A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Cheap Aquaponics Heating

16 minutes that may change the way you think about heating your aquaponics system. Redneck engineering, Nebraska style. I think I started working on this around the beginning of February.

http://youtu.be/MKrdON-5sM4

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Permalink Reply by Max Gfx on May 12, 2014 at 2:23pm

That's part of the reason I'm steering away from Tilapia at this time and only using catfish and cheap goldfish. Until I have everything up and running and know for sure all temps can be stable, disposable fish are all I'm concerned with. Tilapia and their need for a steady 78~83 degree preference is more than I want to battle with. Especially, considering that I couldn't even sell them around here due to state and local laws. Selling produce locally isn't a problem, I do it all the time. But try to sell any kind of edible meat, alive or processed, and they'll beat you like a stepchild unless it's inspected. At which point, there's no room for profit, you might as well be giving it away.

Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on September 20, 2014 at 7:23am

Try trout. Here in NE TN they have been by far the easiest to raise in our 2500g system that we heat with our own gasifier woodstove and they are a real treat in terms of taste as well.

Max Gfx said:

That's part of the reason I'm steering away from Tilapia at this time and only using catfish and cheap goldfish. Until I have everything up and running and know for sure all temps can be stable, disposable fish are all I'm concerned with. Tilapia and their need for a steady 78~83 degree preference is more than I want to battle with. Especially, considering that I couldn't even sell them around here due to state and local laws. Selling produce locally isn't a problem, I do it all the time. But try to sell any kind of edible meat, alive or processed, and they'll beat you like a stepchild unless it's inspected. At which point, there's no room for profit, you might as well be giving it away.

Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on September 20, 2014 at 7:30am

Larry, having put together many a set of plans starting in the 70's the best advice I can give is to sit down and explain how you built it to a friend and either vid it or take notes etc.. After that it is just pics or drawings and lists of parts. YOU CAN DO IT

Just think of it as helping a friend. I must say that once you do it you will be hooked. It is amazing to see your invention built all over the world and these days it is easy to get the word out. In the 70's: not so much. Vlad built one of my stoves for his GH a couple of years ago in Serbia. Good stuff. Keep improving and take lots of pics at every stage. That too is so easy nowadays.

Max Gfx said:

If I knew where to begin with creating plans, I'd do that. The whole thing just came together from watching

Permalink Reply by Max Gfx on September 20, 2014 at 7:33am

Funny that you mentioned Trout. A guy that owns a trout farm north of town just gave me 30 Rainbow Trout last weekend ranging in size from 3" to 5" along with a 5 gallon bucket of food and some kind of enzyme powder that instantly eats excess ammonia (just in case). I had to remove the catfish from my main tank and put them in my sump because the trout are just too fast at gobbling up the food. The catfish are going to become meals over the next couple weeks.

Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on September 20, 2014 at 7:37am

BTW that gear reduction motor is the same one I used to make my fish feeders and they are used on commercial washers for the drain gate so I had plenty on hand as that is what I repair these days. I am a master electrician and I make far more $ repairing commercial laundry equipment and that requires NO license so don't worry about degrees. They do get you thru the door as Jere stated but not that big a deal. Your mechanical/tech background is what it takes.

Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on September 20, 2014 at 7:40am

Welcome to the Trout world. You won't go back

Max Gfx said:

Funny that you mentioned Trout. A guy that owns a trout farm north of town just gave me 30 Rainbow Trout last weekend ranging in size from 3" to 5" along with a 5 gallon bucket of food and some kind of enzyme powder that instantly eats excess ammonia (just in case). I had to remove the catfish from my main tank and put them in my sump because the trout are just too fast at gobbling up the food. The catfish are going to become meals over the next couple weeks.

Permalink Reply by Max Gfx on September 20, 2014 at 7:48am

Do you have anything online that shows your gasifier wood stove? I have a new plan for using the stainless steel heating coil out of a natural gas fired commercial pressure washer that I got from work. It's about the size of a 55 gallon drum with a 10" diameter opening up through the middle. The guy that I got the trout from is interested in a large scale operation and is willing to put up a 100'x20' poly tunnel greenhouse out on his trout farm for me and I'm just planning a radiant floor heating system for it right now. This coil would work just fine, I just need to decide how I'm going to heat it (oil, diesel, corn, pellets, etc).

Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on September 20, 2014 at 8:31am

I have a few crappy vids on YT HERE

That sounds like a great project. Take it slow and steady and beware entangling alliances.

Permalink Reply by Max Gfx on October 3, 2014 at 11:00pm

Here's a quick followup to my oil-enhanced pellet stove heating system. Even more efficient than before, 16 ounces of wood pellets plus 16 ounces of waste oil and I can make the burn pot glow red hot in 3 hours. The majority of that heat gets stored in a 55 gallon barrel full of antifreeze & water which heats the room and fish tank at a constant for 10 hours. My heating costs are 13 cents worth of wood pellets and 40 watts of electricity for 3 hours twice a day. Any other system out there on the market care to try and match that operating expense & heat output? :-)