A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Beginner Questions.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nick LaHaise on January 14, 2011 at 5:57pm

Awesome, thanks for the image too! Now I need to see if a system like that will actually fit in the greenhouse haha.

Wow, those crayfish are beauts! So cool that you're going to put those in with the fish too- why not polyculture the fish tank as well, it does wonders for plants! I had an AP'er tell me about raising Tiger Prawns in the system along with fish, or shrimps. Especially in a raft system, as they will clean the roots but not harm them.

You're system looks great, and seems like it's working extremely well. Props!

Permalink Reply by Chi Ma on January 14, 2011 at 5:59pm

Thanks. Everything sooner or later goes into my main system.

Nick LaHaise said:

Awesome, thanks for the image too! Now I need to see if a system like that will actually fit in the greenhouse haha.

Wow, those crayfish are beauts! So cool that you're going to put those in with the fish too- why not polyculture the fish tank as well, it does wonders for plants! I had an AP'er tell me about raising Tiger Prawns in the system along with fish, or shrimps. Especially in a raft system, as they will clean the roots but not harm them.

You're system looks great, and seems like it's working extremely well. Props!

Permalink Reply by Green Acre Aquaponics on February 13, 2011 at 12:10am

Hey Nick,

When you say grow beds, will you be doing media beds or DWC troughs? I don't know if the ratios for media or flood and drain are different from that for rafts. Chi has already given you some real sound advice and our stocking density is just a little different. We go .3lbs of fish for every squarefoot of raft or grow area. As far as sizing, I would figure how much sqft of grow space you want and work from there. For instance if you want 100 sq ft of grow space, you would need 33.3 lbs of fish, which would be nothing for your 700 gallon tank. However if you are considering a large system, you could go pretty dense in a 700 gallon tank as long as you have sufficient aeration. As far as your grow out size if you are using Tilapia, something to consider would be that as they get larger in size they consume more food for a less proportionate amount of growth. I think that until they are about 1.5 to 2 lbs, they gain more size per pound of food as compared to when they are larger. So in essence, the larger the fish, the more you are paying to feed it for less growth. I know you had said you won't be really looking to sell your fish, so the more logical theory then would be to maintain just enough poundage to support your grow space and eat the big ones! Doing this will minimize food and electrical costs for aeration.

Nick LaHaise said:

Hey experienced AP'ers,

I need some help with the system I'm designing, as I'm a newbie to aquaponics. I'm working with a 18ft geodesic greenhouse GrowDome, with a 700 gallon tank in it. I've perused the 'Design Numbers' forum and am still a little bit confused by the numbers..

My question is, since the ratio is 1:1 growbed to fish tank, what is my grow bed design going to look like? How many beds should I have, and what dimensions should they be (already knowing that I want to have the beds be 1 ft deep)? If the space doesn't allow for it, I don't have to use the full 700 gal.

Any help on this would be extremely appreciated! Thank you!