Aquaponics for food souce???

[Wingshooter]

I've been researching Aquaponics.I didn't find it here with a search, and It sounds like an interesting food source should things get rough. Has anyone heard of this or have any experience with it? I've just recently heard about it.

The way I understand, it involves a closed system of two tanks. One tank has fish and the other plants. The waste from the fish fertilizes plants. The plants filter the water that is then returned to the fish. The cycle continues. The system can be powered by DC batteries and solar panel. It's a little more complicated than just planting a seed in the dirt, but this system uses the same water to grow a lot of plants very quickly. It can also be accomplished in a small space. Plus, the fish can be eaten as they reproduce. Seems like it could sustain a family or more for long period of time. It might be worth a try anyway. I'm interested to know if anyone has tried this and if it would serve as a viable food source.

Here are some links....

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JFs5V4YaTY[/media]

[media]http://vimeo.com/45081938[/media]

[Wingshooter]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFM7J_TpTU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFM7J_TpTU[/url]

[LI0NSFAN]

The FFA chapter I belonged to had one of these setups and I maintained and expanded that system for 3 years. It works great, but it is a full time job on the fish side. Even with auto feeders and almost everything automated we still had to work 5-6 hours a day checking ph, harvesting eggs, seperating male and females, and getting out the aggressive fish. even with the natural filter of the plants we still had to drain and refill the tanks because the PH was getting toxic and additives were not working fast enough. We did it on a very large scale and sold the fish wholesale and had huge plant sales 3 times a year. It may take a while to get the right setup, but once you do it should work great.

[JoeJ615]

i saw this on doomsday preppers awhile back and was very intrigued, this is worth checking out if you're interested in the subject ... this guy used tilapia and said that their growth rate allowed them to sustain his family pretty much indeffinately ... skip to 3:30 if you're impatient lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOZoxKZ0xGo

[LI0NSFAN]

Great site for the fish side of the system. We did not go the hybrid way but it looks like it would have made things a lot easier. [url="http://www.tilapiafarmingathome.com/Pages/default.aspx"]http://www.tilapiafarmingathome.com/Pages/default.aspx[/url]

[Wingshooter]

[quote name='Lions Fan' timestamp='1352725852' post='844228']The FFA chapter I belonged to had one of these setups and I maintained and expanded that system for 3 years. It works great, but it is a full time job on the fish side. Even with auto feeders and almost everything automated we still had to work 5-6 hours a day checking ph, harvesting eggs, seperating male and females, and getting out the aggressive fish. even with the natural filter of the plants we still had to drain and refill the tanks because the PH was getting toxic and additives were not working fast enough. We did it on a very large scale and sold the fish wholesale and had huge plant sales 3 times a year. It may take a while to get the right setup, but once you do it should work great.[/quote]

Sounds like a lot of work at least on a large scale. I suppose just one fish tank and one garden bed would be more manageable. What kind of fish did you use? Tailapia?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2 Edited November 12, 2012 by Batman

[LI0NSFAN]

we used Tilapia. The only issue I see with having a smaller tank is how fast these fish grow. You would also need a breeder tank to replenish the fish you eat. I would never ever knowingly put a male and female Tilapia in the same tank, they reproduce so fast you would have a huge population fast. A good thing to think about is you want to keep a ratio of 1 gallon per .25lbs of fish. On Average Tilapia grow to a size of 5lbs meaning 20 gallons per fish. You also have to have various tanks for various stages of Fry if you are going to do the breeding yourself. The bigger fish WILL eat the smaller ones. Tilapia have a life span of 10-20 yrs which is good but the meat is best in the first 3yrs, so using it for a food source might be tricky if you don't breed them. FYI harvesting egg make for funny videos.

I liked the setup that you have a link on building an IBC aquaponic system. It looks like you could keep around 10-12 fish in it which would be enough to fertilize the plants.

[Wingshooter]

Thanks Lions fan, that helps a lot. One more thing, is it feasible to have that ibc setup inside my barn under artificial grow light, or will this work better out in the sun?



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[LI0NSFAN]

I don't have much experience with grow lights, so i would be the wrong person to ask. We had our setup in a greenhouse.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Hmm. Ever go to Disney World? Back when I was a teenager, 25 or so years ago, Disney had a tour, where you got in a boat, and they showed you all about food production. One part was a hydrophonic farm. They then boasted the food served at the end of the tour was from the farm. Blandest, most no descript food I ever ate.

I hope the technology has improved the taste.

[Randall53]

It's sounds great for a long term source of food in, say a major electical grid failure where complete isolation from water (no power for pumps to supply water to the masses), or food (no power to pump gas diesel etc and delivery of food ceases), but a major PITA outside of this scenario. From what I've read here and on the Internet (where we know everything is true), this is a full time 365 day job with the perfect setup. In a national disaster scenario, time would not be a problem and could even keep you and your family sane (plenty to do to keep busy), as well as well fed. By to have one now means no vacations, only able to be away from home for a few hours at a time, plus how could you keep a full time job?

On the other hand, if you had all the items and tools needed to make one packed in a neat package, beside your 6 month emergency food supply, then you would have plenty of time to get a system started and would give you and family members plenty to do and a real purpose to stay busy and again, maintain your sanity while building your long term food source for that day the emergency supplies are depleted. Edited February 10, 2013 by Randall53