Can you grow trout in a 150 gallon tank?

[Tom OBrien]

I'm relatively new to aquaponics and would appreciate any suggestions or feedback on the feasibility of growing trout indoors in a relatively small 150 gallon stock tank. I was thinking I could stock 15 or 20  6-8" rainbow trout from a local hatchery.

I am currently running a setup with the goldfish from our small backyard pond, but I'd like to grow some fish we can eat. The temperature in the basement should keep the water cool enough for trout. I figured I could keep the water moving with a pump and provide plenty of aeration, and cycle it fishless. Is there any reason this wouldn't work?

Tom

[Eric Warwick]

Yes, you could make it work. I think you'd have to provide a lot of supplemental aeration, because they require better water quality than most. Cycling fishlessly is a great idea. If you're doing it in a basement you'll also need to do some lighting. Since it's cool weather crops I suggest T 5 florecents.  I had a threads on here when I was thinking about this kind-of thing. 

Here's one for making your own food: http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/making-your-own-pellets

Here's where I ask a lot of questions without much organization (it contains some information, I recommend skimming).http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/aquaponic-math?id=47788...

That's about it. Try typing in trout for the general discussion threads. I hope I was at least somewhat helpful.

[Tom OBrien]

Thanks a lot Eric. How is your experiment with raising trout going?

[LogicalHydro]

Tom,

Eric seems to be spot on, aeration, a decent water temp, and some water flow should do the trick.

Make sure the tank is well cycled first. My biggest piece of advice. Cold water tanks seem to be more finicky than warm. 

I had some in an IBC tote and they did fine. Just make sure their waste doesn't overload the biological filter.

Mark

[Tom OBrien]

Thanks Mark. I sure appreciate the feedback from you and Eric. This little project has been a lot of fun and I'm grateful for all the help. Hopefully I can keep the trout alive and grow some greens too.

LogicalHydro said:

Tom,

Eric seems to be spot on, aeration, a decent water temp, and some water flow should do the trick.

Make sure the tank is well cycled first. My biggest piece of advice. Cold water tanks seem to be more finicky than warm. 

I had some in an IBC tote and they did fine. Just make sure their waste doesn't overload the biological filter.

Mark

[Eric Warwick]

I actually went with Tilapia. I got access to a school greenhouse.

[LogicalHydro]

Of course, Tom. You can always start plants before fish also to see which ones do better with the colder water. Most greens should do pretty well though. Trout are odd fish IMO, i'm interested in how they work out for you. Keep us updated.

Also there are plenty youtube videos that touch up on their habits, feeding, and care for instructions. Best of luck

[Tom OBrien]

Oh, that's great Eric! I'm afraid I'm stuck in the basement for now, so I have to stick to cold water tolerant fish like trout or perch or goldfish.

Eric Warwick said:

I actually went with Tilapia. I got access to a school greenhouse.

[matthew ferrell]

Thomas-

I am growing trout in an IBC.  Some things to remember about trout and oxygen.  While the ppm minimum exists, growth is retarded when the oxygen levels are below 60% saturation at any temp in their range. 

As for temp, rainbows thrive at 65.  You will get your best growth rate there.

How big did you want your fish to grow before harvest?  20 lbs for 150 gallons is not unreasonable.  However it will not take long for 6-8 inch fish to become 1 pound.  As in about a month or so, especially if they lean towards 8 inches.  I know I have promised this to a lot of people, but I will release a feed sheet here shortly that will forecast feed requirements based on size, temp, growth potential.  It will take the guess work out of feeding, and can help figure out what nutrients are going in daily. 

As for plants I have had good luck with lettuces, kale, chard, and kohlrabi.  Since you are doing recirculating, you more than likely can do brussel sprouts, broccoli, and other "fruiting" vegies.  I am only beginning to  work on the what can you do in the ibc tank.

[matthew ferrell]

There is nothing wrong with making your own feeds, but trout require high amounts of protein and fats, (42% protein, 16% fat) to grow really efficiently.  This last round of data collecting showed that we were in the .88 fcr range.  Which is AWESOME.  This is also thanks to the feed sheet.  However this is not a typical result for everyone, you showed hope for a 1.1-1.2 fcr.  I am not sure what you will get in a home made diet, but I am sure it will generate way more waste than this.

Eric Warwick said:

Yes, you could make it work. I think you'd have to provide a lot of supplemental aeration, because they require better water quality than most. Cycling fishlessly is a great idea. If you're doing it in a basement you'll also need to do some lighting. Since it's cool weather crops I suggest T 5 florecents.  I had a threads on here when I was thinking about this kind-of thing. 

Here's one for making your own food: http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/making-your-own-pellets

Here's where I ask a lot of questions without much organization (it contains some information, I recommend skimming).http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/aquaponic-math?id=47788...

That's about it. Try typing in trout for the general discussion threads. I hope I was at least somewhat helpful.

[RupertofOZ]

You could probably get away with that number of trout in that sized tank.... with lots of aeration....

 

But as Matthew says.. they grow fast... and you'll be throwing a lot of feed in every day...

 

You'll need to make sure you've got enough filtration to deal with the feed... (based on maximum size/feed rates)

 

And enough oxygenation... to not only supply the needs of the fish... but for feed conversion to protein (growth)... and the nitrification....

 

Watch your temperature... and your pH.... (which could drop rapidly with feed rate/nirtification)

[RupertofOZ]

Oh... and be aware that coming into spring/summer... a small 150gal tank will warm rapidly....

 

Personally, I wouldn't suggest a tank under 300gal...

[Tom OBrien]

Thanks for the input guys. I'd love to be doing this with a 300 gallon instead of 150, but the 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank just wouldn't fit down the stairs. I will have to watch the temperature and try to keep it around 55-65, but the basement stays pretty cool so I expect we will not see extremely rapid changes.

 

I don't really have a hard and fast plan for what size to harvest the fish. I'll be very happy if I manage to keep them alive for a couple months and the fish quickly hit the 1+ pound mark. I think we will begin taking a few out at a time as they get bigger to try to maintain the water quality and balance the filtering requirements.

 

As for feeding, I plan to go with a commercial feed for now. I've thought about trying to supplement with BSF or worms, but I haven't got real plans for that yet.