Aquaponics in Zone 7 for Newbie

[Lauren Shores]

 

Hey All, 

I'm new to Aquaponics, so new, I haven't started yet...I have a site picked out for a very small operation

a 10 x 12 or 10 x 14 greenhouse in my very restricted neighborhood backyard.

As you can imagine it has to look very nice, nothing out of place.

But I need help with how much can I fit in here, what kind of fish for cold winters, hot summers,(greenhouse southern exposure), and can I fit it with a solar panel for winter heat?            Have any done this for heat and how? 

Thanx for any suggestions you may have.

[Chi Ma]

You can try native/semi native fish like Largemouth, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, or Bullhead Catfish. I recommend Bullheads because they are found everywhere, live in all kinds of water conditions and grow pretty fast. 

 

You will want the largest fish tank you can afford and fit in you greenhouse. Water quality and temperatures stay more stable with larger tanks.

[Lauren Shores]

Thanx Chi Ma on the fish part, catfish Huh? I wonder how big of a tank we can fit in this house?

[Richard Wyman]

I have a twin IBC system in my 10 x 12, 150 gallon for the tank.  IBC's are great in small greenhouses. Also you could think about tilapia, and just harvest them a little small when the temps start to cool. No reason they have to be "market size" for the family.  You probably have enough catfish around in Arkansas.

Lauren Shores said:

Thanx Chi Ma on the fish part, catfish Huh? I wonder how big of a tank we can fit in this house?

[Lauren Shores]

Hey Thanx Richard on the info...Im fairly new to Arkansas but tilapia sound better for a smaller tank than catfish. I appreciate the insight on tank size too.

 

 

 

 

[Chi Ma]

Check the temp requirements for any fish you choose then choose accordingly:)

[TCLynx]

I'm personally not that big a fan of tilapia anymore but an ibc could probably support some catfish if you wanted them.  A good fish for temperate climate aquaponics is probably bluegill though if you need to stick with smaller fish tank sizes.  I haven't yet tried bluegill in my aquaponics but I probably should someday.  Bluegill may take a bit longer to grow out but should survive year round if you can simply keep the water from freezing in the system.  It is ok to let things slow down and stop feeding the fish in the winter if you don't want to spend too much heating the greenhouse.  (but this won't work with tilapia since they will die when the water gets cold, I'm in Florida and even in a greenhouse I couldn't keep the tilapia alive, let alone eating or growing, without supplemental heat over the cold spells.)

 

 

Anyway, I would say a 300 gallon tank is a good size tank for temperature stability.  I grow channel catfish just fine in a 300 gallon rubbermaid stock tank.  If you can get a taller tank, it will take less footprint.

 

Of course if you want a really pretty system, I think Sylvia might have some options for you here soon.