Comment

Comment by Maynhia Stott on January 19, 2012 at 10:16pm

Hi Holly, welcome 

Don't worry abt being a newbie. I'm a newbie myself. everyone here is very helpful, even if a question has been asked 1000 times, I'm sure the veterans here don't mind sharing again.

A raft system is mostly used to plant leafy greens like lettuce and spinach and herbs and the ebb and flow is better for tomatoes and other veggies with deeper roots. Hope this will help you decide what system will work better for you. 

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on January 19, 2012 at 8:48pm

Yes, legal interpretations do depend on who you talk to, which is why I end up digging into the statutes.I also found where tilapia is not on the list of fish that AZ considers to be "wildlife," in case that ever comes up. :)

Comment by Sheri Schmeckpeper on January 19, 2012 at 8:36pm

Hi, Holly!

The PH isn't a concern yet. The plants will want low ph and breeders do, but the run of the mill fry in a tank can handle the high PH.

We have flood & drain with simple filters the water runs through prior to going into the grow beds. The grow media is home to the bacteria. We also are introducing worms, which is our newest experiment.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on January 19, 2012 at 5:42pm

Today,I met with Chito over at the CEAC.. he was not aware of the tour. I then mentioned maybe you talked with Eric.

Anyway, both of them have great raft systems for research in a commercial application

Comment by Local Roots Aquaponics on January 19, 2012 at 5:19pm

The first Tucson AP Systems Tour (or TAPST) will be in February -- sorry Dave, I know I had mentioned that January date to you before.  I am still finalizing hosts and trying to find a day that works for everyone.  I will post the info here as soon as everything is set.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on January 19, 2012 at 5:13pm

Holly..

I believe in safe not sorry.

1. you have a nice start. Keep them safe with water quality tests. I find the best deals on testing supplies are on Amazon 

2. I am a food and drain. I believe the raft system is better suited for a commercial application. 

3. I use the grow media to help cultivate the bacteria needed to develop Nitrates in your supply water. I use the plant roots to act as my filter media . depending on your system, it may take 2 months to develop balance.

I believe Tucson is having a tour of different aquaponic systems on January 23 and phoenix is having their tour in March.

Comment by Local Roots Aquaponics on January 19, 2012 at 5:11pm

about F/D vs. CF, check out this amazing thread detailing a year-long experiment of different systems:  http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=51&t=8621

In the end it looks like CF works just as well as F/D, overall.  I am convinced but let us know what you think.  Also interesting is that the temperature profiles are very similar between systems, CF doesn't appear to hold heat (or cool off) any better than F/D.  They are both giant radiators.

Comment by Dave & Yvonne Story on January 19, 2012 at 5:01pm

Right or Wrong.. the important point is to share our experiences

thank you for noticing and sharing the new phrase "for profit."

Comment by Holly Curtis on January 19, 2012 at 5:00pm

Hi Everyone,

What a great group!  You have some interesting posts here!

I am new...very new.  I am even new to having fish.  Let me know if I violate any of the etiquette rules for the forum, since I am still very new and am not sure what they all are yet.  I have some questions that I hope you can help with.  If you want me to post them in the begginner thread, I can do that instead.  Let me know:

1) Right now I have baby tilapia in a 10 gallon aquarium that is on my patio with a heater and filter and aerator.  (I am planning my system.)  Do I need to worry about pH and nitrates and solids at this point?  It is a brand new tank that has only had fish in it for a few days.

2) How many of you are using the flood and drain vs constant flow method in the grow beds and what are the pro's on con's.  The info I am reading varies on this one.

3) I was expecting the plant media in the grow beds to filter the water, but it sounds like your experience is that it is best to run the water through a filter of some kind.  Is that right?  do you just have an extra bucket that the water runs through with your filter media (like dish scrubbies) in it?

Thanks in advance for any insight!

Comment by Local Roots Aquaponics on January 19, 2012 at 4:51pm

I just wanted to point out the 'for profit' text that is now on the AZDA Aquaculture Facility License application: http://www.azda.gov/Esd/AquaFacilityAppForm.pdf  I didn't notice the 'for profit' text there in previous applications.  Perhaps this means that hobbyists are okay without this license after all, I don't know.  Figuring these things out is frustrating because it always seems to depend on who you talk to..

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