Ted Fox's Page

Profile Information

How did you find us?: referral from another website

If you found us through a referral or a newsletter, which was it?: http://directory.ponics.org/cat-news/aquaponics-news/index.html

Are you an aquaponic gardener already?: Yes

If so, what type of system? (pick all that apply): raft

How old is your system?: 6 mos - 1 yr

What type of fish do you grow with? (select all that apply): Goldfish, Other

How big is your fish tank?: 2- 30 gal tanks

Please tell us something else about yourself.: I have been collecting data and studying aquaponics for about 4 years now. I started my first tank with a raft system on Jan 1, 2010, so that one is close to a year old. I just recently started a second 30 gal tank a friend of mine gave me, they also gave me about 35 cichlids with it. Not sure of the particular strain of cichlid, but they strongly resemble the tilapia. I have been collecting materials for a larger system that I will probably be basing off of Travis W. Hughey's Barrelponics System. At this time I have a 150 gal Rubbermaid stock tank as my fish tank and 3 or 4 of the blue 55 gal drums to use as the flush tank and grow beds. There are a few hardware items left to get as well as a location (greenhouse, indoors, etc) so that I can use the system to feed the family year round (we live in NY, outdoor gardening year round just doesn't happen here). I think I am going to add a vertical tower for possibly strawberries as well as a smaller tank for duckweed (if I go with a fish that will eat it). I am leaning towards using the second tank as a sump tank so that I can maintain a constant volume of water in the RM stock tank. Another option in the sump tank is the redclaw crawfish.
As for fish I am going to probably start with catfish. Very durable and they also grow around here, should be an easier one to start with. I would really like to do perch eventually, though from all I have read they are not one to begin with as they can be tougher to raise. Also as previously mentioned I would like to raise the redclaw.
As a supplement I am also presently raising red worms and using them to compost table scraps. I am a teacher at a local community college and have a ton of papers that I grade. The school doesn't really seem at the forefront of recycling, so I started stacking the pile of papers in a corner of my office. These all get the staples removed and sent through the shredder to be used as the worms bedding.
The compost tea works very well as a nutrient source sprayed on the leaves of the plants. I have also sprayed it directly into the netting pots and have found no ill effects on the fish. I can also feed the younger worms to my fish as a great protein source.
Well enough rambling on here. Thank you for the membership and I look forward to more research with fellow aquaponics enthusiast.

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At 8:29pm on December 15, 2010, Raychel A Watkins said…: Welcome to the site. You will love it

At 7:57pm on December 15, 2010, Sylvia Bernstein said…: Welcome Ted,

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 join in. Always thrilled to have experienced growers join us – please post some photos of your system!

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.

Please add a photo of yourself and participate!

If you can afford it I would also appreciate a donation through the “Donate button” on the right side of the home page. This helps me with monthly site fees, but is NOT a requirement of membership. If you can contribute… great! If not…no worries.

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

Sylvia