Intro

[Brent Dougherty]

Hello all, a little introduction.. My wife and I are brand new to aquaponics, yet like most things, I do everything full steam ahead, and make sure I am armed with all the knowledge I can soak up before I start!  WE live in Arizona, why am I here? It's Northern Arizona and it's cold enough for this group.  We are in the process of insulating a pole barn which will become our "fish house" and we are starting construction on a 30' X 48' twin wall Poly Carbonate greenhouse.  We harvested our first clutch of baby tilapia today and everything seems to be coming together nicely!  Just wanted to say hello, and we will share our experience here with photos etc.. as we continue our process..

[Brent Dougherty]

Some photos from the last few days..

[Jeremiah Robinson]

What a great looking setup.  Love to see more pictures as things progress.

Curious why tilapia?

[Brent Dougherty]

Well, there are a few reasons.  One is the hardiness, they can actually handle a very wide range of temperature and the other bio related levels.  Two is availability, three is they have the fastest growth rate of all the fish.  Tilapia actually gain 1.5 times the food weight they eat.  I have witnessed that with my Breeder colony.  In a month, they have almost doubled in size.  The last main reason is that our well water here has a natural pH of 7.8 - 8.0, although too high for food production, that is the perfect pH for Breeding.  Yes it would be easier to raise the pH in a tank rather than lower the pH in an aquaponic system, but with all the other factors weighed in, Tilapia seemed perfect.  Plus I am not concerned about keeping them warm enough for nitrification.  I think we will be able to keep their water around 70 without much effort.  That is why we are building a fish house instead of having the fish in the greenhouse.  The pole barn is being insulated from ground to roof and a radiant barrier foil will be installed over the insulation.  The fish house will be a giant thermos.  WE have a huge wood burning stove in the fish house and we will use stainless steel tubing around the exhaust stack.  When needed we will have a submersible heater.  WE are also going solar with our entire house, fish house, greenhouse, chicken coop etc.. basically the entire ranch will be solar with battery and generator back up.  Too many people out here having power failures and losing their fish.  That is actually good for us since we are selling fish! But I truly feel horrible when someone loses time and energy into something like a garden, or aquaponic setup.  By the way, I forget, been a long time since I have been on a group like this.  How do I get my pics to appear rather than links?

Jeremiah Robinson said:

What a great looking setup.  Love to see more pictures as things progress.

Curious why tilapia?

[Jeremiah Robinson]

Hi Brent,

I think you mean they only need to eat 1.5 times their weight.  Is that right?  

I've actually found that rainbow trout will grow faster and convert better than this, at water temperatures at or below 70. Trout farms often see conversion rates of 1.3.  In my area they're available cheaper as well.  The only trouble is that they are harder to breed, and I'm not sure if they're available in your area.

Most fish are quite happy with a pH of around 7.8.  You'll find that the pH comes down over time through nitrification.  It takes months, though.  My water is similar to yours, and over time I've had to buffer the pH up to keep it at 7.0.

Nitrification happens very effectively at all temperatures.  This is a myth.  It'll go on working just fine below 50.

I'm jealous of your setup!  If you click the link second-from the left, does it show the photos?  

Do you plan to sell fry or full grown fish?

[Brent Dougherty]

Brent Dougherty said:

Jeremiah Robinson said:

Hi Brent,

I think you mean they only need to eat 1.5 times their weight.  Is that right?  

I've actually found that rainbow trout will grow faster and convert better than this, at water temperatures at or below 70. Trout farms often see conversion rates of 1.3.  In my area they're available cheaper as well.  The only trouble is that they are harder to breed, and I'm not sure if they're available in your area.

Most fish are quite happy with a pH of around 7.8.  You'll find that the pH comes down over time through nitrification.  It takes months, though.  My water is similar to yours, and over time I've had to buffer the pH up to keep it at 7.0.

Nitrification happens very effectively at all temperatures.  This is a myth.  It'll go on working just fine below 50.

I'm jealous of your setup!  If you click the link second-from the left, does it show the photos?  

Do you plan to sell fry or full grown fish?

[Ian Cameron]

Welcome Brent!  Nice looking setup. I am a huge advocate of solar power, but find the costs up here are a little beyond  my pocket book. I am currently soldering 6" panels together to create a 200w+ system for my water and air pumps. Wished I could find reliable 12v air pumps for aquaria. Anyhow keep those pics coming.

[Brent Dougherty]

Jeremiah,

no what I meant was if a tilapia eats 1 gram of food, it gains 1.5 grams of weight.. Thought about trout, but a guy we met at the auto store used to be a game and fish agent, he said something about trout in captivity getting some circular something or other syndrome???? We will be adding catfish and maybe bluegill a little further down the road.  We want to get used to caring for and raising successfully one breed at a time.  As far as pH, our system will take a while, maybe a year or  more to really adjust and be self balancing.  WE will have 3,500 - 4,000 gallons of water to move.  I am beginning to search for a pump now.  Actually two pumps, no actually 3 pumps hahahaha.  One going from the fish to the greenhouse, one returning from DWC/sump (using DWC as sump) and one to circulate water around the heat source and back to fish tanks.  I really wish there was an airlift pump capable of handling that volume, would help with the solar usage.

Jeremiah Robinson said:

Hi Brent,

I think you mean they only need to eat 1.5 times their weight.  Is that right?  

I've actually found that rainbow trout will grow faster and convert better than this, at water temperatures at or below 70. Trout farms often see conversion rates of 1.3.  In my area they're available cheaper as well.  The only trouble is that they are harder to breed, and I'm not sure if they're available in your area.

Most fish are quite happy with a pH of around 7.8.  You'll find that the pH comes down over time through nitrification.  It takes months, though.  My water is similar to yours, and over time I've had to buffer the pH up to keep it at 7.0.

Nitrification happens very effectively at all temperatures.  This is a myth.  It'll go on working just fine below 50.

I'm jealous of your setup!  If you click the link second-from the left, does it show the photos?  

Do you plan to sell fry or full grown fish?

[Brent Dougherty]

New greenhouse pics... been trying to reply to some posts, but having a hard time getting to work.. oh well, as time goes on, I will get the hang of this site.. in the mean time, here is what we accomplished today!

[Brent Dougherty]

[Chris Blanco]

So jealous! I wish I had that much room! :) Beautiful setup so far.

[Brent Dougherty]

Thank You Chris, we have been working very hard.  It is just me, my wife and a good friend of my wife.

[Jeremiah Robinson]

I love the high ceilings. Do you have any plans to use the height for something?