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Comment by Kim Romen on October 14, 2013 at 3:02pm

James, oops i'm thinking of expanding already and u told me to go slow!  lol.  i do want to get the system going first and maybe after a crop of veggies i'll then look into expanding. 

Comment by Kim Romen on October 14, 2013 at 3:00pm

thx! we go through veggies really fast. my 8 yo can at a whole lettuce head in one sitting easily.  i'm gonna want to expand soon!  

Comment by James Stratton on October 14, 2013 at 10:30am

Best of luck to you. If you take it slow, and avoid making the mistakes I did, you'll have a great system and a wonderful time. your kids will surely love planting, feeding the fish, and especially harvesting. My Grandson especially liked growing zucchini and cucumber but I threw in lettuce, cilantro, and basil when I could because it grows fast. Your system should, at the very least, provide you with a salad once or twice a week.

Comment by Kim Romen on October 14, 2013 at 9:43am

James, the guy we're buying it from said he used a heat lamp and a blanket on the coldest of nights.  it can get down to freezing less than 10 nights out of a year in AZ.  i'll have to look into heating, though, cuz chances r i will want to breed in the winter if it makes sense financially as far as for us (a family of 5) wanting to eat the fish yr round.  the seller is sending us home with the shade cloth set up and he also painted the main tank for protection from the sun.  the spot we're putting it in i think it will only get sun for a couple hrs/day tops.  it's on the side of our house, only 7 ft of space between our house and the 6 ft block fence fence and i imagine it is the same on the neighbor's side (who smoke dangit and have their little bathroom window right there-i don't think the smoke will effect anything).  i might concsider possibly making a little greenhouse in the area, but am not sure if i'll need to in that area or if i'd have to get an ok from the city cuz it'd be visible from the street. 

thx for your comments!

Comment by Alex Veidel on October 14, 2013 at 6:16am

Lookin' good ;)

Comment by James Stratton on October 14, 2013 at 6:13am

This looks like a good system to start with. If I could dispense just one piece of advice, it would be to make sure you have some means of heating your tank in cold weather and protecting your grow beds from heat during the day. I've found that tilapia especially love warm water but the heat of the water coupled with a sunny day can have a detrimental effect on your plants. It may be different in Arizona, but here in Southeast Alabama our current season is cool nights (cool enough to make the heaters kick on) and sunny days in the mid eighties. Usually not a big deal but I've already got the fall crops going. Again, it looks like it will be a great system, especially for educating little ones on nature and self-sufficiency.