Aquaponic Gardening

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I have, what looks to be a promising idea. A rocket mass heater is a great option for us in the cooler weather because it can provide a great amount of heat and ITS CHEEP. Take a look at this link http://youtu.be/qtFvdMk3eLM i hope to put one in soon.

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You'll also need some lighting because what are we famous for in the pacific northwest? Do you know any cheap lighting sources?

Hi Eric,

i haven't yet jumped in to lighting yet, but I have been talking with my local hydroponic shop so I will probably get the lights from them. Are you in Portland area? Here in southern Oregon we get a tad more light. 

Ok, I'm in Western Washington. Yeah, lights are difficult to understand.

Hi, I realize that the northwest gets socked in for much of the cold season and there is not much sun but has anyone tried heating the water in the fish tanks with solar thermal or solar electric? Water holds heat very well and I think that a solar system used to heat water could greatly reduce costs in the long run. This of course would need a backup system when you have multiple days of clouds. It would be great if we could use other sources of heat besides burning. There is a link on Friendly Aquaponics website of a guy from Germany who has a new solar electric green house design.  I believe really efficient ways to heat a greenhouse is key to commercial aquaponics competing and aquaponics has a huge added benefit to a regular greenhouse. It has a large heat sink, water tank. This should be utilized to reduce the cost of heating. Any thoughts on super clean ways to heat a greenhouse? Cheers, John

In Germany Solar Cells are cheep. Also, to me it would make sense that the fish tank and greenhouse are big solar water heaters. For us I think wind and supplemental lighting will do.

John Fox 

Well, my pellet fired stove/waterheater has been running continuously for the last two months.  So far, it has cost me about $4 dollars a day in pellets plus the electricity to run the stove, to heat my greenhouse and FT.  Temps in the greenhouse vary from mid 50s on cold nights to mid 70s during the day. FT stays at 70-80 degrees.

Why the confusion on lights?

Dustin,

This is my first post. What I know about AP I've learned in the last two weeks, but I've been a residential contractor for quite a while. I'm thinking of using this rocket mass heater design with an automated pellet feeder using pellets made from the green waste (does everyone still call it waste?) of the AP system. Additionally, it could have a heat exchanger, like Rick's, for either heat distribution, or steam generation (electricity), or both. With an added condenser ( a pre-heater for the heat exchanger) the water that originally came from the system, can be recouped.

Hi everyone,

I found a pellet stove that requires no electricity, and I have been speaking to the manufacturer about adding a water heating component.  This will reduce the cost to operate, and reduce the back-up power needed in the case of a power outage.  The stove is relatively reasonable, retailing for about $1,350.00.  This will reduce operating costs of a small greenhouse to a few dollars a day.  Even less could be achieved if one purchased their own pellet mill. 

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