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Comment by Matt Miskinnis on March 19, 2013 at 7:44pm

Comment by Matt Miskinnis on March 19, 2013 at 7:43pm

I'm thinking I may need to transplant the tomatoes, they are already getting huge..

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on March 19, 2013 at 6:10pm

For anyone who might be interested, we're starting our classes at "the farm" on the 22nd with four free classes!

In April we'll be running three aquaponics classes: Intro to Aquaponics, Aquaponic Garden Design Workshop, and Aquaponic Siphons. For those with a system already, you probably know this stuff, but for the newbie, these could be very helpful.

You can get information about the classes here: http://www.supurbanfarm.com/store/products/category/classes/

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on March 19, 2013 at 6:06pm

Yes, Matt. Once you have a nicely cycled system, any additions catch up very quickly. The key is to have a good bacteria population before you put on the addition. If you do that, the bacteria will start to populate the new area right away. Just be sure you balance your fish waste with your plants. If you plant out your new bed before you have enough ammonia, the plants will be nutrient deficient.

Comment by Matt Miskinnis on March 19, 2013 at 4:50pm

Got a question, I want to add another grow bed to my system,  my system is cycled, I'm just waiting on my fish to get to the right size before adding them into the system.  since I probably have a month before the fish are the correct size should the additional grow bed "catch up" pretty fast with the nitrites and nitrates bacteria?

Comment by Bob Wohl on March 19, 2013 at 4:30pm

Added tilapia to the tank this past saturday. The plants that I had started in the grow bed have doubled in size since. Here I have spinach, butterhead lettuce and some "Principle Borghese" (aka short tomato plants). The spinach and lettuce will be coming out in the next few weeks since they'll get cooked by the sun but for now they are filtering the water nicely! :D

Comment by Dr. George B. Brooks, Jr. on March 19, 2013 at 3:11pm

Thank you Sheri, here are today's pics from Gila River.

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on March 19, 2013 at 11:47am

The setup is looking good, Dr. George! It looks like you're ready for some water soccer! :)

I've been asked twice this week for mature (breeding size, I'd say 6" or larger) Nile tilapia. All I have available are the fry. If anyone has a surplus of larger fish, please let me know. (Bob Rowe is one of the hunters...he gets first dibs).

Larry, did the tops of your beds stay damp? The algae won't grow in dry places, and that's why we keep 1-2" of dry media on the surface of the beds. Algae in the media beds can suffocate your plants and prevent surface aeration of the water. Algae in the water itself should be minimal if the environment is in balance, and the tilapia (and pleco, as Bob R. mentioned), will keep it controlled. Tell Penny it's sea horse poop. :)

Matt, it was great to meet you! I'm sorry about your fish. We've all learned and shared our lessons, and we have many more to experience in the future, I'm sure!:) 

Comment by John Malone on March 19, 2013 at 11:17am

Wow Larry,

That's some serious algae you've got if you can stack it up in piles.

You should be growing things you can eat, instead of growing algae.  It's too late now for the winter vegies, but I had success with lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli (before it bolted).

Get some plants in that grow-bed pronto.

Comment by Larry in Casa Grande on March 19, 2013 at 10:59am

I had to laugh this morning.

My wife saw the big piles of algea that I pulled out of the grow beds laying on the ground this morning, and she thought we had horses visit us during the night!  :-)

I guess the piles do look like.......well...Horse Patties :-)

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