the mad german

Welcome Mr. Mad ;-)
Thanks for joining the Aquaponic Gardening community!  I hope you find it a fun place to explore aquaponics.  There is a real blend of experienced and new aquapons in this community, so please don’t hesitate to get in there and start asking questions.  Everyone is quite happy to help out new members – no question is too basic.  

A great place to start is to read the “How to Use This Site” link on the upper right corner, “Start Here” section of the Home page.  You might also find the “Aquaponic Gardening Rules of Thumb” guidelines helpful.

Please participate and check in with us every day!  We are constantly posting news about aquaponics and the good food movement.

Thanks again for joining us, and I look forward to getting to know you.

Sylvia

Hello Mr Mad German,

I'm originally a Hoosier, from Etna Green & Kokomo In, living in communist China. 

 

I have a small problem that I know you can help with. My situation is that I have moved to a new location and don't have any pictures of a nice system. I was wondering if it is possible for you to let me use your pics as an example of small educational system. I promise not to use your pics for personal gain or "steal" your technology in any form or fashion. This will strictly be used to promoted urban AP education.

 

I just met a top official in charge of urban land use in Beijing and will set up another meeting as soon a I am able to produce another proposal/ presentation.

 

Thank you in advance for you help and cooperation.

Cheers

Sorry no grad, just attended at Lansing for a stint. 

OK, although there is nothing technical showing and wanted to use then for the clean lines, (a sign of true craftsmanship), I understand and wont use your pics. 

 

I freely condemn capitalism and anything to do with big business (thus constantly broke) but am enough of a hypocrite not to turn down every chance of making money. I admit I am not a good businessman and can use all the help I can get. I am currently working with a patent attorney for my own systems but would be even better if we could set this up internationally. Please let me know how I can help, your overall plan and how we both come out smelling like fresh roses.

Hey Mad German.  Thanks for the friend request! 

Thank you for the kind comment .. still a work in progress ..

Yea, the catfish cakes are much like crab cakes.  My other Half, John is the cook though so I don't really know the details.  We have also smoked catfish and then used it like tuna in sandwiches or made dip with it like one might make smoked salmon dip.  Catfish cut into little nuggest and fried can substitute for chicken or pork in many asian dishes like sweet and sour in my opinion too.

Thanks for the comment. This is my first year working with Aquaponics so I am experimenting with rafts and media beds. Soon, I will tackle the winter issues and hope to expand my hoophouse with some vertical towers to get a larger yield. I used to live in California where the winters were much milder and I played with organic dirt farming, NFT and hydroponics. AP sounded like the "natural" medium I have been searching for and I am working on using it to feed my family and friends sustainably with the resources we have. I'll keep everyone posted with the trials of winter AP production here in the great lakes .

Great setup! I would also like to get my system running on solar and possibly wind power. Your goldfish are huge! Pretty cool!

Thanks. I ran a small solar panel system in California with 4, 40watt panels, an inverter and a marine battery...but we had sunshine! Here in Michigan there are so many storms and  trees that my crops are not getting the amount of daily sun I would like. That said I will probably be asking for assistance getting a solar setup designed to run my pumps ( One 1800gph and one 520gph pump) in the spring. I love the idea of your small system being simple and portable though! It seems to be a great small system for people to help supplement their food needs and learn how to grow their own food anywhere. The temperature is getting a bit cooler daily up here so I will begin experimenting with compost and bio mass heat inside my hoophouse soon...I'll keep you posted

Do you have any problems with algae growing in your clear tank? My water clarity is a bit cloudy. I have wrapped my FT with insulation to insulate the tank and block out what little sunlight reaches the tank but the clarity is nowhere near as clear as some peoples photos? I would love to be able to see my Tilapia a bit better...especially when showing off my system to new people as they are very curious how fish can grow plants

nice compact system you have!

may I suggest you drill some extra holes in the tubes for better aeration?

to make it even more solar you could also add a solar chimney

that is a chimney that is blackened on the sunny side and insulated on the backside

it wil suck lots of extra air through the roots

Frank