Dustin Hardin

Welcome Dustin,

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 Main 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

Hi Dustin,

Nice to meet you.  The number of folks with interest in vertical AP is really increasing.  In answer to your question I saw posted in the forum: Yes, you can produce a lot more per square foot with vertical than horizontal.  I haven't released much of my data on my research yet, but I will soon.  I'll give you a preview and say that in northern latitudes, you can produce 3 to 4 times vertically what you can horizontally.  Especially with single face vertical production. . .

Have fun on the site, there are tons of experts here- especially TCLynx!

Greetings Dustin,

At long last I have completed my greenhouse and have assembled my first aquaponics project. Yesterday I purchased 25 goldfish to start my project, got home with fish and discovered my grow bed had cracked with the weight of hydroton ,water, bell siphon, and my apparent futzing. As it turns out I had not adequately supported the center of the 4'x4 ' plastic grow bed. Duh! A lesson learned. So this weekend I will patch the crack and build a support structure for bed, fill with media, and move forward. I now know that I should have invested the time to just build my own grow bed. The next phase of my fish'ngreens project will be total fabrication. If you are in the Medford area in  the next couple of weeks after the Holiday give me an advance call and you can see my site first hand.

Cheers,

Louis 

Greetings,

I have indeed completed phase 1 of The Medford Aquaponic Project. I have had it running for three months. I have about 25 fat and happy goldfish and a couple of Shubunkins and fan tails to boot. Brussels sprouts, Italian Kale, Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi, various lettuces, Radicchio, and even an avocado tree volunteer all inhabit my 16 square feet of heaven. I have recently begun heating my 100 gallon stock tank in addition to various other insulation ideas to keep the green house warm. Come to Medford to view first hand if you like. 

Dustin,

I would be glad to have you visit our home and hang in the greenhouse with the fish and plants. Have you secured an Oregon source for Tilapia. I have been round and round with the Oregon Fish and Wildlife dept in regards to receiving Tilapia from out of state. They require a disease free certification. So far I have not found a supplier in Oregon or elsewhere that can provide this documentation. Can anyone else on the list shed any light on this matter. Thanks, Louis