Just starting out with a million questions.

[Jessica Wilson]

Hey so I'm new to the idea of aquaponics having just learned about it fairly recently (tho I had seen it in action without knowing it a few years back at sweet water organics in Milwaukee). Anyways I really want to start my own system but I have a ton of questions that I need figured out before I start anything so here goes: 

I am getting a 30gal fish tank from a buddy of mine. I was wondering what I could reasonably expect to grow with a tank that size holding about 4-5 goldfish? (i already have one gold fish as a pet so he'd be getting some friends!). I was planing on having the system inside my house so I would of course have plant lights that are needed to grow stuff but would this artificial light be less productive than natural? (i'd put it by a window so it could get that as well) 

With this I would add that I hate tomatoes but just about any other veggie or herb I would be okay with growing. I especially love broccoli and zucchini but i did hear that because they grow so big that you can't reasonably grow them indoors, is tis true? What about kale? With a set up the size that i'm planning would it even be worth it to try to grow veggies or should I just stick with herbs which probably need a little less space and nutrients? 

Also does the type of ground and feed for the fish matter in the overall scheme of things? I know that the median for the plants matters but I read nothing about the gravel for the fish. 

Speaking of fish, would you still want to have a fish filter in the tank to take care of excess poop and stuff or would the pump to the plants suffice? 

Any other useful tips/tricks would be appreciated as I said I have never done this before and am fairly novice at gardening in general. I just really love the idea of aqaponics and the symbiotic relationship between fish and plant. Plus from what I read, after the initial set up, it's fairly easy to do and self sustaining so long as no problems arise with the system and the fish are getting fed. 

thanks in advance 

[Ryan Garlington]

That's a pretty small tank- large vegetables may be a challenge. I'd use a setup of that size for herbs. You can grow them more densely in a media bed than in soil.

[1EyedTuna]

I think that is a fine size. Especially as your just starting out and learning the ropes. I have one powered by only a 10 gallon tank growing strawberries and tomatoes... herbs work great, maybe look into micro greens or baby lettuce as well.

Natural light is always the optimal lighting.. However, artificial lighting works fine, I use it on some of my systems. All you really need is a simple T5 fluorescent light. Typically you will want to use blue spectrum for vegetation growth and red spectrum for flowering.

Your fish tank can be bare glass or decorated what ever you prefer.... Remember, you need Nitrifying bacteria for aquaponics to work. Whenever you hear people talking about biofilters this is referring to a place for these bacteria to colonize. The main thing they need is oxygen and surface area to grow on. So rocks add tons of surface area for bacteria in your aquarium but they will be in your growbed as well. These bacteria colonize on virtually all surfaces of the system.

You don't necessarily need a filter for the fish in the type of system I believe you are going to put together. However, you could use one to help if you like. The filter wont remove any of the dissolved nutrients that the plants are wanting take up.

Check out my blog if you like. I have an article explaining the bacteria and how they relate to your aquaponics system which is pretty critical knowledge for you to have and understand.

Here is the link for the article:

http://greenmountainaquaponics.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/your-farmin...

Feel free to continue asking questions!

[Rob Nash]

you should read Sylvia's book Aquaponic Gardening... it will answer your beginner questions.. and save you time and money in you quest for building a home grown food growing system.  

[Rob Nash]

go as large as space and budget will allow.. you will always want more growing space. and if at all possible.. go outdoors!

[Ryan Garlington]

+1 on Sylvia's book. I eagerly read it cover to cover, and then started using it as reference material.

[Layne allen]

I have sugar peas growing with 3 gold fish in a 13gal tank. After three weeks they are close to 3' tall and showing signs of podding. I posted pictures in my profile of my setup.

[Alex Veidel]

+2....Read Sylvia's book. 999,983 of your questions will be answered by that book. Then, send the remaining 17 here :D

As far as gravel goes, I don't know of any medias that one would use for plants normally that would have a negative effect on fish....It would be interesting to hear if there are any. Don't use copper wire as a growing media ;)

[Alex Veidel]

You can expect support a 2'x4' growbed area with a fishtank that size (that's if you're growbed is about a foot deep). If you're doing a small scale, media based system, then you don't need to worry about filters. You may want to think about including some redworms in your media bed to take care of those fish solids though.

As far as lighting is concerned, I don't think anything really compares with Mr. Sun. It's a giant ball of gas in our solar system that our entire planet depends on for life :) However, I think you can get great growth results with indoor lighting (feel free to check out a few pictures on my page. Not that I'm the prime example of indoor growing expertise). But I will mention: you get what you pay for. Good quality lights currently ("current"ly, get it? hehe) require an investment in the fixture or an investment in the power supply. I wouldn't skirt around when it comes to grow lights. For what you want to do, it doesn't have to be top of the line, but definitely take some time to do your research. There are a very limited number of inputs in an aquaponics system. Make sure those inputs are quality.

[Tom Gilkerson]

You say you've read a lot about AP, but how many HOURS have you spent on U-tube watching someone else system working on camera? I would recommend at least 1/2 hour anyway--

[Layne allen]

University of Hawaii offers a $50.00 course that helps very much. They use Sylvia's book as their primary referance. Important things are patience in cycling your system and having fun. BTW Welcome to the community.