Aquaponic Gardening

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Hello - I am the new guy here.

 

I have a mini-Aquaculture and Aquiponics farm operation here at my small farm in Poulsbo, Washington.  I raise Koi and Channel Catfish in 3 - 1300 gallon heated grow tanks and 2 - 275 gallon heated IBCs and Rainbow Trout in 2 - 1300 gallon unheated grow tanks and 2 - 275 gallon unheated IBCs.  This is a photo of my current grow house:

I sell Koi to the indoor and out of doors pond owners in NW Washington; and, the Cats and Rainbows for food to consumers and to Aquaponics farmers for their grow tanks.  This is an image of 8 to 10 inch Rainbows going out to a happy Aquaponics farmer. 

I am currently going through 1400 Rainbows [700] to a 1300 gallon tank in about 3-months and I am putting in 4 - more 1300 gallon tanks in my shed.  With them in I will be ordering 4200 Rainbow Trout every 3-months. 

It is turning out to be a hell of a business.

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Replies to This Discussion

Boy Phil, you don't mess around. :-)

I'm testing my recently completed system (1-IBC fish tank,1-180gal sump, and 4 grow grow beds)... with 2 koi about 11" long as test subjects.

I plated seeds as a fluke to see if they'd even grow this year so late, and I have lettuce coming up, herbs, and squash plants. The stuff is actually growing faster and "richer" looking than I anticipated.

But the fish part, will be in the spring...I have little knowledge about having 35 tilapia in one IBC tank so I have a lot to learn.

Your pump is not near big enough.  I sell Koi also.  I will trade you Trout or a 1000 gallon pump, for your Koi.  If you are going to raise tank fish, you might as well be able to eat them.

Heh Heh, I actually got the koi in an aquarium...I didn't really want the fish this year.  But my daughter fell in love with the fish and is making me keep them...AND she made me buy an 160 gal in the house aquarium to house the other 2 koi (the little butterfly kind).  :-)

Once she named them... I am stuck!  :-)

Oh, if they are named, you are finished.  I have so many Koi in a grow tank, 300, that my dear wife cannot possibly name them or recognize them if she sees them again.  ''Just keep moving guys!''

A nice treat for Koi, that your daughter will love giving them, is a chunk of red watermelon, they love it.

I'll tell her tonight. Thanks Phil  :-)

 

I still can't figure out where you saw Bradly's pump size?? I have read over his description a dozen times thinking I missed something. Anyway great system and good to see you commercializing it. I would like to do the same here in the Smokys. Finally got my trout tank in place so that makes 4 full ibc fts and #5 gb went online today as well.

Phil Slaton said:

Your pump is not near big enough.  I sell Koi also.  I will trade you Trout or a 1000 gallon pump, for your Koi.  If you are going to raise tank fish, you might as well be able to eat them.

Jim

I am using a Quiet One 4000 (and I am bypassing a lot of the flow right back into the sump tank...my guess is that the 4000 would handle a whole other system probably along with my original system of : 280gal fish tank and 4 IBC grow beds). I ordered the 4000 because of it's "head" rating as from my sump up to my tank is 6' + of lift.

I have come up with a cool way to try to shut off the grow beds this winter while keeping the fish tank and the sump tank pumping.... I'm going to use a cannister filter to pull out 180 GPH from the fish tank and then exhaust the clean water down into my sump tank (which has my 1700w heater set at 50 degrees for the koi).  I will decrease the water flowing into the fishtank to match the amount being flow(ed) by the cannister filter.  I am also in process of insulating both the sump tank and the fish tank right now to minimize power usage to hold the 50degree temp.  I bought a watts up power logger to watch how much power/cost doing this will be...and if it is too expensive- I'll throw the koi back into the house aquarium.



Jim Fisk said:

I still can't figure out where you saw Bradly's pump size?? I have read over his description a dozen times thinking I missed something. Anyway great system and good to see you commercializing it. I would like to do the same here in the Smokys. Finally got my trout tank in place so that makes 4 full ibc fts and #5 gb went online today as well.

Phil Slaton said:

Your pump is not near big enough.  I sell Koi also.  I will trade you Trout or a 1000 gallon pump, for your Koi.  If you are going to raise tank fish, you might as well be able to eat them.

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