ends to tie up first but building a new system is going to b a LOT of fun. :)
Thank you for Sharing. You got me to go ahead and get started! Hope to see more from you.
It's a lot of fun to learn & grow with, best of luck!
Perfect and well said. Thanks
JJB
John James Brown Glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching!
Good video have enjoyed them very much thanks for sharing what you have learned
Sean Sherk My pleasure!
Awesome update sir; love the hat. Subscribed and hoping for a year four update. In the process of starting my own and making a video as well.
twitchunlimited Ya, I love that hat. Almost lost it to the lake once but it kept it's shape even after it's swim! I guess a year four update is due soon isn't it? I'll have to get on that! Looking forward to your upcoming video!
Maaan I watched this video way back in 2014 when I was thinking about getting into Aquaponics. Been trying to actually get a setup for it since I own some land now. Been looking for ya for like 3 days and finally found you, lol.
Well, I'm still around if ya have any questions!
@@JTBear If Aquaponics was going to be my main source of gathering food, what plants / fish would you recommend? Have you ever tried Crawfish in a system? 0o
@@mynamewastakin Lettuces, chard, and tomatoes can all produce exceptionally well in an aquaponic garden. As for fish, tilapia are said to be quite rapid breeders!
Still working on a working plan. Got a big tank but still just making friends with the pretty fish and other inhabitants. Did start the process of PHing the soil and water. My kid is rather attached to the little beings living. My soil greenhouse is full which keeps pushing the time clock. Great update!
treewolf37 Busy little bee for a wolf! Sounds like it's coming along, thanks for watching!
your right in every way thanks for sharing
Thanks!
Very interesting. I just subscribed and look forward to watching your future progress. BTW: That is a nice hat. :-)
+TheWindGinProject - Welcome to the family! Ya, I love that hat ...
Nice video JT, very encouraging to us beginners 😉
Thanks!
A year ago you advised us beginners, to
1. Start small
2. Talk to neighbors
3. Its an investment
4. Grow what you wanna eat
5. Take time to research...
6. never give up...
So I decided to start my home garden .....with Bean Sprouts - mungo bean sprouts, fengreek sprouts, alfafa sprouts.
...lol
Hope it works out for you!
If anyone is interested in aquaponics the best results that i've ever had was by using the Keiths Ponics Site (just google it) without a doubt the most incredible info i've tried.
I've been studying aquaponics and found an awesome resource at Keiths Ponics Site (check it out on google)
Really enjoyed!
Richard Chew Glad to hear it!
Thanks for checking it out!
Good speech. I'm looking forward to the upcoming vids JT.
C3 Voyage Thanks! Looking forward to the projects & new knowledge I'll get along the way with that myself. Really need to get a few things fixed before I can move forward though & finally getting a couple of IBC totes into my system would be nice too. All things in time!
Highlander.... har har har.... very good!
Thanks
You've probably noticed from watching my video's, I love to share and teach... This said, I'd love to start an Aquaponics store/classroom. I think you and I have grown a lot, over the last several years. To you my friend, good luck and good job.
DEW W Best of luck to you as well my friend! I'd love to see people setting up aquaponic education centers everywhere, maybe more folks will get a similar idea!
Peace to you brother Dew!
Just found your channel. Thank you for the info. I have to try this.
Donna D in Miss Well then, welcome to our little community!
Good luck, it's a lot of fun!
merci jt bear pour ta sincerite. super boulot de ton cote et surtout un grand espoir pour ceux qui debutent !!
+jean luc minetto - Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the video and hope it helps!
+JT Bear i start my aquaponic farm with a friend, thanks for ur advises.
jean luc minetto I hope it works out very well for you!
Man I understand where youre coming from. Ive been working on my aquaponics green house for 10 months now and I my system finally cycled for the first time and its finally coming around. Im a plumber by trade, so the plumbing had to be perfect. I put the fish tank underground, with a sump. The sump wasn't big enough, so I have 2 fish tanks now with a sump. I had at least 6 epic failures but its all coming together. My advice for someone starting out is to keep it simple. I have a flood and drain system, raft and took to the air with NFT though. It all paid off, and I just stare at it for about a 1/2 everyday. My experiment paid off.
Steve Sessums Keep it simple really is the best advice for anyone just getting started, I agree 100%! Glad to hear it paid off for you!
Well JT, One way to get rid of your algae problem is to use Crawdads or Fresh water prawns in the bottom of your fish tank and separated from your fish with a 1/4" netting on a rack of PVC. and they will eat it and any waste food that drops to the bottom of the tank. But it looks like you'll have to have a deeper tank for that. here is the link: Well I can't seem to be able to post a link here, So look this up in the search to get there, Grow Dinner Aquaponics.
I discovered your videos this morning and have watched several of them now. Thank you. They are inspiring to me. This winter (southwest Michigan) I have been experimenting with hydroponics and will now be setting up a aquaponics system too. One question. What are the fish fed?
These fish were fed a food called 'Microbe-lift' that was designed for Koi fish. It was a bit pricy but the health of the fish made it well worth the cost. These days my fish mostly eat aphids, basement flies, herbs from the garden and leftover pea soup that's dried on the soup pot. Goldfish are equal opportunity consumers ...
Have fun with your garden adventures!
Interested concluding and encouraging comments indeed. As you said, Aquaponics remained an expensive affair. Gradually, I hope and believe that the overall cost of the equipment, setup costs and costs of the tools required for such systems should go down. At the same time, much better and improved yield will offset the higher costs. I should also say that hardly any videos and comments talk about overall financial gains or payback overa period. Good Luck with your endeavours in your Aquaponics endeavours!
Thanks for the great comment, I think the costs are already starting to go down a bit for a good system. Well, everything but power anyway but they are making more efficient pumps every day! :-)
Thanks for taking a look!
For power, there is no solar option for medium to largescale setup. Also, costs will drastically come down when sourcing of required equipment is done from more than one source. I have done quite a bit of study and wish to do a commercial venture for exotic vegs and Tilapia. Will be glad to ask/share critical things with you. Thanks again.
Great video - Thanks
10susan10 Thanks!
I'm in my 2nd year of research for aquaponics. I agree that this is going to become a new way of farming in the future, which is my dream. how much gardening experience did you have prior to starting? I have tried traditional gardens in the past but didn't do as well as others. I like the hat as well :)
+Chris Kellogg - Does gardening as a chore with Mom count? I did plenty of that as a child but not too much in the years that followed. I tried gardening where we lived for a couple of years before I decided to give aquaponics a try. With the dry conditions we had, the automatic watering aspect of aquaponics sold me on the idea in no time! Although I was hand watering when I first started, it didn't take long before I figured it was work the cost of a good pump! Thanks for asking!
I thought Aquaponics was your future. I need more Aquaponics
Aquaponics is everybody's future!! Seriously, I'm convinced it's going to be HUGE in the coming space exploration age we are rapidly approaching ...
That is funny. I wrote that hat comment and then you mentioned it later in the video.
+sammie - :-)
Thank you for the useful info
+Samer Azar - You're very welcome! Thanks for watching!
We enjoyed the talk not real sure about the hat though just kidding. We are testing our system out now Thanks!
goforgreenliving Excellent! I hope it all goes well for you!
Very interesting video, thanks
Gardening Tips With Phil Thanks!
LOL! I thought your tomato plant was a tree! :)
That one grew massive in the aquaponics!
Nice video man! We've been looking at starting an AP system for months and after some financial magic we have been able to sink an 800 gallon tank in the ground, get it bordered somewhat and get one 4'x12'x10" grow bed built and in place. I'm hoping to have the second one built this weekend and then get the media and plants in. We were lucky in that we were given two pumps (6gpm) and we have an acre in which to set this thing up. The only two issues I have so far is that I set the water tank in the ground months ago for our ducks and a handful of goldfish (I'm putting edible fish in there once it's running) and the thing is so full of algae that I can't see more than a couple of inches into the water. Probably have to pump most of that out. The other is that I cannot wrap my head around getting a siphon built no matter how many videos I watch and was hoping just to install a stand pipe and drill a half dozen 1/8 holes in the base so the water will drain out slowly. I'm planning a flood and drain system where the pump fills the two beds in just about 20 minutes and is then off for 40 minutes, basically once an hour the beds will get flooded.
Thanks again and keep up with the videos!
Great video. I have thought of aquaponics but I like dirt gardening and the chooks are almost the dirt garden equivalent of fish in aquaponics.
The Productive Garden I've heard they are natures little composters. I look forward to raising some of those myself one day ... Chooks are chickens right? lol.
JT Bear
yes JT chooks are chickens and they are great composters. You feed them weeds and scraps from the kitchen and they turn them into manure that can be composted and put right back in the garden. It really is just like the fish poo going back through the aquaponic beds.
I'b be all over that, but bylaws here has basically shut down chickens in town. There's a new 'pilot' project to see if they will be okay but it's kind of a bad joke really. Waiting is!
JT Bear
it is shame the bylaws there. Hopefully they can et something sensible sort out there soon.
i like your hat jt, it's cool. ha! i think i like your original aquaponics system best of all. no pipes or plumbing. that's where i get lost. hey i pruned my tomato after i watched your pruning vid. how long should it take before i start seeing blooms? i think it's been a couple of weeks now...
hippy chick If you don't have flower clusters forming yet I don't know what to suggest. I guess you could try cutting the growing tip from the very top of the plant and see if that does it. That would force the growing energy to redirect itself to other parts of the plant and might do the trick ... wish I had more to offer you on that one.
I'll do the recreation video soon but it really is very straightforward. I suspect there will be giggles from certain viewers but I don't mind. :)
Live life with love & laughter. It's more fun that way!
Just watched your 2nd year review and now this. You had mentioned about forgetting to water plants. I have been trying to figure out doing a ebb and flow system on a timer to flood the tray daily so I don't have to worry about forgetting to water. Maybe you could make a flood tray to water them until you do something with them. Just a thought.
+DJMovit - That would probably be a very good idea ... I'll have to look into it! Thanks for the suggestion!
now that you're in your new place and all settled in. I know the snow is on the ground and it's bitterly cold outside however it would be kind of fun to watch you do a little outdoor gardening in a greenhouse with aquaponics again. Any thoughts to that? Also I am thinking about regrowing my peppers and trying my hand at aquaponics again.
Always thinking about greenhouse gardening out here. If I had more faith in these old trees I'd just put up a hoop house like I had before but I just don't think it would even last one winter. So many falling branches in the wind ...
I do have ideas for a stronger build but I lack the cash. Seems like no matter how much comes in it's still only just enough to cover what's going out ... :-(
Some day.
Hello fellow Canadian, awesome job with your GH/Aquaponic set up.
I also built a 8 foot by 10 foot GH this last November and added a ( 10 gallon fish tank with 10 goldfish) aquaponic set up a week ago in side it.
I am still fighting with my siphon and need a larger pump soon, but have a million questions and want to watch your first year video still.
Looking forward to following your progress!
Thanks from Southern Ontario.
Zach
Zach Dube Hey! Welcome to the family!
Drains are one of the biggest challenges that most people face with aquaponic gardens I suspect and a larger pump is always a good idea. My pump is a 400 gph Laguana if it helps and those fish will soon need at least a tote or something that holds more water. I've found these fish grow fairly quickly in the AP systems ...
A good note, check for any updates or fail notices before trying an idea you see on my channel, they don't all end in success. ;-)
Ask any questions you want, I try to get back to all the comments but sometimes the community will beat me to it. Best of luck & many happy harvests to you!
JT
mine is 94 gph , and it sucks......looking at 140 gph for 20 bucks.I could use a basics view of how your system started, and a slow flow of where things go from fish to tank to fish again. what is the difference between bed and float with drainage.
I can do a walk through of what I've got going on for you in the next couple of days if you'd like. If you can spare the extra I'd suggest springing for a larger pump. I spent mid 70s on that 400 gph and it's been running for 3 years straight ... That's only like $3/mo for the pump and it still works great!
I'll go into a couple of bed styles that I have running for you as well, might help. :-)
wife is holding tight to purse strings...lol
I am usually doing a repurposed and second hand project when I get started on things
COme summer time I will be looking at making changes and then throw a little money at it then, just got a free 80 Liter tote. thinking of going to that for fish tank giving me more room to have larger top bed.
Lol, check out the video about how much my garden has cost, it might help! Less than a season of golf and I've been at this for almost 4 years now ...
I do love the hat. LOL Happy 3 years. Some day I will give it a shot. I'm still playing in the dirt for now. But learning so much for you and others for now.
TheEmptynester Thanks!
BTW, love the hat.
Any point in setting one up this fall? Do you get good production over winter?Awesome job, BTW!!
Really depends on where you live. Somewhere warm(ish) all year round, I would say why not. Somewhere with 4 feet of snow come winter, I say wait it out.
Good production? My basic position is any fresh produce in the winter is great production so I may have a slanted view on that one. Kale did well, many plants survived the winters but peppers or tomatoes was right out of the question.
Does that help? and Thanks! :-)
***** I suspect that the biggest problem you might face with hydroponics in Africa would be keeping you water cool enough. Shade cloth over any large water tanks should help to keep it reasonable during the heat of the midday. Other than that, I can't think of anything that should cause you too much concern. What are you planning to grow?
Hi. I liked your video; it was inspiring. I've been interested in aquaponics for a little over a year, and I think I'll finally get the chance to begin my own experiments this spring. I just have to wait for Chicago to thaw... Anyway, the more I research and learn, the more I'm convinced aquaponics is one of the best, easiest ways to reduce fossil fuel dependence and provide low cost organic produce anywhere--and everywhere. I started nodding along like a hyper bobblehead when you spoke about turning unused buildings in urban areas into aquaponics facilities. I want to do that. I want a five acre hobby farm to do aquaponic gardening and frolic with a couple goats. I also want telekinesis and a hoverboard, but one thing at a time, right? :) Cheers.
Jenni Hart Lol, goat frolicing! The world needs more of that, I fully support the idea!
Aquaponics is a great adventure, happy harvests!
Great video! The annual recaps are helpful. By the way, how's the Mad Science going?
8BitMinotaur Thanks! Which bit of mad science?
The dirty aquaponics is the first thing to mind. :D
The dirty aquaponics has been wrapped up. The idea seems solid and I would like to try it with a few different crops once space allows me to do so. I think the potential is there for a lot of in ground crops to still enjoy the benefits of the aquaponic system and it would also be a way to possibly introduce rock dust to the garden as well. Lol, I need more land to do all of these different projects at once. How awesome would that be though ...
Thanks for asking!
Jt, there are at least 60 trace minerals and elements that need to be supplemented into the system. Some people call it rock dust. We need to consume these minerals and trace elements through plant uptake. It's called bio-availability
Jon Vaughn I was talking to my friend at the nursery about rock dust and aquaponics. Still not sure where the best place to add that would be. I'm leaning towards a nylon bag hanging in the sump tank but the suggestion to put them into the grow media is tempting too...
I love your hat. Did the beads come on the hat? Where can I get one?
+sammie - It did come with the bead, $12 at Walmart if I recall correctly. I still love that hat! :-)
I moved and had to abandon my old system....
Time to start again :-)
Greg Kail Good luck & happy harvests!
thanks you have been an inspiration
Greg Kail Thanks! Feels good to hear that!
How did the stevia do in your garden? I've got some in mine and its growing but not well enough to harvest any leaves.
POVadventure It did alright as I recall. I kept it contained like the mint but we still got a few harvests off of it. If I remember correctly it died at the first sign of frost but that one was a while ago. I may have done a quick video on the stevia and aquaponics ...
Nice hat, just curious about how much did it cost to get an operation your size going? Green house and all.
+botaeng2 - Lol, I do love that beat up old hat! I did add it all up once for a video ( ua-cam.com/video/I14V5WDfDUM/v-deo.html ) but as I recall it only came to about $500 or so over a couple of years of changing everything to make it work a little better.
Awsome video what part of Canada are you from. We live in Gravenhurst Ontario growing zone 3
+Cindy Sijtske Powell-Atsma - We're in BC at the moment but moving back to Manitoba on Friday. I suspect that means zone 2 or 3 for there ... not sure yet!
I do love the hat...as a Texan I'm a little jealous of the hat!! How do you put those trace minerals like magnesium in your system without hurting the fish? i'm in the research mode...which includes convince the wife mode...so I'm watching a bunch of videos and trying to ask reasonable questions.
+Monte Turner - Magnesium can be added by using small amounts of Epsom salts, calcium I would add by having a stocking full of eggshells hanging in the swirl filter, and iron was just standard (Chelated?) iron from the nursery. I'm currently looking into getting some local mineral rich rocks for adding the other missing bits. Many of the plants that can be seen in this video did well without any extras at all though! Kitchen herbs do VERY well with just the fish water.
Good luck with the wife, the research part never ends! Hope you get to build an AP garden soon, let me know if you have any other questions. :-)
Hey JT, I like you do not monitor the water quality, I am sure it has hurt the outcome. It has been literally weeks since I checked the quality. Fish seam to be happy. Its mid Summer in Florida and its very difficult to get plants to respond in this heat. Even Using screen to cut the sun. The Heat Has the same effect. I seam to have better luck in the winter months. beans lettuce and Peas do Great. still having a hard time with Tomatoes in the system.
How often do you clean your grow beds? I am Coning on 18 Months and I think I need to clean them. They are packed with worms and just way to much old roots. If I move the beads and the system drains its really a mess for the fish.
I have been hear 18 Years and only once have seen water in a bucket frozen. I would have thought the Aquaponics could beat the summer heat and sun. Oh well. Love you videos Thank You.
Golfingferdie The first question that comes to mind would be what is your water temperature like? Some of my plants seem to prefer the water a bit cooler and struggle a bit when it warms up too much. With that said, lots of plants like things a bit warmer and will thrive. You may want to check out channels like gardening4fun , I think they are in your gardening zone and have seen success in the summer heat.
If it's been 18 months then a quick clean might be a very good idea. I hear you about how messy the water gets for the poor fish during a cleaning, I'm still trying to figure out a side drain or something so the messy water can just go straight to the garden or a storage barrel. I always feel so bad for them in all that muck. :(
My greenhouse can get pretty hot in the summer so I've had to switch what I grow to hardier plants. For example I grow lots of kale now and very little lettuce. I've found that the kale just does better in the heat of summer and still lives (barely) in the cold of our winters. Perhaps ask at the local garden center about plants that are good for the local temps?
I hope that helps & thanks for watching!
Thanks for the shout out JT Bear. The heat had been grueling here. My water temps are running in the 90's. I have found some things that actually work well like okra. The video is here. ua-cam.com/video/D31aLa3U2oU/v-deo.html I'm experimenting on some other vegetables as well. I will post results as I get them
I still haven't tried that okra yet ... how long does it take?
Not long. Mine is producing very well right now. They actually look like trees. Their helping the other plants as well by providing natural shade
gardening4fun Nice, maybe I can still try them this year! Golfingferdie , have you tried okra yet?
Great video JT Bear . I was kinda of the same way when I started about water testing and stuff. The only things I really test for not though are ppm and ph. Those I feel are pretty important. I dinyt really do nitrogen and ammonia tests no more since its been established.
I'm really wanting to expand my system. I've learned a tremendous amount since I've got mine going. I studied about it for a year probably before I built my first system which has been running for about a year now.
Looking forward to the updates.
gardening4fun Thanks! I would like to find a decent quality digital ppm meter, may I ask what you use? I'm thinking I probably should do regular ammonia and nitrogen testing since I am always messing with things and making adjustments. Things should be interesting by next season!
Many happy fall (& winter) harvests to you my friend!
It's just a generic one I got from the local hydro shop. A really good one is the truncheon they are about 100$ I think I paid 40$ for mine. I used to do the regular ammonia testing but it's running so well now. every time I've tested lately the ammonia is basically zero. I also have a separate bio filter beside the grow beds to convert the ammonia so that's basically been a non issue.
Thanks for the good words.I hope you get to grow stuff in the frozen tundra as well.
Lol, I've got a few things that seem to keep growing during the winter so I'll have fresh mint teas at the very least. Mmm, chocolate mint tea in a quiet snowfall doesn't actually sound so bad ... :)
I hear ya of I want to see snow your gonna have to put up a video about it.
gardening4fun Will do!
is there a faq or forum available from what you learned? I'm curious about what new testing you have adopted to maintain quality as well as where you live in (to obtain light calculations). Would you be interested in working out an energy balance and conversion rates to see where all the nutrients and costs of input and possible outputs? I have a sneaking suspicion that a system will work once built but is hard to generate income to pay for the capitol start up costs (on small or large systems).
There are LOADS of great forums out there for aquaponics. aquaponicsjournal.com/ has a lot of good info ...
I'm getting into pH testing and will be getting proper chemical kits to test for things such as ammonia, nitrites & nitrates as well and we are currently located in Penticton BC, basically Pacific Northwest for lighting and Arizona for summer temps. As for energy my garden uses 25 watts/hour all day every day and a 300 watt fish tank heater in the winter, but it's only on about 1/2 the time. So far the only nutrient I pay for is iron so I don't have a lot to offer you there ... The value of possible outputs is a very relative thing. Crops vary, prices vary, supply and demand go up & down. Grow what rare & in demand and your outputs should be high? I fully believe that aquaponic farming can work but the investment capital is a _____ to get together. Hope that helps, if not just let me know!
JT
Magnesium phosphate/Epson salt for your tomatoes, and your fish will benefit from it as well. Iron as well.
Excellent advice.
All that... and the hat. : )
UncIe Bete It is a great hat ... not bad for $12!
Are you going to change up your fish if you go bigger? My end-game goal is 3000 gallon trout tank flowing through raft beds.
dala109 Long term goals include trout, kokanee salmon (lake salmon), white sturgeon & koi. Two for the plate & two for the market. I am planning to take this adventure to acreage one day so that I can really begin to learn more about large scale & commercial aquaponics while providing a place for enthusiasts to visit and learn about domestic & hobby aquaponic gardens. That's still a little ways down the road though ...
Thanks for asking!
JT Bear Trout need fast flowing highly oxygenated cold water; hard to do in an AP setup. Sturgeon is an interesting idea though; damn things are dinosaurs...
I can do that, in a larger system ...
Your a brother. Aquaponics hooked me too.
It's a fun way to grow!
I have 10 acres and 2 greenhouses built from scrap but lost my aquaponics system in hurricane Harvey but it is almost rebuilt now. Bigger and better.
Seriously you should build a four seasons greenhouse in the backyard I know you have what it takes will power lots of it.
If only I had the cash my friend, if only.
JT bear, I heard about floating rafts where plant roots are fully submerged in water, and I was wondering, don't the roots rot? besides, is it necessary to put an exact amount of DO in water?
+Samer Azar - I've used rafts in my garden and the roots get dirty but still seem to grow very well. It's all about the type of plant grown in a raft, some can handle it while others can't. Lettuce for example is great for a raft garden. As for an exact amount of DO, I try to get as much fresh air into the water as I can but I've never been worried about getting the exact amount ...
Thanks a lot
What nutrients do you have to add for fruiting plants like tomato, cucumber, ect.?
A little iron if they need it but my basic system produced quite well without me adding much more to it than that.
Good recap video.
I'm wondering if you would make a video which shows an itemized list of all of the items that you have in your full system (including the green house). It would be interesting to know exactly how much a person would have to spend to setup exactly what you have built & compare that against the cost of the produce that you get each year to determine exactly how long it would take to break-even on such an investment.
A B I could work something out for that ... but you have to bear in mind that this garden is 3 years old and has grown far more herbs than vegetables. I would be interesting though, I'll try to get that up in the next few days!
That would be great as long as you show your growing area (usable floor sf + usable shelf sf) as available growing square footage along with your costs (gn house structure, tanks/pumps/aerators/h2o test kits/etc, tables/shelving/trellis/etc, pots, growing medium, seeds, seedling plants, fertilizers, etc + some reasonable production numbers (i.e. plant yield numbers), then it should be pretty straight forward to do the break-even analysis.
It should be interesting!
Lol, I'll do the best I can! Some of that info doesn't exist but I'll give ya what info I can. :)
:-)
I know costing isn't a small task. As much as you'd be willing to do to satisfy your curiosity (and hopefully mine too) is more than I have a right to ask for.
Thanks in advance.
1. Medium: Coconut Coir
What can't you grow. As far as I know ALL plants can be well grown from aquaponics except root crops. Some of them do well. Some like carrots are misshapen. Some are hollowed out and woody textured.
2. Regarding your vision of upgrading whenever you can afford it: The Garden Pool I definitely see you in one of these!
gardenpool.org/
3. Regarding your ideas on industrial farm scale: Epcot (they are mix hydroponics/aquaponics/aeroponics though)
thephotogardenbee.com/2010/01/03/disneys-epcot-greenhouses-are-amazing-part-i-the-land/ You want to start growing for restaurants and farmer's markets, I can see you doing that too. I think you need to be thinking talapia or perch depending upon where you reside rather than koi/goldfish for that though for the additional income their sales provide.
Powell Gammill
1- I've heard that coco coir can be a risk to dogs, so I avoid that one ...
2- GardenPool has done some amazing work with what they have going on, very awesome setup.
3- Leaning towards trout and other colder water varieties of edible fish when the time comes. The goldfish are just so I can slide past bylaws in my town. To raise anything more interesting I will need some paperwork done & some permits to display ...
Thanks for checking out the video & for the feedback!
I am shifting to build a new aquaponic system myself in the next few weeks. My system will have both vertical and horizontal versions. Have you experienced where some plants work better one way over the other? Do you use some sort of solid filter for the fish poo as this seems something I should put into my system. In my hydro system I used a submerged pump - would this also work for an aquaponic system? I will start with gold fish until I get my system balanced then I want to move towards fish we can eat so any advice for me on that?
I still haven't really tried much vertical growing but from what I've seen herbs do great with those setups. I've tried a few different things for solids filters over the years and settlement tanks are still my favorite way to go so far. I've been using a fully submersed fountain pump for 4 years, seems to work fine ... Still at the goldfish stage myself but I wish you the best of luck when you switch to edible fish!
what should be the fish and water ratio while using grow
tower?i mean as far as i know while using grow bed we should estimate 1 pound
fish for 1 sq ft but how can we calculate that thing for grow towers?
Width x Length = Sq Ft?
Not sure, have yet to try a grow tower but would say use as many fish as you can safely hold in your system and then stuff as many plants in the towers as you can. Give some room for airflow though ...
Need help.i can not get my nitrite levels right ., they are too high. How can I bring it down to a good level for my fish. That and my ammonia levels are the only ones that test high. I have added some macicrop seaweed to help plants get going but they still are limp and wilted. Any help would be great.
Sara Jane Garcia Well, remember that I'm only just learning about testing now ... after 3 years of gardening, my first question would be how old is your garden? Sounds like maybe the micro bacteria haven't quite set up shop yet ...
Second would be, how long ago did your plants get put into the garden? While aquaponic gardens will usually perk up a plant fairly quickly, there's still going to be a period of wilting as it sets up new roots to replace any lost in the transplant. Also, I have found in the past that sometimes I don't get the new plants quite deep enough into the grow bed to be properly watered and they get a little wilted. Don't know if that helps ...
I don't know what that seaweed is all about since I don't recall hearing about it before but I'm always interesting in learning about new stuff so feel free to fill me in. If you need to 'fix' your water biology right away there are usually products available in pond a nursery supply areas that are basically a liquid rich in the bacteria needed to cycle a tank & garden.
Get back to me and lets get this working for you!
❤️
Feelin' the love!
I wonder how many fish you are using in your system? My outside set-up is mainly focused on peppers and tomatoes, too and it seems to me like I am just not getting enough nutrient from the fish that I have. The plants just are not getting very big. I have some of the same tomato varieties in a shady area in soil and they are doing much better than those in the aquaponics. And that is basically straight up dirt with no amendments at all aside from 2 catfish carcasses that I buried over there. Don't get me wrong, they are still producing, but just not very much. I see other peoples pepper plants and they are HUGE compared to mine. Anyway, sorry about the novel. Just wonder what you might suggest.
P.S. That hat IS totally pimp.
Eric Mastenbrook My system took 3 years before I got it to produce peppers for me. I almost think the epsom salts have something to do with it but I'm not sure yet ... As far as how many fish I really haven't counted them lately but I would guess somewhere around 2 dozen goldfish in the entire system but they are pretty big for goldfish.
One thing that could be an issue is that the two types of plants prefer different pH levels from what I have seen. It almost seems as though if one plant does well, the other will not ... Have you checked your pH level to see where it sits? If it's not at a dangerous level you could always try adding a couple more fish, I forget at the moment what type you are using in your garden, but more may just help ... Also, trimming the plants to stress them may be a good idea as well as they will think it's about survival and hopefully produce more seed bearing fruits for you.
Hope that helps!
Thanks, JT. I have Bluegill, Tilapia and Goldfish outside. I actually tried trimming the peppers back a bit a few weeks ago and that seems to be helping them. My PH meter broke a little while ago but it was running high when I was checking it. Around 8.2 usually, but I think I might add some more anyway. There are only about 25 in there right now and only 5 of them have any real size. I think I will pick up another 20 or so Goldfish and see how they do. Thanks for the advice, bro.
Hope it helps!
You've been doing this for 3 years with no water testing, that must be a testament to your gardening skills and maybe the hardiness of goldfish.
Just one small correction.
By chemical definition epsom salt is a salt, as are almost all the nutrients your plants get from the water.
acid + base = salt + water
So hydrochloric acid + sodium hydroxide = sodium chloride+ water (table salt)
and sulfuric acid + magnesium hydroxide = magnesium sulfate + water ( epsom salt)
There are thousands of salts of which only one is table salt.
ghz240 You make a very valid point! From a chemistry perspective it absolutely is a salt, from a freshwater fish perspective it's not one they worry about. About the water testing, I give all the credit to those fine & hardworking goldfish! Thanks for checking it out!
sweet hat, who makes it?
Walmart special right there, $12 a few years back when I got it!
the future is large scale ROBOTIC aquaponics :D
Potentially, but first the idea needs to become more commonplace. Spread the word!
Didja check the iron? That's usually the culprit in aquaponic systems...
+Torrey Jones - The iron is almost always low in my garden, I blame the kale ... ;-)
do you still feed your fish commercial fish pellets/flakes? almost every brand contains soy meal or isolate which is most likely GMO. have you thought about making your own fish food instead to avoid gmos
PStimeless I do still feed my fish a premade food but I am fairly comfortable that it is as healthy as can be found on the market. I have thought about making my own fish food but aside from growing a little duckweed here and there I really haven't given it a try. Fed them some baby food a few times ... and a few random clippings from in the garden ...
Thanks for the thought!
+JT Bear maybe worms would be a tasty snack for your fish?
sir how you resolve PH level problem? thanks😀
When I figure that out, I'll get back to you! There are a few different things that can be tried, as far as natural solutions, but they all seem to bring one risk or another into the system. pH Up or pH Down are popular but people question the food-safe aspect. I've used cleaned & crushed eggshells to bring the pH up in the past but have had zero success at bringing pH down naturally. Currently trying to add more bio filtration to the setup we have now to see if that helps.
***** We did a thing a while back where folks tested the pH of their rain water, the results were pretty interesting ...
FWIW in the aquarium/fishkeeping world, sometimes driftwood and dried botanicals are used to bring ph down. Look up blackwater tanks if you're interested
Great video. Your speculations into commercial aquaponics is a bit over-enthusiastic. It's been tried a lot of places and is marginally profitable at best.
Jeremiah Robinson Lol, but my interest isn't in profits, I'm more interested in what it could do for community groups and people in need. How it could turn wasted industrial land into usable landscape again. When I talk about high rise aquaponic farms that's the drive, not how much money can I make but how many people could we feed! How many acres could be turned back over to nature if we farmed in cities, how many thousands of gallons of gas could be saved in transporting that food by growing it in urban centers.
Lol, got nothing to do with money ...
Thanks for watching!
JT Bear That's a beautiful vision - I love it! There's a group in Chicago called "The Plant" that's trying what you suggest. While you might not need to be profitable, you'd have to at least break even to support the capital investment of a large aquaponics system or a high rise. Plus you'd need employees, and presumably want to pay them a living wage. Most aquaponics farmers have found those goals to be out of reach. I think the day will come when it's viable as fish prices continue to rise, but don't think we're there yet.
Waiting is. The future is slowly coming, just gonna take some time. That's all. :)
JUST STARTING MY SYSTEM WOULD LIKE TO SEE YUOR SYSTEM OR PART OF IT. LIKE YOUR HAT HAVE ONE LIKE IT
Most of the early years on this channel are all about the aquaponic garden and it's evolution. Best of luck with your system, feel free to ask if you have any questions. :-)
(Still have & love that hat)
I can hear your love / so very nice . / Ck out Dr. Masuru Emoto work with water , you are very fun to watch. I enjoyed seeing your work . all-some
Deborah D Colebank Thank you for the kind comment. Is Dr Emoto the gentleman that's basically into the radical permaculture in the far east or am I thinking of the wrong fellow? Glad you enjoyed the video!
Enjoyed your Video. I m trying to collect information about aquaphonic. I have heard about aquaphonic about a weeks ago. I m very much interested in it. I watched lot of videos and googled as well but confident enough to start. Can I contact u through email or any other way??
E-Mail works, or you can use the Private Message function here on UA-cam from the 'About' page of the channel. It's a great way to garden, be happy to help if I can!
JT Bear -I will contact u and thanks a lot to the support and reply.
My pleasure, it's always fun to help others get started with aquaponic gardens! :-)
Perhaps calcium?
Could be, I did have some issues with that ...
Thanks!
Starting an indoor project myself, these are the beginnings over the last month or two, any suggestions would be helpful: totemsoup.com/2014/10/25/totem-soup-science-aquaponics-project-phase-3/
***** Cool! I'll look into a little later on and let you know what I can see ...
Just busy in the yard at the moment!
Thanks for watching!
***** Looks good!
Thanks! If the small project pans out, I'm working on a design and remodel project for my basement. A little urban aquaponics!
hey ,if anyone else wants to uncover aquaponics book try Tarbetti Amazing Aquaponics Tutor (just google it ) ? Ive heard some decent things about it and my mate got great results with it.
Siva Sakthi Or they could just watch some how to videos!
th