Aquaponic gardening

[dennysfishroom]

Anyone know where I can get an inexpensive food grade plastic 55 gallon drum fairly close to me? I've been thinking about converting the tanks in my garage to an aquaponics system. That's where you grow vegetables and food fish in the same system. I've been thinking that might be an interesting endeavor to set up in the garage. If I select appropriate fish ( catfish, blue gills), I've already got the fish part of it covered, and I should be able to add the grow beds fairly inexpensively for a test. Denny

[jlgeorge]

actually I just bought 3 from a guy a couple weeks ago. You can have one of those I only needed 2 of them, I had just spent so long looking for some that I just bought them all. How soon do you need one? I was gonna see if you could hook me up with another microworm culture, I killed mine off I think.

[slimbolen99]

Do you guys have a Coke or Pepsi bottler near you? That's where most of the "preppers" get them. They store the concentrated syrup in them and then typically discard them afterwards.

On a side note - is the world going to end, or are you just looking to do this as a hobby?

[dennysfishroom]

While I don't consider myself as an apocalyptist (?), living out in the sticks does make one aware of the need to be prepared. The aquaponic gardening, however, does require electricity, so it wouldn't do much good if the Mayan calendar is correct, or any other disaster of long duration occurred. Denny

[fishbit]

Little Debbies outlets sell them.

[dennysfishroom]

JLG - do these barrels have a molded lid, or is it removable? I need one with a molded lid because I'll be cutting it in half the long way, and using both sides. Just let me know when you want the worms, and I'll start a culture for you. Denny

[jlgeorge]

Denny, its a solid molded plastic drum with the bung and vent in the top. Can't remember for sure if the plugs were still in them or not. One had the top cut out already, which i was going to do anyway.

John

[dennysfishroom]

I'd be willing to try it. If the caps are missing, I'll just have to figure something out. Denny

[jlgeorge]

Both the drums have the plugs in them. Just let me know when you want to meet up. Or you could come by the house and get it as well, live pretty close the the police station in Rogers.

[dennysfishroom]

I'm starting to accumulate the various parts I'm going to need to set up my aquaponic garden. Today I got a plastic 55 gallon barrel (thanks John), 2 sets of LED lights, and some pebbles/stones to be used as the growing media. Hopefully this weekend I'll be getting the concrete blocks to be used as the stand, the remainder of the growing media, and the lumber for the support brackets. I'll also have to cut the barrel in half, and figure out the plumbing. That should keep me busy for awhile. Denny

[dennysfishroom]

I'm hoping to have most of everything put together for my system this weekend. I've found a few plumbing fittings I'm missing, but have most of everything else. I've just got to connect everything, and see how close I can get. Once I start pumping water, I've got to decide what I'm going to try to grow first. I've been taking pictures as I go, so maybe I'll have enough for a presentation by the time I get done. Denny

[slimbolen99]

Tilapia? I saw a guy had trout, but I think he had some sort of chiller on his tanks. May or may not need it depending on where in the house it's located.

[dennysfishroom]

Most people use Tilapia, but I'm leaning towards Blue Gills and or Catfish. They don't need the warm water that Tilapia need. My setup is in the garage, and even though it's heated, it probably stays between 60-70F over the winter. Denny

[dennysfishroom]

I've been trying to work out some problems with my self starting siphons )Bell siphons), so haven't made a whole lot of progress lately. The siphon wouldn't break the vacuum, so it just sat there and wouldn't cycle. I finally decided to put in an elbow and tubing to break the vacuum, and now it appears to be working. I had planted some beans in one of the barrels, but the plants didn't seem very sturdy. I did end up with one bean. I suspect my light isn't powerful enough, but I just moved it from about 20 inches above the plants to about 12 inches today. We'll see if that makes a difference. Hopefully, as I get more experience, I'll be able to give a presentation if anyone else is interested. Denny

[jlgeorge]

had anymore luck with this project Denny? Been doing some research on it myself so I'm a bit curious.

John

[dennysfishroom]

It's taking awhile, and sometimes it's hard to determine if things are going okay. Right now I'm in the process of adding a supplemental pump to the system, so I can get enough water to flow through the aquariums, too. Right now most goes to the growing beds. I have harvested a handful of green beans, but suspect I may need more light still for anything other than leaf crops. I may put it together as a mini-talk for July, or wait until next year and give a regular talk. Denny