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Fish donations and advice for aquaponics system

2K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  JoeCreature 
#1 ·
Hey guys,

I'd like to start up an aquaponics system this year. Before I go to petco and buy a bunch of goldfish I wanted to see if anyone on the forum had some fish that they would like to donate. I know it's time for Persian New Year and figured I might be able to save some fish from less desirable fates.

Also if any of you have experience with an aquaponics system and would like to share some advice, I'm all ears. I have a B.S. in Biological Sciences and have been keeping aquariums and gardens for 10+ years, so I have a pretty good understanding of the systems and how to ramp them up. Real world experience is usually better than theory for this kind of thing though.

Thanks
 
#3 ·
well I already grew plants from seed to put in a raised bed garden. I have way too many plants and would like to extend my garden but just don't have room on my property for that much traditional garden space. I have cherry tomatoes, several heirloom tomatoes, tomatillos, basil, kale, oregano, thyme, I have green onions in the ground from last year, bell peppers and I'm sure that I'm forgetting some especially herbs. I would like to eventually switch to breeding and raising tilapia but need to get the system tuned/cycled/ramped up for that and need to get permits. I plan to use a mixture of floating rafts for more leafy veggies (will probably pick up some more) and media beds for tomatoes/peppers. I also plan to keep everything in a greenhouse to keep the climate more stable

I figured you would be the first to respond to a freshwater topic, Gerald ;)
 
#4 ·
Don't know if you remember but I went to an RAS meeting and met you a while back (years). I remember the club seemed like it was centered around breeding efforts. Do you know anyone who is breeding pure strain Blue Nile Tilapia in the area by chance? I know it's kind of a common and easy fish to breed and y'all seemed to be after less common species.
 
#7 ·
Few aquarists keep and breed the big food-grade Tilapia species; mainly just the smaller and more colorful ones. Not sure what a "pure Blue Nile" is, since the Blue Tilapia is O. aureus and the Nile Tilapia is O. niloticus. There's a Tilapia farm west of Rocky Mount we went to visit (RAS club field trip) many years back.
 
#5 ·
I built an aquaponics system...using rain gutters. However, I never got it off the ground before I decided why am I trying to save space while risking salmonella, anyway? If you would like to come by the farm and see it you are welcome to! :)

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#6 ·
Salmonella?! From the fish poop, I assume? Would that not be comparable to the risk of E.coli from manure from traditional agriculture?

Rain gutters sound like a great idea for repurposing and I just recycled one not too long ago. :/ Oh well, probably best to start out with clean PVC anyways.

I stopped by the Reef farm (also years ago) but didn't realize it wasn't a date and time that you were open. You operate out of a greenhouse from what I remember, right? Any advice on finding/building a small greenhouse or maintaining growing temperatures?
 
#8 ·
I am not sure of the place the greenhouse was purchased or whether they sell small ones...that was over 11 years ago, and wasn't me....

Yes, we now have a retail showroom as well as the greenhouse...the greenhouse is no longer open to the public except for on events.

As far as growing temperatures, I am not sure what must be maintained or how to easy it is to keep the air under a certain temp with evaporative cooling and so on...I can tell you that on sunny days being warm won't be a problem in the winter...but as we do not heat the air, but the water, your guess is a good as mine what the air temp can stay with a heater. We have never tried...also not sure what the air temp can stay with or without the evaporative cooler...again, never tried. It has never been too important what the air temp is...only what the water is!

For salmonella being as much of a risk as e coli...not sure, never studied that! No idea which would be riskier! ;)

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#10 ·
Well I decided to see if it would be economical to build a greenhouse using old windows. I found a bunch of double-paned windows at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $5 each. There are some more on Craigslist that I'm looking into as well. I'm going to build a lean to greenhouse with the windows and insulate all the areas that aren't made of windows. Should be able to heat easily with a space heater and temperature controller and hopefully this will be something that lasts a while. I'll put some of the windows on hinges to vent during the hot months.
 
#12 ·
So how big are you thinking?

Also make sure that none of the plants you want to grow will produce anything that would be toxic to the fishes. Did that one time, not a good call.
 
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