Comment

Comment by Tod Densmore on March 27, 2011 at 7:50am

I am raising bluegill not tilapia.  I started my system 9/2010.  I have 200 bluegill in 300 gallon tank (and one koi).  I have feed them trout chow to date but have switched to aquamax game fish chow.  I intend to begin a bsf colony and I also have a worm bin.  I feed them worms on occasion but not regularly.  I mostly use the worm bin to add tea to the system.  Would be interested if anyone else is raising bluegill.  My purpose for choosing this species is they can survive the heat and cold in Augusta, GA.

Comment by Izzy on March 27, 2011 at 3:19am

You will always have to replace the macro and micro nutrients you remove from the system.  The only thing that is free is the energy from the sun that is converted into food for living organisms.

Comment by BullwinkleII on March 27, 2011 at 2:29am

izzy - So as aquaponics go, there is such a thing as a free lunch! Trace elements aside, this means we should be able to grow enough food for the fish from the garden?

 

I imagine we can grow a greater amount of excess for the humans involved by the addition of feed from outside the loop, but could we harvest some small amount  from a self sustaining ie self production of all fish feed - aquaponics system? 

Comment by Izzy on March 27, 2011 at 12:19am

All living things consume energy from the chemical bonds in carbon compounds.  Plants begin the cycle by converting solar energy to stored chemical energy.  Fish, bacteria, humans, all use this energy in metabolic processes to live.  So, your plants dry mass is primarily gained from the carbon dioxide as you pointed out.

Comment by Raychel A Watkins on March 27, 2011 at 12:14am

I have 2 different types of Tilapia one type is gold or orange, the second type is gold with black patches. The gold ones will eat some plants but the spotted ones eat guppies, duckweed, wong bok, ung choi, lettuce, water hyacinth, They are avid eaters. I am going to try a tank of a few fish with no commercial feed given to them and see how they do.

Comment by BullwinkleII on March 26, 2011 at 9:20pm

so according to wikipedia's article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthesis ....

 

Photosynthesis [ stuff deleted] is a process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.^[1] [stuff deleted] In plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a waste product.

 

So photosynthesis turns carbon from the air into yummy starchy plant stuff. 

That means I can sell carbon credits if I eat more carrots! I'm not getting fat, I'm saving the world through carbon sequestration!

 

But, what that also means is it's still unclear to me what percentage of our system's energy needs must come from outside in the form of fish feed, rather than stuff we can grow in the GB's or from duckweed or whatever.

 

 

 

 

 

Comment by BullwinkleII on March 26, 2011 at 9:01pm

RE:  TCLynx "(No perpetual motion machine.)"

 

I'm a bit unclear on the energy cycle we have in our systems. If anyone has a good understanding of this can they chip in.

 

All our outdoor systems draw energy, carbon (and perhaps other things - I'm thinking nitrogen from the air here with legumes), and water in from the outside, in the form of sunlight, co2 and topup water. On the other side of the equation is energy use from the fishies doing their swimming and living thing, and I presume the plants burn energy in the act of growing (???who knows)

 

but...

 

There seems to be more coming out of my garden than I'm putting in. Just in  terms of weight of feed vrs weight of produce.  I dont want any Noetherists running me out of town here, but it really does seem to be more out than in. I guess that might be a function of the energy density of high protein fish feed over low protein lettuce.

I'm currently not feeding a lot because I need to build my new system for them to grow into (my 11 silvers are in my small blue barrel test system) and I don't really want them to grow a lot until I have the new system built.

 

I guess the question here is what percentage of a spinach leaf is from the sun, the air, and the water.

 

Has anyone tried a system where ALL GB output is fed back to the fish? If not, that might be a good retirement plan for my small system.

 

I once read of someone who was selling a single freshwater shrimp in a sealed glass container, half filled with water. They claimed the system stayed in balance until the shrimp died of old age, as long as you kept it in light so algae could grow. I have no idea if its true, but it started me thinking about where the energies in our systems are coming from.

 

Then there are insects and bird droppings. There are probably a stack more energy inputs form all kinds of other things. I know my fish eat a lot of excited young mosquitoes looking to branch out on their own and move into my shiny new pond. And that's without running an insect light over the FT.

 

What were my questions again?  I think I'm having writing withdrawals and need to rave for a bit. Moving house is sooo much fun.

 

Comment by Sahib Punjabi on March 26, 2011 at 12:03pm

Great group TCLynx...much needed :-)

 

I just love the cycle...I feed them & they feed us...just love it :-)

 

God bless,

Comment by timothy a sewell on March 26, 2011 at 11:24am

Has anyone successfully fed tilapia solely on duck weed??

Comment by halemart on March 26, 2011 at 9:36am

This comment came from my Yahoo group,  I want to investigate it more ->

 

"Michelle.......If you want to grow your own fish food, Zoo plankton and algae will make a complete feed for tilapia....you will have to grow it in seperate tanks and manual feed or pump  the desired amount to the fish tank on a regular feeding schedule.  Florida Aqua farms has for sale 183 page Plankton culture manual (Scientifically written) and I recommend it as I have a copy.   You will have to supply         the zoo plankton culture the necessary nutrients (fertilizer or nutrients) for massive growth and is explained in the manual.  It also tells of all the zoo animal life that colonate the plankton cultures and the types that grow in freshwater and          salt water. 
This is the way I would go for feed independence. "

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• Next ›
• Page