Aquaponics.....who wouldnt want to grow like this?

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

I have been at this many years...way before it had a fancy name and it was cool on youtube..LOL The best thing about all of it, dirt will lose all ability to grow something very fast..thats why farmers swap what they grow in fields every year, from corn, to soybean and such..but this never runs out or has to be jacked up or replaced..only topped up with more water...which I use rain water I collect..yes I have one of those systems also..lol Only thing that is needed is fish food..unless you use and grow duckweed to feed the fish and then it is all contained and perpetual in a self contained system and area. You can grow anything you can grow in dirt in the system..now carrots and potatoes are a little tricky but it can be done..then when your system is well established and your fish have grown for a while..and breeding you have fish to eat as well..it is truly a great way to live and save money....here is a few videos to get you thinking...peace be with you all..

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Diving for Pleasure and Treasure - Grab it through Amazon!

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

You can have it as expensive or as cheap as you want...

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

Or use something you already have started....

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

Or go big and make profit......

 

[Frankn]

My hearing is about shot so I couldn't hear the audio. What do you add to the water to feed the plants. Frank

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

You can eat gold fish..if there big enough..I started with them just to see if I wanted to keep at it about 9 years ago and I was hooked and in Indiana not many things will live with the temp so I went with bluegill and that was all good but they didnt seem to grow to fast to me but I was use to common gold fish which grow crazy fast so I did some research and found that channel catfish grow faster and when breeding have massive amounts of off spring like carp do...so it was on to try catfish and I did and it was amazing...but keep in mind their size are very large and they grow well so less fish were needed cause they have a lot of waist compared to gold fish and bluegill...So I went to the river that is close to me during breeding season and caught me a few around the snags they like to lay under and brought them home knowing they were full of eggs...every few days I recaught them with nets in my tank to see if they let their eggs go...now keep in mind this is a ruff process but I wanted them free and natural so they did and by luck I had a male in with them and all went well a few weeks later I seen a black mass moving in the tank at the bottom and I would have to guess there were over 600 babies...so it was on... I took around 100 out and took them in the house and put them in to a 75gal tank I had set up and gave a lot away to farmers with ponds and such but now I keep around 30 in a 375 gal tank in my greenhouse and 10 in my 75gal in the house for show...catfish night is a whole family activity..and they are the easist fish to clean if you ask me..LOL

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

My hearing is about shot so I couldn't hear the audio. What do you add to the water to feed the plants. Frank

View attachment 755384

Nothing....just the waste of the fish. does it all....what you would filter out in a normal aquarium is what feeds the plants..thats all

 

[releventchair]

I think its Arizona is raising shrimp in irrigation water. Good use of resource.
Way to go on your catfish.

 

[worldtalker]

Now that's the cats meow,I pondered doing that for a while now,thanks for the nudge!! GodBless Chris

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

I think its Arizona is raising shrimp in irrigation water. Good use of resource.
Way to go on your catfish.

thank you..

I have a few crawdads/crawfish..what ever they are called where you from...in both my tanks as well with 2" pvc 4" pieces on the bottom of the tank as well..I never have enough to eat but I have plenty for bait when I go to the river ..lol

The catfish love those things...I had those when I had the gold fish and they would beat the crap out of those but they hide from the cats...

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

Now that's the cats meow,I pondered doing that for a while now,thanks for the nudge!! GodBless Chris

Ill be honest ..start up is a little ruff..but after that its all free unless you need a new pump..lol

All my set up is with solar panels and a bat. bank so there is no disruption all year long..and im almost off the grid anyway, with everything else i got jerry rigged..

Thank you ...

 

[Frankn]

Now you got my curiosity up. I have a 20' dia. pond that I built on my farm. It is spring feed. I wonder if I could line it with 6mil poly and add catfish and the extruded polystyrene with the plants. I wonder if that would work. Frank...

 

[worldtalker]

Ill be honest ..start up is a little ruff..but after that its all free unless you need a new pump..lol

All my set up is with solar panels and a bat. bank so there is no disruption all year long..and im almost off the grid anyway, with everything else i got jerry rigged..

Thank you ...

I'll tell you what Brother,I am glad to see someone that strives for Independence. God Bless you and your Family

 

[hvacker]

Thanks Blu for all the information. I remember a Dirty Jobs show where fish were raised in large open outdoor tanks. After they were harvested talipia were put in the tank and they ate the waste from the first fish. I can't remember what kind of fish the first ones were.
There is a lot of resources here for aquaculture but mostly at head shops.

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

Now you got my curiosity up. I have a 20' dia. pond that I built on my farm. It is spring feed. I wonder if I could line it with 6mil poly and add catfish and the extruded polystyrene with the plants. I wonder if that would work. Frank...

View attachment 755426

Well lets think about this...it is naturally feed...that would be awsome, I wouldnt line it..I would cut down one side and build an over flow area and base everything from that like the 3rd video I put up with an established pond already..if it is naturally fed, unless it is a small creek from the side ..lining it I think would be a head ack through the seasons...do you know what I mean?

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

Thanks Blu for all the information. I remember a Dirty Jobs show where fish were raised in large open outdoor tanks. After they were harvested talipia were put in the tank and they ate the waste from the first fish. I can't remember what kind of fish the first ones were.
There is a lot of resources here for aquaculture but mostly at head shops.

Right on..man..and I do want to say sorry for making you use CAPS on me for taking over your thread...when I get going ...I keep going ...I am sorry

I used talipia one time ...got them from ebay and winter hit and I had a lot of 2" fish to eat.....didnt think about the whole warm and cold blood thing...here

fry them up like smelt..it wasnt so bad...

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

I'll tell you what Brother,I am glad to see someone that strives for Independence. God Bless you and your Family

I learned at a young age...the store doesnt take squirrel's or coons and if they even did ....they dont MAKE anything their anyway...so..I just have to do it all my self like taking a shower...

Thats why I lean on God so much ...he/it..what ever is my ROCK...and nothing will ever come bad from that....

 

[Frankn]

Well lets think about this...it is naturally feed...that would be awsome, I wouldnt line it..I would cut down one side and build an over flow area and base everything from that like the 3rd video I put up with an established pond already..if it is naturally fed, unless it is a small creek from the side ..lining it I think would be a head ack through the seasons...do you know what I mean?

The spring feeds in thru a 4" pvc pipe and it overflows on the opposite side. The spring is an artesian fault that is 75' from the pond. The pond is about 5'deep. The floats look like EPS panels with inserted cups. Where can you get those cups. Frank...

 

[releventchair]

One old timer i knew used wash machine motors to circulate water in his bait tanks.

 

[B1u3Dr4g0n1]

The spring feeds in thru a 4" pvc pipe and it overflows on the opposite side. The spring is an artesian fault that is 75' from the pond. The pond is about 5'deep. The floats look like EPS panels with inserted cups. Where can you get those cups. Frank...

View attachment 755443

Oh ok ...line it like you said then and use the overflow as the place where the Aquponics starts....unless your just gonna float beds on the pond...I have had hundreds of those cups till i decided how I wanted the final setup...I got mine on ebay...2" Net Pot Cup 100pk | eBay keep in mind pots need be small, roots dont stay in them...they hang in the water...

If your wanting to just use floating beds though you will need to have some sort of air bubbling underthem...my system floods and drains ...roots need air to not rot...but they can stay in the water 24/7 with some bubbles...