Comment

Comment by randy proctor on February 27, 2012 at 4:59pm

to the guy with the IBC tank, thats what my aquaponic systems are, by taking the top part and turning it into a grow bed and bottom into a fish tank.  In my experience about 35 fish.  I am not an expert but my systems are running very smoothly.  I have no problems what so ever.  But....I have (2)grow beds per tank.  A total of 6 tanks and 12 grow beds.  It never hurts to have a bigger pump that you need.  I think ours 320gph.  We have shut off valves to regulate the water.  One on each pipe leading to the grow beds, one on the pump itself,  and one that leads back into the tank to airealte the fish tank.  I have also figured a way to put an extra shut off valve leading to the tanks, that I can do water changes and flush the system without getting my hands wet....By the way, my aquaponic house is 15'x30', my biggest Tilapia is white nile and weighs about 1 1/2 lbs.  The best way to learn is by trial and error like we did.  Always check your water quality every day.  I wished I had found this site before.....starting up my systems.  It would have saved us alot of problems and failure.  But....we learned very valuable LESSONS!

Comment by Michael Welber on February 27, 2012 at 1:25pm

Yes. And that's what Sylvia's books says. One 1lb. fish per 5-10 gallons of water. They grow up together with the plants in the bio-filter. 

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on February 27, 2012 at 1:24pm

From the "Rules of Thumb" page that Sylvia wrote on this here sight...

Steps for Planning your System

1. Determine the total grow bed area in sq ft (or sq m)
2. From grow bed area, determine the fish weight required (pounds or kg) using the ratio rule 1 lb (.5 kg) of fish for every 1 sq ft(.1 sq m) of grow bed surface area, assuming the beds are at least12” (30 cm) deep.
3. Determine fish tank volume from the stocking density rule above (1 pound fish per 5 – 7 gallons of fish tank volume or .5 kg per 20-26 liters). When your fish are young and small, reduce the number of plants in proportion to the size of the fish and their corresponding feed rate / waste production.

For example, if you plan to have 2 2’x4’ grow beds, then you will have 16 sq ft of growing area.  Plan to stock so you have a mature weight of 16 pounds of fish which require an 80 – 112 gallon fish tank.

Comment by Vlad Jovanovic on February 27, 2012 at 1:19pm

Guys, I think you should really stock your fish according to your bio-filtration capacity and not your fish tank capacity...And saying something like "one fish per..." there's a big difference between a minnow and a plate sized catfish...Saying "one pound per..." might help alleviate potential confusion.

Comment by Michael Welber on February 27, 2012 at 12:56pm

I based my calculations on those in Sylvia's book and came up with 50 fish in a 300 gallon tank, based upon 1 fish per 6 gallons. However, Dave's experience shows otherwise and he might very well be right. My fish are only 3-4" long now. When they get big the tank may seem small. I have a much more powerful pump however and that could make a difference. I'm pumping at 990 gph from the fish tank to the grow beds because 750 wasn't getting enough of the poop out. My return pump is 750 and that seems adequate. 

Comment by Dave Lindstedt on February 27, 2012 at 11:23am

I am far from an expert and only have been engated in aquaponics 8  months.  While  I have a similar tank and suffered a major fish kill in November.  The "book" says you need 5 gallons of water per fish.  Experience say you need a minimum of 10 gallons per fish.  I am in the process of setting up 4 new grow trouths to that tank.So I am pumping 24/7 via a 70 GPH fountan pump and 1/2 inch tubing back my operating grow trouths.  Water is returned via a 1/8th HP sump pump.

Comment by Delbert F. Roach Ph.D on February 27, 2012 at 11:14am

I have a 275 gallon ibc.  Can someone tell me how many tilapia will that size tank support. also what size pump should I use. ?

Comment by Delbert F. Roach Ph.D on February 25, 2012 at 3:15pm

I am a newbe I am the president of The Gift Of Giving Inc. a 501C3 non-profit located in Tombstone Arizona.  We are getting ready to start cutting up 2X4's maybe, as soon as tomorrow, for our first bio-dome.  We will be starting a community garden for our little town.  I am sure that the members of this group will be very helpful in getting us off on  the right foot.  We will have a 40' dome for our first project.  and we are starting with a 275 gallon IBC and  55 gallon poly drums cut in half for our first grow beds.  any comments or advice will be greatly appreciated   Thanks Del

Comment by TCLynx on February 22, 2012 at 4:49pm

As long as you keep the salt levels to below 3 ppt most plants won't mind (strawberries being an exception.)

Tilapia will find the salt to be a great tonic.  Make sure you have plenty of aeration and upgrade your pump when you can as you are probably experiencing this little spike due to adding the fish and ramping up the feeding.  Tilapia are tough though so I wouldn't panic until ammonia or nitrite are up around 1 ppm.  However, if the levels are rising, you should back of feed a bit and if the levels keep rising, stop feeding till they come back down.

Comment by Michael Welber on February 22, 2012 at 4:45pm

The system is cycled and has been working well. I did a fishless cycle and only added the fry when the ammonia and nitrites were down and the nitrates were up. That's why I was a bit concerned when the nitrites popped up again

I will try the salt technique based upon the amounts you suggest. It's so counter-intuitive which why I was being cautious. 

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 124
• 125
• 126
• 127
• 128
• …
• 145
• Next ›
• Page