Hey! I am going to attempt an aquaponic grow. I need fish for a 30 gal fish tank. I am not wanting to grow my fish to eat so I wan a more decorative fish. Do you think I can use fish such as like angel fish and such with an algae eater and from. Or what type of fish do you think I should use? any suggestions?? anyone with experience with this before?
Google it, as I was very interested in this. I found that Koi fish do well if your not going to eat them. Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Organic - Systems, Consulting, Information, Design and Kits Has good starting info. Good luck and hope to see a journal!!!
Guppies are quick growing, hardy (the wild-type are, fancy are less), livebearers (give birth to live young), and breed prolifically. I've got a 20g and a 2.5g guppy tanks with multiple species of plant, aquatic and terrestrial, growing out of it. I haven't cleaned the tank since 2008. I haven't removed a dead fish, vaccumed fish poo, or cleaned any windows of algae (except the front display). Guppies are cheap (wild type) so it won't cost much to get it going, and you can actually have some fun with the genetics as well, throwing in some fancy ones on occasion. They're community fish, so they will get along with anything else you wanted to add, like an angelfish or plecostamus. Corydoras are good scavenger fish as well. Guppies are just a good way to get started, as the environment is unstable in teh beginning, and delecate angels won't make it, and cost a lot! It's tough to get a system going, but once you do, it runs itself. I barely touch the thing and it's currently my most successful method of rooting new clones (of different species). My suggestion is, start with a few fish, and a LOT of surface area. We're talking rocks, shells, chunks of wood, igneous rock, sandstone, nanoballs or similar product. Anything you can do to increase surface area. Once the fish start to produce waste, the nitrifying cycle will start. You can add plants whenever you'd like, in fact, adding plants before fish is the safer way. If you're doing a larger system, there's many resources for types of fish to grow in commercial aquaponics. I'd go with something you can eat, like trout or tilapia.
I have a vague idea what aquaponics is. But the fish? I've grown with soil, once. Sorry, I'm a newbie.
Aquaponics is the technique of using fishstock as the primary source of available nutrients in a hydroponic grow environment. It can be as simple as sticking a piece of your house plant into your fish tank. That's aquaponics. As the fish waste breaks down, it releases ammonia which, in a regular aquarium, is converted by bacteria to nitrites, then to nitrates (or vice versa, i forget) which the last is the least harmful to fish. Plants love this ammonia, and the nitrites and -trates as well. The environment is supplemented with additional CO2 from the fish respiration. -- My tank's got 2 Hang On Back (HOB) filters and a heater to keep the temps at 78F. That's it. Then, let nature build you a garden.
it really is.... wow if you dont mind more questions grapestreet im curious whether you think it essential to have hydroponic experience before starting an aquaponic tank? ive only done a couple grows but theyve all been organic so hydroponics has never fully appealed to me... but this is very interesting and something i could see myself really enjoying
im glad some one else is considering this. as a aquarium enthusiasts and marijuana enthusiasts i think i may try this. but to answer your question angel fish are very sensitive the chemicals given off by the marijuana might kill them. in fact any little thing might kill angels. you might wanna try fish that are extremely hardy like goldfish (they excrete alot of nitrogen), betas, or like someone said guppies.
Well, let's clear one thing up. Organics doesn't mean soil. Hydro doesn't mean synthetic. Organics is just a method of using naturally derrived substances/processes. Nobody's 100% organic, less you live in a 3rd world country and you use your goat shit to fertilize your rice crop (i.e.). There are hydro setups that use organically derrived nutrients, and there are even living organic hydro setups. -- There are some hydro systems that actually have a passive Aerated Compost system, so the nutrients in the water are derrived straight from the Organic Matter culture, including the microorganisms and nutrients from the soil. Even a soil grow is technically hydroponic if you think about it. Soil works by providing a space for the roots to exist without fear of fully drying out, and with the ability to hold water near the roots, in contact with teh organic matter, to allow the cations, nutrients, to travel from the soil into the roots. Without water and air, the plant will die. But without soil...not really an issue. Think of soil as a combined "medium" and "slow release fertilizer". The three parts you need are the air/water/nutrients...however you get them to the plant is entirely up to you. 2.5g [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT5WKNDfWOQ]YouTube - 2.5g Guppy Aquaponics[/ame] Edit: better video. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7pEVT8pAmw[/ame] I electrocuted my culture a few months ago, so there's only a small population of adults. Though i've easily got 100+ juveniles and all of the females are pregnant. Then there's the 2.5g which has the first clutch after the electrocution in it. Probably about 30 fish in it. Here's a good forum 'bout it all: http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/index.php
Running a fish tank and running a hydro system are slightly different, but the rules are similar. Maintain water and air temperature, oxygen dissolution levels, ambient humidity, water PH level, and if you can (I'm still reading about all this, i'm a hydro newb) the EC or PPM levels. Adding concentrated fertilizers to this kind of garden is risking an imbalance in the system. The goal behind aquaponics is to harness the natural symbiotic cycle of the plants and animals, and to accelerate that by means of additional aeration and climate control, not synthetic or concentrated fertilizers. I still wonder how my tank would do if I dumped a couple tablespoons of compost tea in there...best not mess with it at the moment...
Choose fish for your home can be complex farming systems is an exciting moment. Fist thing you need to decide whether to fish or food source for the performance. A wide variety of fish, you can choose for your indoor or outdoor complex farming systems at home.
I have found that comet goldfish (the cheap ones) are highly recommended because they poo a lot, are hardy and inexpensive. I use 20 of them which is overkill big time! SnailPowered's Organic Aquaponics