Comment

Comment by Yaacov Levi on May 28, 2017 at 8:54am

iya

Anyone here know of a source for IBCs in MI?  I have found several sources for unuseable ones, chemicals etc but havent found any food grade ones. I'd like a couple of the 330 gal ones and 3-4 of the 275, or all 275s. I want two for fish tanks  and 3 to cut in half for grow beds. These will go into a hoop house. I am in Harrisville, on Huron, south of Alpena.

Comment by Jeff S on March 1, 2015 at 6:41pm

Just dropping a line to see what everyone is up to in this frigid winter. I had to get creative with my wood stove when we hit 10 below because the air was so heavy I couldn't get a draft going. Had a smoke filled GH for a couple of hours. I don't run my stack straight out but in stead run it at a slight angle between the rafters to the other end to get as much heat from it as possible. I replaced the stack cover with 1 of those 6" rotating attic vents and fire starts great and burns better than ever. 

Comment by Jeff S on February 6, 2015 at 9:36pm

We just had 16" of snow in 1 day and my double layer 6 mil poly roofing held up with no problems. My GH is 2x4 framed at 24" roof centers. I put one layer of plastic on the roof followed by furring strips and then a second layer secured by more furring strips. didn't even notice a sag. The walls are doubled too with a 3 1/2'" gap. Only negative is it has to be replaced every year but it's a cheap way to get started.

Comment by Yaacov Levi on February 6, 2015 at 5:02am

Test message.

I thought that I had subscribed and posted here, but don't see it.

FWIW, I want to defray vegie expenses, and grow fish, Koi, or probably Blue Gills/Yellow Perch.

Jake

Comment by Jeff S on February 5, 2015 at 8:26pm

Rob, I agree with your logic. How long have you been at this. Sounds like you're pretty organized. I do this as a hobby so I'm not as concerned about productivity. With 1000+ Tilapia you'd think I was doing it commercially. Those things multiply for something to do. Had to increase my GBs to handle filtration. I just can't bring myself to flush the extra fish.

Comment by Rob on January 23, 2015 at 11:35am

Jeff, with the size tanks we are using, we are primarily into plant production. We do believe our fish are reproducing, but not at a rate that we believe is marketable. We are raising koi, not tilapia. From what we've read and have heard from others, tilapia are veracious eaters, thereby intense poopers, which can cause systems to go anaerobic if not properly cared for. Further, we have also read and been told that tilapia rarely grow above a pound or two in size, and only 30% of their body weight is harvestable meat, which comes out to less than half a pound of fillets from each fish, which is just too small an amount for our business to worry about at this time. Koi eat as much as we give them, and can live just fine on little food for a long period, allowing us to control our chemical levels within our systems quite directly through feed amounts (i.e. if our ammonia gets high, we feed them less; if our nitrates are getting low, we feed them more), and we can see changes within a day or two. Koi can also take a wide variety of water temperatures (we've had our tanks as low as 50 degrees and all it has done was make the fish a bit more lethargic). Plus, they can be sold for primo dinero to pond people. And they're really pretty to look at, which is certainly important when we have customers come to take a look at our greenhouse.

All in all, we're big fans of the koi :-)

Comment by Kathy Lichte on January 21, 2015 at 8:03pm

Thanks, Jeff!

Comment by Jeff S on January 21, 2015 at 7:54pm

Welcome Kathy. As long as things don't turn anaerobic there isn't any foul odor. These systems are pretty much self sustained once they get cycled. I haven't noticed any humidity issues. As long as the fish tank(s)are covered you should be fine. Wish I had started my first system in the basement. I have 2 45 gallon aquariums and a 100 gallon IBC top (inverted) in my basement now with no humidity problems. Click on my icon and check out the pics of my first basement tanks. I'll be happy to help you through your startup as will many more people on this site.

Comment by Kathy Lichte on January 21, 2015 at 5:54pm

Jeff, I am planning to start my garden in our basement since we don't have any heated out buildings. I am wondering about humidity...is this an issue? We have sensitive equipment in another section of our basement and worry that humidity could be a problem. Also, since this will be our first time setting up the system, I am curious if there is much odor involved.

Comment by Jeff S on April 22, 2014 at 9:27am

Rob, with the size tanks you have are you more into fish or plant production?

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page