Do aquaponics work with deep water culture?

I read a thread on another site wher a guy was using an ebb & flow system. However in his res he kept a type of goldfish. WOW!!! He claims that the fish supply all the nutes for his plants (he had plenty of pics too.) Has anyone else used anything like this (the fish I mean.) Do you think that I could use this with my deep water culture? I understand how aquaponics work (I looked it up.) None the less it seems to me that it would be the same with the fish actually in the tubs with the roots. Just wondering let me know what you think please.

For clarification this is what I initially read "The fish give out a great amount of nutes. I do notice there's a little more stretch in flower due to higher nitrogen levels than we like for cannabis, but as far as bud production resin and taste its amazing. I havent bought nutes in a year compared to $1500 or so a year before. I wanted 100% organic buds and this was my solution. Dont think the nute companies would appreciate everyone switchin their hydro to this, they'd be out of bussiness quick so i think aquaponics is kinda kept quiet "

Edited by PrplHz, 17 September 2009 - 03:14 PM.

Sounds like crap to me.

Yes it works. I've run a couple Aquaponics systems. I've run constant feed and a constant feed/semi DWC.
Breeder Steve used to play with it and may have left some bread crumbs around...

Have also done tomatoes, cukes, jalapenos and more.

BTW: Dude does buy nutes. They're just labeled "Fish Food".


Sinc.
SlackerBee

So how do I determine how many fish I need?

A lot ... Seriously tho, you need to run at relatively high densities. Feeder goldfish (comets) grow pretty fast. Mine were almost a foot long when I moved and had to give them away. In the past I fed a ~ 30 gallon rubbermaid tub with 2 large plants via a 50 gal plastic drum with 30-40, 4-5- inch fish.
I ran a 4 x 4 table in my greenhouse off of a 50 gal tank with 30-40 larger fish.
Both systems worked pretty well. Look into "top dressing" plants with fish compatible ferts.




sinc.
D
SlackerBee

A lot ... Seriously tho, you need to run at relatively high densities. Feeder goldfish (comets) grow pretty fast. Mine were almost a foot long when I moved and had to give them away. In the past I fed a ~ 30 gallon rubbermaid tub with 2 large plants via a 50 gal plastic drum with 30-40, 4-5- inch fish.
I ran a 4 x 4 table in my greenhouse off of a 50 gal tank with 30-40 larger fish.
Both systems worked pretty well. Look into "top dressing" plants with fish compatible ferts.




sinc.
D
SlackerBee

Great man, thanks for this good info. So I guess it is safe to say that I no longer need to flush my plants at the end of flowering when useing aquatics? and out of curiosity what was the strain, yield and light setup in that 30 gal. rubbermaid?

I had 2 plants in that tub. (1) the AE77 Cali Orange cut and a killa Jack H x Williams Wonder.
Yield? I don't remember exactly, but it was not as heavy as my Buckets or soil grown plants. Aquaponics is GREAT for leafy green growth (lettuce etc), but Heavy feeding flowering/fruiting plants are certainly doable. If you want the biggest and baddest, look elsewhere. If you want a moderate harvest of killer smoke and you like to play with symbiotic systems, go for it...


Breeder Steve (Spice of Life) had a short treatise on the subject online 10+ years ago ... maybe it's still floating around ...


Sinc.
SlackerBee

I read a thread on another site wher a guy was using an ebb & flow system. However in his res he kept a type of goldfish. WOW!!! He claims that the fish supply all the nutes for his plants (he had plenty of pics too.) Has anyone else used anything like this (the fish I mean.) Do you think that I could use this with my deep water culture? I understand how aquaponics work (I looked it up.) None the less it seems to me that it would be the same with the fish actually in the tubs with the roots. Just wondering let me know what you think please.

For clarification this is what I initially read "The fish give out a great amount of nutes. I do notice there's a little more stretch in flower due to higher nitrogen levels than we like for cannabis, but as far as bud production resin and taste its amazing. I havent bought nutes in a year compared to $1500 or so a year before. I wanted 100% organic buds and this was my solution. Dont think the nute companies would appreciate everyone switchin their hydro to this, they'd be out of bussiness quick so i think aquaponics is kinda kept quiet "

Great post, I'm very interested in this. Although it seems as some dont agree and just rely on one line uninformed replies for their rebuttal instead of offering real insight. keep it coming

Check out this video :

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3gQ_OXREo8]YouTube - Aquaponic Cannabis[/ame]

That is a great post, thanks. So, what whould be the impact if the organic bloom nutes were not added. Would the plants survive? Would they still do better than the regular nute stuff out the store?