So, I’m wondering what everyone uses for fish emulsion/ fish hydrolysate products. Liquid fish!! What’s up with that shit ?? There are a few products on the market and call me a skeptic but I doubt they are all equal. And a lot of us are pioneers when it comes to sustainability but I don’t see anyone farming their own salmon or tilapia just to get their own fish juice. (Prove me wrong though) I have the opportunity to get this product for super cheap; Was wondering if anyone has used this/ would recommend it? I’ve also used “fish shit” and there is a local product made in my state that is a squid emulsion and I had this for about 5 years before I used it, pretty sure it fermented and I got even more goodness from using it! Also down to earth has their soluable fish powder and i have a friend who rants and raves about the stuff. Anyway, there must be some good resources out there for comparative studies on different types of fish emulsion products. There must be some species of fish and ocean life that produce better products for agricultural purposes. Probably the stankier and nastier fish smells are better but that’s just a gut feeling I have based on complete speculation. Just want to figure out the best possible fish product for the money and efficacy. I have a feeling the squid product they make near me is a really good product but that Alaskan fish fertilizer will cost me about $10 a gallon. Tough to say no to such low low prices. I already have a lot of inputs I use but it’s good to have an Arsenal at your disposal. At least that is how I feel. The Grow Show: No Till ROLS Stealth Spare Room part II: Return of the NuteLess Sent from Uranus, with love
I've used Drammatic K from the Dramm company for some years now. It has extra K from kelp. It is a Hydrolysate unlike the product above, which is an emulsion. Hydrolysate is supposed to be better because it dissolves more of the fish and you get calcium from it. You can listen to one of the owners on the Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast. https://www.amazon.com/d/Fertilizer...ammatic-Fertilizer/B0030ECJHK#customerReviews Some idiot gave it 1 star on Amazon without even trying the product...so ignore the reviews. Here is the Podcast for more information. Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast Episode 28 Edit: Of course it is Organic Certified.
I am a big fan of fish meal. The fish meal from DTE is pretty good stuff. Its not the fish powder though. As far as origin of your fish product as an ingredient, whether it is liquid or a meal, I would look for oily fish being used to make it. Something like smelt. Up here we have Euchaleon, pronounced hooligan by the locals, but traditionally called candlefish due to their high oil content. I think most any fish product will satisfy anyones short term N needs. But the higher amino acids that come with the oil is the real bonus. If I didn't have bears, I would compost fish carcasses, and also make my own hydrolysate. I did use a KNF tech to make fish hydrolysate last winter. I believe they call it FA. I made it from local herring. I have to be honest, it smelled way too strong for me to use outside (bears again), and just not happening at all inside. I have used store purchased liquid fish products inside with no worries. While not my fav product out there, the Alaska Fish 5-1-1 has one nice quality, and that is that it doesn't smell real bad when you use it. Its also pretty cheap. Before selecting a liquid fish product, I would do a little search and decide whether you wanted to use hydrolysate or fish emulsion. Depending on what tech is used in manufacturing, will dictate whether or not amino acids and other important compounds remain. The method also dictates the price, with hydolysate costing more. Not to derail or go off subject but I have 2 thoughts about using fish. It seems like just about every amendment you could ever add in organic gardening has some amount of N, unless it happens to be in mineral form. That being said, I tend to not pick an amendment that is high in N like liquid fish products or Bloodmeal, just for the sake of getting N. It has to have something else to make the cut. In the case of fish, It would have to be the amino acids. Another good source of aminos is soybean meal. It's got good N, but is a little more balanced with some decent K. For folks that may not want to use Fish products for one reason or another, soybean meal is a good alternative, especially if you can find it made from non-GMO soybeans. Its cheap too. cheers os
Not saying it’s a good idea or that I recommend anyone try it but my mate grew a few plants in soil with nothing but fish water. Cheapo tomato soil type stuff and literally the only nutes they got on top was fish pish. Not the healthiest plants I’ve seen but he got 2 or 3 oz on a Scottish balcony. smoke was alright too so it does work. not great but it works lol.
@Han-Bolo has an aquarium type hydro grow he has been showing over in my Auto thread. It’s going to be neat to watch. Cheers Os
Wonder if you could do a dwc in a fishtank? Need to be a fuckin big fish tank to not kill the fish but... hmm... off to google lol...
Like Sinse I really have no need for the Alaska fish emulsion. An alfalfa tea works just as well if not better. I do love me some fish hydrolysate. I used the Drammatic brand for years. It’s now unavailable for me locally so I use Neptune’s now. I choose the straight hydrolysate because I typically use kelp meal and brew it for a day or two. Personally, I stay away from all fish meal. Read up on Ethoxyquin and make your own decisions on this. @FickySiskers makes his own FAA and has mentioned his process is stink free. I saw a guy doing this before (perhaps improperly) and it was enough to induce a gag reflex. I love composting fish with sawdust. No farm raised or fish market stuff. Locally caught whitefish from clean Montana rivers is my favorite. Occasionally I will sacrifice a trout though. I’ve also used catfish and carp. RD
KNF , FAA ( Fish Amino Acid) Making your own is the best. For now do whatever as long as its clean, you have lots of great suggestions for products here. But keep your eye out for a way to get fish carcasses or fish for free - I get stuff from a charter boat captain. But fish mongers, fisherman, going fishing, sushi restaurants etc can all be sources for fish waste. You can start to use it after about a month -but 6 months to a year and its really good and just gets better after that.
Im sure you could, the only thing that worries me is the PH not being low enough for optimal nutrient uptake. This is my first time experimenting with my own version of aquaponics. Theres a dude named Aquaponic Steve who does full on DWC grows with fish water. He has a large volume of fish and water though which really helps ensure the plants get the nutes they need from what I understand. I mixed coco and perlite along with some EWC and Alfalfa meal. Im using 3 gal pots since its a micro grow. Ive been watering the plants with fish tank water. They seem to be doing well. Im only on week 3.
The water in fish tanks also contains plenty of beneficial bacteria which help the fish thrive.. and is also beneficial to plants.. I run a Malawi cichlid tank and each water change brings along a lot of reusable water containing free nutes and bennies Sent from my SM-G935F using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Both my brother and I fish year round. Yes, we ice fish. All fish carcasses go into my compost piles. Then run through my worm bins. I tried the bottled Alaska fish fertilizer in the past,and still have it. It stinks to much for indoors and didn't notice much of a difference in my outdoor containers growth or plant health.
I used that stuff for houseplants for a while. It's a bit smelly IMO. I once used it on an outdoor cannabis transplant and was shocked to find it dug out of the ground the next morning.
Freshly squeezed candlefish is best, no need to strain. Use as fertilizer or lamp fuel, she goes both ways. cheers os
FAA is awesome. We usually have guys selling little rat Ahi for $2 a pound. I pick a couple up and cover them with LAB and sugar. Add more sugar if you start to smell it. Eventually they turn into lovely black goo. The video @falconfalcon31 posted is the way to do KNF FAA. I ran an aquaponic canna garden in the 90’s. Vertical aeroponic grow with 40g bio reactor and 120g stock tank. I used amazon river as my model because I could get the temps low enough to stave of root rot and the pH was slightly acidic. Back in those days we didn’t have a lot of choices. I used to supplement with GH 3-part at 1/8th strength. The urea in the grow and micro can kill fish, so I had to keep that delicate balance of fish and plant health. To this day it grew some really great weed. One month of running pumps when I moved pushed me to organic gardening and soil building. There is a podcast and website if your interested. https://www.potentponics.com/category/growing-with-fishes-podcast/