Aquaponics As a Food Source

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Originally Posted by Irving

My neighbor has two ponds (one with duck weed). I'm going to ask him what he does in the winter. I know the biggest problem he has is with raccoons. He says they don't even eat the fish. They just pull them out, crush their heads, then leave their bodies in the yard. The neighbor that used to live next to my parents said his pond would attract snakes that would sit on the edge of the pond and poach fish and frogs. Then he would get big birds that would eat the fish, frogs, and snakes. He said if he didn't chase the birds away when he saw them, they'd stay until they cleared out the whole pond.

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Stringing steel cable - criss crossing the pond will solve the predator issue.. Also when you build a pond, choose the bell design. Fish will go on the deep end to avoid predators. Mine is 9' deep - kinda over done it..but never had any issue.

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Originally Posted by ChunkyMonkey

Stringing steel cable - criss crossing the pond will solve the predator issue.. Also when you build a pond, choose the bell design. Fish will go on the deep end to avoid predators. Mine is 9' deep - kinda over done it..but never had any issue.

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You zoned for that[LOL]

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Originally Posted by jim

You zoned for that[LOL]

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Told you, I like you so much better when you are stock up on pain killer. [dig]

9' feet is DEEP. How many fish can you fit in there? Seems like the deeper the pond, the easier it would be for the fish to survive the winter as well.

I have a spot under a bush that I think would work great for a pond (can't really use it for anything else anyway). That bush gets full of 20 birds at a time (pretty cool actually), and I'm thinking that birds crapping in the pond would add more nutrients to the system. I'm under that impression after seeing the system on Doomday Preppers where they had chickens over the top of the fish pond.

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Originally Posted by Irving

9' feet is DEEP. How many fish can you fit in there? Seems like the deeper the pond, the easier it would be for the fish to survive the winter as well.

I have a spot under a bush that I think would work great for a pond (can't really use it for anything else anyway). That bush gets full of 20 birds at a time (pretty cool actually), and I'm thinking that birds crapping in the pond would add more nutrients to the system. I'm under that impression after seeing the system on Doomday Preppers where they had chickens over the top of the fish pond.

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Out door aquaponic in CO must be deep enough. Placement is also important for just enough sun light. I am growing bambu trees along the sunny side to screen it. Too much, you'll have common algae growing out of control. Too little, different type of algae will grow. If you want a pond, then using chickens dropping as food source is common in tropical fish farm - but your ammonia level will spike, algae will bloom, and you will have green water (just like tropical pond).

To keep your water clear and unsmelly, feed your fish chicken booster and duck weed. It costs very little as duck weed grows rampantly.

I recommend take some classes. It took me 3 years of researching before committing into this. There is no industry standard per say either. Each class I took was a lil different from the rest.

http://www.coloradoaquaponics.com/

Thanks for the tips.

I am going to do an indoor setup in my basement I think. Been looking at a bulk container setup but just not at the point of pulling the trigger yet. Outside in Colorado requires more backyard than I have.

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Originally Posted by dwalker460

I am going to do an indoor setup in my basement I think. Been looking at a bulk container setup but just not at the point of pulling the trigger yet. Outside in Colorado requires more backyard than I have.

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Make sure you have dehumidifiers in the house, or proper ventilation to handle the excess moisture. . You would be surprised how easy moisture issues can happen.

I'd like to start inside as well. We used an Aerogarden with great results in the past (I even made a thread). I want to start with something Aerogarden sized if I can. My fish must be the toughest fish ever, because over 3-4 years, I've only ever killed one, and they often live in terrible conditions when I get lazy. All these videos talk about testing your water weekly. I've NEVER tested my water, and the tank has gone months without cleaning or a water change.

Here is a great step by step for building an Auto Siphon/Bell Siphon. http://affnan-aquaponics.blogspot.co...s-of_9459.html

Home Depot doesn't have plastic bulk heads (or expanded clay tablets) by the way. They sent me to the grow store, which had both in abundance.

EDIT: I changed the link to a better siphon design, no breather tube required.