Anyone doing Aquaponics in New Mexico?

[Kelly Hufft]

Hi folks,

Anyone doing AP in NM?  I'd like to start, but it seems difficult to get fish, as you need permits to import exotics and permits to keep game fish.  And the requirements seem difficult to explain.  (A vet for fish, really? Water source temperature? Latitude and longitude????)

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thank you,

Kelly

[Cash Olsen]

Kelly,

I am doing a small system in Las Cruces. My inquiries to the Fish and Game people suggested that I would not need to do anything special in my location. What research have you done that suggests otherwise? Currently my system only has goldfish and has operated through winter spring and now summer with huge temperature variations.

Don't know what your goals are with your system but my suggestion is to do something and get started even a small system can teach you so much. See what I've done at www.youtube.com/digitalfooddesert

Cash

[Alicia Farrell Hicks]

We have a system in Edgewood area.  At this point due to the unheated nature of the greenhouse, we are using goldfish. There is a place though near Silver City - American Fish ... something (Sorry - Senior Moment) that sells Talapia.  Our biggest problem so far has been the PH issues which we think we've resolved. I'm trying to figure out how to heat the water with a solar water heater deal because we finally had to shut it down last winter because it was just too cold. We think we might just do cruciferous vegetable and see if that will work this winter. 

[Cash Olsen]

Alicia Farrell Hicks said:

I'm trying to figure out how to heat the water with a solar water heater deal because we finally had to shut it down last winter because it was just too cold. We think we might just do cruciferous vegetable and see if that will work this winter.

I managed to keep my system going through the winter in Southern New Mexico (Las Cruces) with goldfish and tomatoes. A couple of observations that I have made: heat / cool the water not the air; put a blanket or second layer of "skin" on the greenhouse to prevent overnight radiation cooling; and change the structure of the greenhouse and only expose the south side to the sun and make the northern exposure of very good insulating material. Use the "Chinese" style rather than the four sided box with roof or hoop / tunnel style. I have shown that you will get 50% more growing area for the same amount of solar transparent material.

My current greenhouse is of the hoop / tunnel style but will be converted, before winter, as suggested above.

Solar hot water may be of limited value, you'll get solar heating in a greenhouse anyway, but the radiational cooling to the night sky will undue the daytime gains. Consider heat from vermicomposting and / or heat pump directly coupled to the water.