I would like to know what desire or need brought you to Aquaponic Gardening

[Chris Downs]

I would like to know what desire or need brought you to Aquaponic Gardening?

1. Greater freedom and independence
2. Greater wealth
3. Better health
4. More choice
5. Help more people
6. Grow organic food for yourself, family and friends

I appreciate your help,  I am interested in finding out the different reasons we are all here, growing organic food.

[WaterFish22]

Way more money out than dollar value of food in I'll have to conclude.

I agree it's a hobby for a small system. However It would be totally profitable if you grow your fish in large ponds, and you make your own fish food. Plus, you would have to sell live fish to new breeders, and sell the fish food you make and  you would also have to set up a large scale green house system to grow plants.

Why I still going in to it:

1. It's a hobby I'm not planing on making any money on it. Unless I go full scale in 30 years LOL!

2, I already own large tanks and they are under stocked with fish . 

2. I can use the water off of my fish tanks to fertilize my garden.

3. I can use unwanted talipia fish fry to feed my turtles. So there is never going to be a problem of having  too many fish. Get more fish tanks or more turtles!

4. Keeping care of fish is easy for me. I have had them for 18 years so it's it's not like
I'm going to have to learn more, but I guess learning never stops.

5. I get food to eat, and I can say that I raised that!

 

Bradly said:

2 Reasons:

 

1- My son (27 yrs old) asked me why (since I have had veggie gardens for 5 years now ) I didn't figure out how to grow fish. Plain truth is it was his challenge.

2-With price of meat climbing, I thought maybe it would pay off to raise fish with the veggies.  That thought does not hold true I must say... I have probably spent $2,600 setting up my system with all the hardware, pumps, chemicals, testing kits, heaters, tank insulation, temp monitor, and shade awing.  Even though I built all of it myself...and even had some materials already.  It will take quite a few years for 30 + tilapia a year to break even, and even then with ongoing costs of food, heating, water, etc... it turns out to be like dirt gardening. 

Way more money out than dollar value of food in I'll have to conclude.

SO now AP is my latest hobby/challenge... that my wife thinks I spend too much time and money on.  She's right, but then that never stopped me on any of my other hairbrain pursuits!!     :-)

[Bradly]

I think you got something there Sue...only problem is my wife would never settle with me slaughtering rabbits  :-)   She already told me that she sin't sure if she's going to like the idea of me even killing fish after raising them.  I can't win.  :-)

Sue McL said:

Bradly said:

2 Reasons:

1- My son (27 yrs old) asked me why (since I have had veggie gardens for 5 years now ) I didn't figure out how to grow fish. Plain truth is it was his challenge.

2-With price of meat climbing, I thought maybe it would pay off to raise fish with the veggies.  That thought does not hold true I must say... I have probably spent $2,600 setting up my system with all the hardware, pumps, chemicals, testing kits, heaters, tank insulation, temp monitor, and shade awing.  Even though I built all of it myself...and even had some materials already.  It will take quite a few years for 30 + tilapia a year to break even, and even then with ongoing costs of food, heating, water, etc... it turns out to be like dirt gardening. 

Way more money out than dollar value of food in I'll have to conclude.

SO now AP is my latest hobby/challenge... that my wife thinks I spend too much time and money on.  She's right, but then that never stopped me on any of my other hairbrain pursuits!!     :-)

So add rabbits under your grow beds and above a worm bed? There's additional meat -- about 200 pounds of it a year from one buck and two does.

Rabbits eat scraps, worms eat scraps, manure and fish waste (not the meat), worms "treat" feed fish and compost everything. Continues the cycle of self-sufficiency???

[Bradly]

Yep,  making my own food would be good probably...I might start looking into that.

Selling the fish and fishfood are also good ideas which might follow.  I do have a little greenhouse, but only big enough to start seedlings in (which I've been using for 3 years now for my dirt garden).

I may eventually build a greenhouse over top of my AP system area (with slidable or removable panels for the heat of summer time...that would help with water temp control and allow me to start earlier in the year and go later.  I might start design on that soon too.  I live in the "high desert" in california....it gets down to below freezing in the winter, up to 105 in the summer, and the wind blows spring and fall...so it's a challenge for any kind of garden here.  The greenhouse would help though.

WaterFish22 said:

Way more money out than dollar value of food in I'll have to conclude.

I agree it's a hobby for a small system. However It would be totally profitable if you grow your fish in large ponds, and you make your own fish food. Plus, you would have to sell live fish to new breeders, and sell the fish food you make and  you would also have to set up a large scale green house system to grow plants.

Why I still going in to it:

1. It's a hobby I'm not planing on making any money on it. Unless I go full scale in 30 years LOL!

2, I already own large tanks and they are under stocked with fish . 

2. I can use the water off of my fish tanks to fertilize my garden.

3. I can use unwanted talipia fish fry to feed my turtles. So there is never going to be a problem of having  too many fish no problem, get more fish tanks or more turtles!

4. Keeping care of fish is easy for me. I have had them for 18 years so it's it's not like
I'm going to have to learn more, but I guess learning never stops.

5. I get some food to eat, and I can say that I raised that!

 

Bradly said:

2 Reasons:

 

1- My son (27 yrs old) asked me why (since I have had veggie gardens for 5 years now ) I didn't figure out how to grow fish. Plain truth is it was his challenge.

2-With price of meat climbing, I thought maybe it would pay off to raise fish with the veggies.  That thought does not hold true I must say... I have probably spent $2,600 setting up my system with all the hardware, pumps, chemicals, testing kits, heaters, tank insulation, temp monitor, and shade awing.  Even though I built all of it myself...and even had some materials already.  It will take quite a few years for 30 + tilapia a year to break even, and even then with ongoing costs of food, heating, water, etc... it turns out to be like dirt gardening. 

Way more money out than dollar value of food in I'll have to conclude.

SO now AP is my latest hobby/challenge... that my wife thinks I spend too much time and money on.  She's right, but then that never stopped me on any of my other hairbrain pursuits!!     :-)

[Roger]

Chris - I happened to come across aquaponics after growing hydroponically for a few years.  I found it intriguing that by growing fish I could cut out the insane prices of some of the hydroponic nutrients on the market.  Also, it sounds much safer.  Many hydroponic nutrients contain heavy metals so you really need to research what is safe to use for food production.  Last, much of the equipment I had purchased for my hydroponic garden would easily cross over to be used in aquaponics. Oh, I should also mention that growing plants in general allows me to unwind after busy days at work.  All in all, in my opinion, it's a win-win hobby! :)

[Chris Downs]

Hi John,

Let me know when you start selling some Hot sauce!  Fresh and Organic home made can not be beat!!

John Cubit said:

Chris,

I actually started out as a Fisheries and Wildlife Technician and field Biologist, with a poor outlook for jobs I turned to another career in IT.  I did manage to work a some hatcheries and get some great experience, that was 15 years ago.  As a hobby I always grew my own hot peppers and would try growing even the most difficult species, that led to creating hot sauces and hot pepper based recipes.  Over the last few years I started bottling and test marketing some of those products and after having a short supplies of various raw material and very high prices to order the products to make my sauces.  I also am very burned out in the IT field.  After touring some small farms that make craft products I started think I need to do what I want to do and realized I will have no retirement so if I have to work till I die what can I do.  I thought about my fisheries background and hot pepper love and did a few searches about hydroponics and boom  I found someway to combine the two....Aquaponics.  Contacted my old college to find out they are running an Aquaponics class this year, got Sylvia's book, and convinced my wife of it, especially with the Tilapia part (she loves it).  We are testing it and seeing if it is feasible and we know there is a market niche for fresh vegetables in the winter where we live.  So now we are shopping for land and going to start the farm we should have done 24 years ago when we got married.

[Chris Downs]

Roger,

Stress reduction was one of the first benefits for me also!  I was doing research and development testing for infection control of dental water lines and equipment.   I have some friends that were growing trout in Colorado, and that is when I first heard of aquaculture.  I had grown hydroponically, but like you said, if you eat fish, or even if you want to grow koi or some other pond fish, might as well use the healthy manure to grow great vegetables!

Thank you for sharing!

Roger Emmick said:

Chris - I happened to come across aquaponics after growing hydroponically for a few years.  I found it intriguing that by growing fish I could cut out the insane prices of some of the hydroponic nutrients on the market.  Also, it sounds much safer.  Many hydroponic nutrients contain heavy metals so you really need to research what is safe to use for food production.  Last, much of the equipment I had purchased for my hydroponic garden would easily cross over to be used in aquaponics. Oh, I should also mention that growing plants in general allows me to unwind after busy days at work.  All in all, in my opinion, it's a win-win hobby!

[Carey Ma]

I have beendoing aquaponics of one sort or another since themid seventies and is the initial building blocks (the ABC) for truely sustainable agriculture. I

I originally got into AP as a way to recycle household black-water (poop to food) and continue to research and experiment with ways to recycle waste to grow/ raise wholesome food through the different trophic layers.

[Jim Fisk]

Hi Chris and all. Here's a new reason that I have not seen here yet.

Am I the only one here that has been following Chemtrails for the last few years? (I know some people that have been studying them for more than 10 years) I have always grown an organic dirt garden and raised sheep and pigs and chickens for the family but I have become very concerned with all the ct information on the net so I wanted to start growing food organically under glass (well poly for now) in order to avoid the alarming amounts of aluminum and barium that the "elites" are dumping on us daily in an effort to control our weather. (Hello Sandy). Until proven otherwise I am thrilled to have a method of growing lots of food, both veg. and fish, without having to wonder what is in it. For this reason I also never use rain water, just artesian well water from 300 ft down. A major reason we purchased our Smoky Mtn homestead was that awesome well. No pump needed and very well filtered due to the 300' of well casing.

For those uninformed about chemtrails: go ahead and laugh, and then start getting educated. Google it for a real eye-opener. You too may end up wanting to cover your system. Mine is now covered. Just raked 7" of snow off of the 4 mil poly roof. No easy accomplishment

[Bradly]

I don't think you're crazy at all.  I'm almost 60 and I've seen my friends and their kids get sicker and sicker by the generation.  No one can tell me there isn't a cause for all this.

[Chris Downs]

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your reply!  I have heard of the "Extra long Contrails and some of the additives in jet fuel for a while now.  I am an A&P aviation licensed mechanic.  I am also a pilot with a single engine land rating.  I will do some more research, as I have not spent much time on it. 

We are also looking for a new property in a warmer more predictable environment with a spring.  Have you spoken to some of the others regarding your water?  I have done extensive raw water characteristic studies of some lakes in washington state for Seattle Pacific University in 1993.  It was a long haul, but it shows how much life there is in water that is relatively clean and protected. 

Thanks again for reminded me that the sky is a great source of pollution and who knows what else.  What precautions do you take to keep your spring safe?

Jim Fisk said:

Hi Chris and all. Here's a new reason that I have not seen here yet.

Am I the only one here that has been following Chemtrails for the last few years? (I know some people that have been studying them for more than 10 years) I have always grown an organic dirt garden and raised sheep and pigs and chickens for the family but I have become very concerned with all the ct information on the net so I wanted to start growing food organically under glass (well poly for now) in order to avoid the alarming amounts of aluminum and barium that the "elites" are dumping on us daily in an effort to control our weather. (Hello Sandy). Until proven otherwise I am thrilled to have a method of growing lots of food, both veg. and fish, without having to wonder what is in it. For this reason I also never use rain water, just artesian well water from 300 ft down. A major reason we purchased our Smoky Mtn homestead was that awesome well. No pump needed and very well filtered due to the 300' of well casing.

For those uninformed about chemtrails: go ahead and laugh, and then start getting educated. Google it for a real eye-opener. You too may end up wanting to cover your system. Mine is now covered. Just raked 7" of snow off of the 4 mil poly roof. No easy accomplishment

[Jim Fisk]

An artesian well is as far from being a spring as you can get. Our well is 300 feet deep all steel cased and comes out of the well with such pressure that I had to weld bolts on the casing to keep the top from blowing off. No pollution there.

Chris Downs said:

Hi Jim,

Thank you for your reply!  I have heard of the "Extra long Contrails and some of the additives in jet fuel for a while now.  I am an A&P aviation licensed mechanic.  I am also a pilot with a single engine land rating.  I will do some more research, as I have not spent much time on it. 

We are also looking for a new property in a warmer more predictable environment with a spring.  Have you spoken to some of the others regarding your water?  I have done extensive raw water characteristic studies of some lakes in washington state for Seattle Pacific University in 1993.  It was a long haul, but it shows how much life there is in water that is relatively clean and protected. 

Thanks again for reminded me that the sky is a great source of pollution and who knows what else.  What precautions do you take to keep your spring safe?

Jim Fisk said:

Hi Chris and all. Here's a new reason that I have not seen here yet.

Am I the only one here that has been following Chemtrails for the last few years? (I know some people that have been studying them for more than 10 years) I have always grown an organic dirt garden and raised sheep and pigs and chickens for the family but I have become very concerned with all the ct information on the net so I wanted to start growing food organically under glass (well poly for now) in order to avoid the alarming amounts of aluminum and barium that the "elites" are dumping on us daily in an effort to control our weather. (Hello Sandy). Until proven otherwise I am thrilled to have a method of growing lots of food, both veg. and fish, without having to wonder what is in it. For this reason I also never use rain water, just artesian well water from 300 ft down. A major reason we purchased our Smoky Mtn homestead was that awesome well. No pump needed and very well filtered due to the 300' of well casing.

For those uninformed about chemtrails: go ahead and laugh, and then start getting educated. Google it for a real eye-opener. You too may end up wanting to cover your system. Mine is now covered. Just raked 7" of snow off of the 4 mil poly roof. No easy accomplishment

[Jim Fisk]

Yeah, the more you learn about it the madder you WILL become. Then there is HAARP in AK with which they admit they can steer storms. So they admit they are making chemtrails and can steer storms. Sandy is a very likely example. The CT activity all over the E leading up to (and thru yesterday all day here) this tragedy was amazing and the signals from HAARP are right now focused upon NY. Look it up and join the Yahoo forums dedicated to keeping an eye on them. BTW I'm 65. Nothing surprises me anymore.

Bradly said:

I don't think you're crazy at all.  I'm almost 60 and I've seen my friends and their kids get sicker and sicker by the generation.  No one can tell me there isn't a cause for all this.