Aquaponic Gardening

A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Barbara Mumpower
  • Female
  • Panama City, FL
  • United States
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Barbara Mumpower's Friends

  • Brad Walleye
  • James Stratton
  • William Mancuso
  • keith hupp
  • Jason valera
  • Teresa N Florida
  • Debra Davenport
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  • Harold Sukhbir
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Profile Information

How did you find us?
Search engine (Google)
If you found us through a search engine, what search words were you using?
Florida Aquaponics
Are you an aquaponic gardener already?
Yes
If so, what type of system? (pick all that apply)
flood and drain media, raft
How old is your system?
Less than 6 months
What type of fish do you grow with? (select all that apply)
Catfish
How big is your fish tank?
48"x15' above ground pool
Please tell us something else about yourself.
I have a green house from a nursery that is no longer in business. I have aquired an above ground pool of which I intend to set in the groung for heat control. The pool is 15ft by 4ft. I am going to start with catfish, they are very hardy, to get the system up and running. From there it is still uncharted teritory. All help and advice is greatly appreciated. I also have honey bees.

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Barbara Mumpower's Blog

Aquaponics in a swimming pool

Posted on August 22, 2011 at 3:25pm 5 Comments

Okay, here is an update on my system. I planted a 48"X16' above ground pool in the ground 24"s, filled it with well water which I added a lot of lime ( my well water is so acidic that mosquitoes wont even lay in it) let it perk for three weeks then tested it and added 500 catfish fingerlings on March 19 2011. They were tiny and got lost in all that water.

The next step was to build a trough 25' long X 32" wide by 10" deep (Finished the trough about the middle of may, only had spare…

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At 4:06pm on April 21, 2012, keith hupp said…

just want to say thank you for all the help you given me in getting my system started 

At 9:23am on February 10, 2011, Harold Sukhbir said…

Hi Barbra,

I've just recently installed a raft sys as an addition to my AP beds.Sounds to me that you're going commercial which is great! We do have Chris and Peter as our in-house experts in raft culture,which i suggest you add as friends(add as friend button top left hand corner of you page),where you can communicate with them one on one, that way they can address all your concerns as quickly as possible.However, if for any reason you need anything additional, I'll be only too happy to assist. My email is haroldsukhbir@yahoo.com.Good luck! 

At 10:09am on February 3, 2011, TCLynx said…
If doing raft beds, make sure you plan in sufficient filtration for the system before sending the water to the raft beds.  Also, in Florida beware of putting any wood near liner, even pressure treated wood is only a temporary deterrent to termites.  Though raft beds would be far easier to find a leak and patch it, I doubt you want to be draining and repairing raft beds too often.  There is a Friendlies training session happening here in central Florida in March and if you are interested in going gravel bed, let me know, that is what I'm most help with, I don't know much about raft culture.  I do grow catfish though.
At 9:54am on February 3, 2011, Sylvia Bernstein said…

Hi Barbara.  That is quite a big project you have going on there!  Baking soda is not a good idea because it will add sodium to your system which can accumulate and ultimately harm your plants.  Here is what I generally recommend:

The best method for raising  and buffering pH is to alternatively use calcium hydroxide  (hydrated lime) or calcium carbonate (agricultural lime) with potassium carbonate (or bicarbonate) or potassium hydroxide (“pearlash” or “potash”).  These also add calcium and potassium, which, while supplementation is normally not needed in an aquaponics system, your plants will appreciate it none-the-less. 

 

While they work, be cautious about using natural calcium carbonate products such as egg shells, snail shells, and sea shells. They don’t do any harm, but they take a long time to dissolve and affect the pH. So, a likely scenario is that you add it, check pH two hours later and nothing has changed, so you add more. Then suddenly, after a few days the pH spikes because you have added so much.  The best way to solve this problem is to make sure that the additive is removeable by putting it in a mesh bag, such as a camping dunk bag or nylon stocking, and adding the bag to your fish tank rather than adding it directly to your grow bed media or fish tank.

At 9:41am on February 3, 2011, Sylvia Bernstein said…

Welcome Barbara,


Thanks for joining the Aquaponic Gardening community!  I hope you find it a fun place to explore aquaponics.  There is a real blend of experienced and new aquapons in this community, so please don’t hesitate to get in there and start asking questions.  Everyone is quite happy to help out new members – no question is too basic.  


A great place to start is to read the “How to Use This Site” link on the upper right corner, “Start Here” section of the Main page.  You might also find the “Aquaponic Gardening Rules of Thumb” guidelines helpful.

 

You should also meet TCLynx.  She is an expert aquapon and urban homesteader in this community who lives in Florida.  She has a Group in here you might want to join (see tabs above)


Please participate and check in with us every day!  We are constantly posting news about aquaponics and the good food movement.


Thanks again for joining us, and I look forward to getting to know you.


Sylvia

 
 
 

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