Aquaponics As a Food Source

[HoneyBadger]

I hope this thread will collect lots of information about aquaponics. I am interested in aquaponics for the sustainability it seems to offer in the long term.

I have done a bit of reading about "ecosystem aquaponics" where you build a circulating system that grows plants and fish... and it sounds almost ideal as a source of vegetables, vitamins and minerals, and protein should the proverbial poo hit the fan, or any time you feel like being independent. Here's one example:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Buil...rm-for-/#intro


Has anyone built any large-scale aquaponic systems? How about ecosystem aquaponics with fish and plants? Please chime in!

DFBrews, your thread last fall (linked below) was helpful and informative, but I was hoping to direct this thread more toward the whole "ecosystem" concept which includes plants and fish.
(DFBrews's thread: http://www.ar-15.co/threads/59433-My...-crop-grow-log)

[DFBrews]

TAG I have done this will provide what I know when I get on a real comp instead of the phone

[DEAGLER]

Youtube shows a lot of simple set ups. I believe it has a bigger yield than growing in soil. This is how most lettuce is grown for large agricultural companies.

[rbeau30]

I would like to be able to start small with this to get to practicing the concept. I rent a home so I am unable to do some really crazy stuff to my house.

More specifically, will one need a minimum of lets say a 100 Gallon aquarium to house a few tilapia?

Grow lights? What type of electrical draw are we looking at?

[Inconel710]

I heard this interview with Colorado Aquaponics - they do large scale aquaponics. Good interview and they teach classes.
http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/99...-on-aquaponics

I've also heard that smaller setups can be tricky. It doesn't take much for the pH to get out of whack and all your tilapia go fins up.

[Scogin]

I started looking into aquaponics and found it to be too labor intensive for me. I am looking for maximum return for minimal work. I have started reseaching permaculture and hukelcultur for outdoor growing. There was a great podcast on growing quail for meat that seems to have very minimal work for a large output.

http://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/qu...-eggs-and-meat

[Irving]

Hell, I'd be willing to grow non-edible stuff if it'd help keep my tank clean.

[Irving]

I came back to this thread when I had time to click the links in the first post, and have become very interested.

One thing that I was struggling with, was the different ways to fill and drain the grow bed. I kept hearing the term "Bell Siphon" and people talking about putting elbows on them. Another video a guy had some electric pumps set on timers. I was starting to get pretty discouraged with the complexity of the whole thing. So here are some helpful videos I've come across that have helped me understand enough to keep me interested.

This is a Bell Siphon, or auto-siphon, and how it works:


Here is one with a clear cap to demonstrate one in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqTmHsSREJA

Here is what an Ebb and Flood system looks like in concept:


At first I was really turned off by the idea of an ebb and flood system because I thought I'd have to have some elaborate pump set-up, but once I understood how the bell siphon works, I'm back on board.

Finally, here is a longer video with a simplified and animated video showing a more complex set up. Notice in this one that with the extra tank keeps the water level in your fish tank level:

[Wulf202]

Don't plant anything close to the bell siphon intake. The long roots of ebb and flow grown plants will clog the pipes

[Irving]

Good tip, thanks.

When I get home I'll find a video of a pvc pipe vertical garden that does not use fish, but could.
I have some questions about that set-up because it looks like it'd be a constant drain and not have to have a siphon at all.