This evening as I was finishing up my work on the aquaponics and feeding tthe fish for the evening I was over come by the feeling of being BLESSED.  So since the new year is about to start I think it is a good time to think back and see how much we have been blessed by different things that have happened in our life this year.  I have been especially blessed in the Aquapoincs realm.  I have been totally blessed in finding this site not too long after Sylvia started it.  I…

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Someone has dreamed about starting up an aquaponic business but was afraid of upsetting a competitor. “I don’t want to step on anyones toes,” he says

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I finished the last few steps in about 2 hours this morning... and then had problems.



The pipe up from the sump tank leaked a little, as did the drain pipe.  And the pump wasn't pushing enough volume to overcome the drain holes in the stand pipe, so the growbed wasn't filling.  I looked at the pump and decided it just wasn't big enough for the job.  It's supposed to push enough water to cycle the entire… Continue

So far this weekend, I've gotten the rain-barrel connector pipe glued in, the standpipe glued in, the growbed full of 400 pounds of clay pellets, the overflow pipe drilled and installed, the fish tank drained about 3/4 of the way and jacked up so I could put 2x4s under the back corners to level it, refilled it, tested the overflow, and done most of the pipe work for the sump pump back to the fishtank (it might work the way it is, but it's not as neat a job as I'd like - I'll fix that today).  I… Continue

I've been out of town for the past week but I'm home now and can share some updates about my trip, I'll need to write up some stories to post in My site blog here over the next few days but just to wet your appetites...

 

I visited with Philip Wolf up near Chicago and his home system as well as the new System he has running at We Grow Dreams in West Chicago.

 

Then we went up to Milwaukee where we attended the tour at Growing Power and later that evening we went…

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I just couldn't seem to find time to finish the construction, nor did I have the right tools for the job, and I can't keep asking friends to bring their tools and work on it with me.  So I hired a handyman to come do the construction.  I've still got more work to do, but at least it's down to just plumbing work, and I can handle that.  Heck, I'm getting pretty comfortable with it after all this.

 

So I had the Handyman come and build the center support, and replace the plywood…

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Does anyone know of any insurance companies that will cover a commercial aquaponics system?  I live in WV and am having a hard time finding a company that will cover it.  Thanks for your help.  Matt

My systems have normally run fairly high nitrate levels but in the winter when the fish don't eat as much, my nitrate readings do normally drop down into the orange.

 

Even after removing the bananas, a week of the fish not eating much quickly brings my nitrate levels down into an easily readable range and I suddenly don't feel like my system is too heavily loaded anymore.

 

I expect that if I didn't have the washed shells in my system (and therefore the high pH)…

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Basically my interests in aquaponics comes from a single phrase and my own self interests. The quote comes from a book I read a long time age. but this is it. THAT WHICH IS NOT ECOLOGICALLY FEASIBLE WILL NOT BE ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. That makes a man think.

I live and work on a small ranch with a pond. I like to fish on that pond using minnows and was basically trying to figure out a way to keep numerous minnows alive and happy. That pretty much led me here, because I'm also an avid…

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It isn't Just Aquaponics to me.

I'm also into many other things surrounding all sorts of home food production. I've spent much of the past several days canning and preserving. The need was twofold we need to make space in the deep freeze since citrus season is coming on and we need the space to freeze juice but also my stock of canned soup and chile was getting low. See when the cook is not around, I tend to warm up a jar of soup and make my meal that… Continue

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