Troubleshooting An Aquaponics System

What do you do when your son squirts lemon juice in the fish tank and then feeds the fish too much?

What Is Aquaponics And Why Should I Care?

What is aquaponics?  

Why should I care?

Do you want a DIY Aquaponics system?

I sure did.  In fact I put together several systems based on what I found online.

Have you spent hours, days, and weeks finding all the individual parts to setup my system?  I bet you have had to improvise a bunch.  Maybe you have even resorted to using silicone?  The parts can be hard to find all in one place (ie Home Depot).

So after building four or five systems with what I could find around town, I got smart.  It saved me tons of time and silicone, not to mention a lot of headache, to get all the parts I needed all in one place.  As you can imagine, I was ecstatic to find all the plumbing pieces for my system in one box!  

Check it out for yourself and get your aquaponics started right away:  Click Here to see what is in the box.

All you will need to put your system together are the PVC pipes to go in between all the fittings (and you may want some glue too :) .  Now that, you should be able to find at your local hardware store.  What a relief!

What is Aquaponics?

Aquaponics is essentially raising plants with fish waste.  The word Aquaponics is a combination of the words Aquaculture (raising fish) and the word Hydroponics (raising plants without soil).

Aquaponics is superior to Hydroponics since the water does not need to be changed out.  Hydroponics requires flushing the solution the plants are raised in on a regular basis.  The problem with this is that the wasted water can be bad for the environment because of the strength of the chemicals used in the systems.

In Aquaponics the water just gets more nutrients and the fish can be harvested to eat.  That way you can control your food.  You get all the veggies with an excellent source of protein.

Aquaponics is also superior to Aquaculture because there is no need for expensive filtering equipment to get rid of all the fish waste.  The plants do the filtering.  In fact the media beds are very efficient filters that have a by product of fresh vegetables.  Now that is a great trade off!

Fish create some of the best fertilizer too.  Since fish are cold blooded animals, they do not carry harmful bacteria that are so prevalent in manure.

A system with two grow beds can produce enough veggies for a family of four.  You can even grow herbs right inside your kitchen with small system.

Whether you plan on building your own system (diy aquaponics) or you are looking for something already produced, this page has lots of resources.  

Aquaponics Presentation at Emergency Preparedness Fair

During a recent Emergency Preparedness Fair, I shared a few key things on aquaponics:

1.  Aquaponics uses less water than traditional gardens.

2.  Aquaponic systems can be indoors.

3.  There are no dirt or weeds in these systems.

4.  A two bed system is able to supply enough veggies for a 4 person family.

5.  Plants grow 2 to 4 times faster in an aquaponic system.

6.  In an emergency, the water in the system can be boiled for drinking water.

7.  Aquaponics out produces hydroponics after 6 months.

8.  Fish provide an excellent source of protein in an emergency.

After the fair, I was approached by several people asking more questions.  I suggest EDUCATION as the first step of preparedness.  I made hundreds of costly mistakes that I could have avoided just by taking this course before delving into building a system.  I took the course for $40 dollars and that saved me from making a bunch of errors with my next system.

Live in person training

I had the great privilege to meet Sylvia, Robbie the Plumber, and the rest of the staff at the AquaponicSource training.  It took me about six hours to drive up to Denver, CO to attend but it was well worth the time.  The first half of the course was mostly review, but I got to ask questions.  Getting answers to my questions was well worth the trip.

The part I liked the most was the second half of the day.  Robbie the Plumber took us through how to build a system.  I had the privilege of pushing the pipe through an O ring in the fish tank.  I broke a sweat just getting that two inch PVC through there.  No wonder it is waterproof once the pipe goes through.

I bought the deluxe plumbing kit that includes everything to build a three bed system with IBC totes.  It is one of the most economical systems and I like to assemble it on my own.  Now I just have to get the IBC totes and get growing!

Of course you can always buy the complete system and just put it together.

To your gardening success.


Scott

First Live Session

I just attended my first chat and found it extremely useful since the instructor, Sylvia, asked me about my system and I included my question about locally available grow media.  I have come to the conclusion that lava rock is my best option.

Lava rock has lots of surface area for bacteria to grow on.  It is tough on the hands though.  I already have a pair of leather gloves so that won't be a problem.

I recommend fired clay if you can.  It is much, much easier to deal with.  It is light weight and completely inert.


The Course has a nice feature.  It allows its user to participate in Live Chat Sessions right on the course page.