Comment

Comment by Robert Rowe on July 22, 2012 at 5:23pm

Bell Siphon for 6" PVC Pipe

Comment by Bob Campbell on July 22, 2012 at 4:55pm

@Larry - My aquaponic tomatoes are three or four times the size of the ones I planted in the ground, and they are packed with hundreds of flowers, but I have been eating more tomatoes from the ones in the ground.

Comment by Jim Troyer on July 22, 2012 at 4:02pm

Pretty cool Larry!  They say they grow faster and here i your proof!

Comment by Larry in Casa Grande on July 22, 2012 at 1:57am

Thw way I see it. My first tomato will cost about $3000.00. But what a deal the second one will be at only $1500.00! And by the time I get to the third one at only $750.00, I'll know it can only get better

 

I took a quick couple of picks with a monsoon dust storm raging aroubnd me today. To document the difference between the seeds my wife planted in soil as a plant nursery. And those of the three seeds she gave me out of each bag so I could poke them in the growbed, just to see if they could start from there. To be quite honest I had forgotten about them, and was totally suprised to notice them growwing the other day. I found the difference in size of even greater interest though.

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on July 21, 2012 at 8:10pm

Well stated Bob. However to take your comments to their logical conclusion, if we ever expect aquaponics to be more than a hobby, we must make it cost effective. If you have ever wondered the method to my madness, now you know.

Comment by Bob Campbell on July 21, 2012 at 10:07am

Larry I feel the same way as you.  Like you I'm having fun, and watch my nutrient levels like a hawk.  I feel obligated to do this because like you pointed out these vegetables are expensive. 

The one thing the aquaponic experience has done for me is give me a much greater appreciation for the food I buy at the grocery store.  While I'm delighted to eat a fresh tomato even if a worm has put a small hole in it; I would not buy that same produce at the store.  

I think about it every time I shop at Costco.  Enormous quantities of perfect produce everyday.  People are always bad mouthing current farming practices, but when it comes down to it, the commercial production of food is a lot more difficult than most people realize.

Aquaponics has been around for a long time, but it seems that it's only now beginning to catch on.  With droughts and population explosion I feel that our experimentation and sharing of information is contributing to a vital movement toward small household food production which will help carry many of us through rough times.  Some of us may go on to create commercial systems which will take agriculture back to a less destructive method once we understand the problems we are likely to face, but we are all making a collective difference

Aquaponics is not without fault as it does tend to influence the genetic makeup of the fish we are breeding.  But it may also help to relieve the stress of over fishing.

So I look at my $3000.00 tomato, and know that it's not about that tomato, but a contribution to the greater good, and enjoyment of creating my own food.

Comment by Jim Troyer on July 21, 2012 at 9:59am

@ Larry CG:  I put up shade this summer because things died off last summer, didn't have that problem this year.  I am using the expensive shade screen from home despot and burlap gunny sacks, I'm expecting the shade screen to last longer but I could replace the burlap several times and still come out ahead.  I have it over both the fish pond and grow bed and I'm very pleased with the results.

Good luck with your sprouts, and please keep a photo log of the ground verses AP plants, it would be interesting to have a side by side comparison.

@ John:  How's it going buddy?

Comment by Larry in Casa Grande on July 21, 2012 at 8:19am

Now we are doubly happy to see our plant food (Nitrates) going up at last. In my mind, thats kind of what we are going through all this trouble and expence for right? That and the fact that it is just so much fun! I can't wait to eat my first $3000.00 tomato. :-)

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on July 21, 2012 at 7:12am

Yeah, it seems that they're not really sure of a lot of things in that study...and say as much...and we never get told how they handled a host of other variables, (like what were the nitrites likie and when for instance)... I hope no-one takes that article as 'definitive'...but there are a host of others out there (some  better, some to be taken with a grain of salt, some excellent) that seem to point to the same direction...that being that nitrates, it would seem, would hardly ever be a worry in an AP application (even RAS to a big degree...with their quick turn around times and all)...

Again, if you could link a decent study that definitively concludes that nitrates are toxic to tilapia/fish, and at what levels, I'd appreciate it. I'm not trying to debate you, or anyone...you keep your nitrates low, I'll keep mine in the couple of hundreds and we'll both be honky-dory...But I keep hearing this nitrates are dangerous thing and would like to see/read/hear where that idea is coming from (other than from folks in aquaria-land who are trying to sell something...if such another source exists for that particular idea)...

Comment by David Schwinghamer on July 21, 2012 at 6:43am

Is there anyone here raising any prawns yet? I posted a new discussion, check it out.

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