Commercial systems

[Sylvia Bernstein]

Are you interested in growing commercially?  Do you already grow commercially?  This is the place for exchanging ideas and experiences, and making new contacts in commercial aquaponic agriculture

 

You might also consider joining the Commercial Aquaponics discussion group for lots more information and discussion

[Carolyn Allen]

Thanks Michelle. I agree about supporting the PVC and Styrofoam industries -- not good for our environmental and overall health concerns. I wonder if any of the bio-based "plastics" would work? There are several companies that make food-grade containers, maybe we'll find a source for sheets of it at some point. I'll keep y eyes open for options.

Michelle Silva said:

Hi Caroyln,
I had loooked for alternatives, maybe youcan find somthing, but I didn't find anything that would work as easy on a large scale..for a smaller system, I have seen wood with holes cut in (but it floated on plastic bottles). and then I worried that since I have liners that the wood might rip the liner and also if there were chemicals in the wood and thought that plastic bottles (to keep afloat) wasn't so great either!

I've talked with a couple of permaculutrists on the unsustainability and safety of some things involved in aquaponics..i.e styrofoam,liners, even rubber containers etc... Permaculturists seem to be very much in support of aquaponics. So although it supports an industry I would rather not, at least it seems that the beneficial bacteria (biofilters)that develops on the bottom of the rafts and on the liners (i.e slime) will take care of anything that could possibly be harmful.

It would be great if someone comes up with an alternative that has the same pros as foam without the cons on supporting a petroleum product industry!

Carolyn Allen said:

Thanks to all for your response to my question. I had not thought about the labor savings of rafts. Very important :-) I am a little concerned about the "styrofoam" / petroleum products used for rafts. Are there natural materials that could be used instead... such as wood, or bamboo... etc?

[Michelle Silva]

Hi Tim, I just bought a 1 7/8" holesaw but have to run out again, so haven't tried it to see if it works.. Do you think I should return the net pot I have here and get the slit pot, like in the email I should you? Or do you think I can just use the pots if I can get it to fit right..how about the roots..are the holes in the ones I have going to be too small for the rots to pass thru?

FriendlyAquaponics said:

Michelle Silva said:

I need advise ASAP with net pots.
I have 2,000 2"poppleman and made sure to tell the supplier I wanted the one with the lip so it doesn't fall thru. It took a while to receive them and yesterday when we started drilling holes, found that they slipped thru when using the 2" holesaw. The supplier sent me a photo of the only other one poppleman sells, but it's called a slit pot. The openings are larger. It's hard to tell but that looks like it could possibly have a larger "lip" to prevent it from slipping thur..Please advise asap, I had some volunteers coming this weekend and need the supplies!

Hi Michelle "Friendlies" here, you need the Poppelmann 2" "slit" net pots with the LIP. They also have a 1-7/8" (don't get it!), and they also have a "mesh" net pot that has no lip that slips right through 2" holes. We got a whole box of 5,000 of the no-lip pots accidentally once and realized it the first time we tried to put one in a 2" raft hole. They DO make 1-7/8" holesaws, you just need to look around to locate one.

[Michelle Silva]

Thanks, WOW, too bad I already purchased these..that's a better price then I got!

I did find a 1 7/8" holesaw at DC Hardware/ACE that works great with these. Does it matter that these are net pots, not slit pots, if I can get it to sit tight??? On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

The slit pot openings look like the coco coir and lg perlite would fall thru more easily. I asked if the roots would have problems getting thru and was told by Chris (the supplier) that as long as I can get the net pot to sit tight in there, that it will work great, roots being able to get thru not an issue. He also mentioned that most commercial set ups use "net" pots. (?!) Again, like with many areas in aquaponics, finding much conflicting info.

Sylvia Bernstein said:

Michelle (and anyone else), I can get you whatever you need from HydroGardens. Just send me a private message and we can work something out that works for you.

Sylvia

[Michelle Silva]

Can I get me a price on 10x20 black nursery trays, and "sure to grow" mats to fit in? I would need about 100. I want to experiment with growing sprouts and baby greens in them on the bottom of the verticals in the lined troughs where the water will flow back to the fish tanks.

Michelle Silva said:

Thanks, WOW, too bad I already purchased these..that's a better price then I got!

I did find a 1 7/8" holesaw at DC Hardware/ACE that works great with these. Does it matter that these are net pots, not slit pots, if I can get it to sit tight??? On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

The slit pot openings look like the coco coir and lg perlite would fall thru more easily. I asked if the roots would have problems getting thru and was told by Chris (the supplier) that as long as I can get the net pot to sit tight in there, that it will work great, roots being able to get thru not an issue. He also mentioned that most commercial set ups use "net" pots. (?!) Again, like with many areas in aquaponics, finding much conflicting info.

Sylvia Bernstein said:

Michelle (and anyone else), I can get you whatever you need from HydroGardens. Just send me a private message and we can work something out that works for you.

Sylvia

[Michelle Silva]

Was that other post deleted with the specs and prices by woman who offered the slits pots??? I wanted to see what the specifics that she suggested I needed. The price was amazing! Sylvia, my email is cosmobaby@ verizon.net

Michelle Silva said:

Can I get a price on 10x20 black nursery trays, and "sure to grow" mats to fit in? I would need about 100. I want to experiment with growing sprouts and baby greens in them on the bottom of the verticals in the lined troughs where the water will flow back to the fish tanks.

Michelle Silva said:

Thanks, WOW, too bad I already purchased these..that's a better price then I got!

I did find a 1 7/8" holesaw at DC Hardware/ACE that works great with these. Does it matter that these are net pots, not slit pots, if I can get it to sit tight??? On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

The slit pot openings look like the coco coir and lg perlite would fall thru more easily. I asked if the roots would have problems getting thru and was told by Chris (the supplier) that as long as I can get the net pot to sit tight in there, that it will work great, roots being able to get thru not an issue. He also mentioned that most commercial set ups use "net" pots. (?!) Again, like with many areas in aquaponics, finding much conflicting info.

Sylvia Bernstein said:

Michelle (and anyone else), I can get you whatever you need from HydroGardens. Just send me a private message and we can work something out that works for you.

Sylvia

[Michelle Silva]

Sylvia, Can you get aluminet shade cloth? How quick can I get items shipped? Please email prices to me at [e-mail] or [e-mail]..either one. Thanks,Michelle

Michelle Silva said:

Can I get a price on 10x20 black nursery trays, and "sure to grow" mats to fit in? I would need about 100. I want to experiment with growing sprouts and baby greens in them on the bottom of the verticals in the lined troughs where the water will flow back to the fish tanks.

Michelle Silva said:

Thanks, WOW, too bad I already purchased these..that's a better price then I got!

I did find a 1 7/8" holesaw at DC Hardware/ACE that works great with these. Does it matter that these are net pots, not slit pots, if I can get it to sit tight??? On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

The slit pot openings look like the coco coir and lg perlite would fall thru more easily. I asked if the roots would have problems getting thru and was told by Chris (the supplier) that as long as I can get the net pot to sit tight in there, that it will work great, roots being able to get thru not an issue. He also mentioned that most commercial set ups use "net" pots. (?!) Again, like with many areas in aquaponics, finding much conflicting info.

Sylvia Bernstein said:

Michelle (and anyone else), I can get you whatever you need from HydroGardens. Just send me a private message and we can work something out that works for you.

Sylvia

[Sahib Punjabi]

Thank you for this information :-)

Susanne Friend said:

From Hydro-Gardens.com website, part # 5W580, 2.125" diameter, 2" wide, 4081 per case, $149.00 (shipping NOT included). As Tim says above, be sure to get SLIT pots, not NET pots (net pots have not enough rim, and fall through the hole that a 2" hole saw makes.

Alternatively, we are able to get a case of Poppelman 2" slit pots from a local supplier in a case of 5,418, for around $220 (shipping included). If you find a supplier that would order them for you and allow you to buy them in smaller quantities, the email address on the label is [e-mail]. I think they're based in Germany.

[Susanne Friend]

Michelle Silva said:

[...]On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

MY APLOGIES! This should read "SLIT" pots. They have the rim. I will change that on our site immediately!

[Sylvia Bernstein]

I misspoke. It is HydroFarms that we can order from (I constantly confuse these two) and they don't carry shade cloth. Sorry

Michelle Silva said:

Sylvia, Can you get aluminet shade cloth? How quick can I get items shipped? Please email prices to me at [e-mail] or [e-mail]..either one. Thanks,Michelle

Michelle Silva said:

Can I get a price on 10x20 black nursery trays, and "sure to grow" mats to fit in? I would need about 100. I want to experiment with growing sprouts and baby greens in them on the bottom of the verticals in the lined troughs where the water will flow back to the fish tanks.

Michelle Silva said:

Thanks, WOW, too bad I already purchased these..that's a better price then I got!

I did find a 1 7/8" holesaw at DC Hardware/ACE that works great with these. Does it matter that these are net pots, not slit pots, if I can get it to sit tight??? On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

The slit pot openings look like the coco coir and lg perlite would fall thru more easily. I asked if the roots would have problems getting thru and was told by Chris (the supplier) that as long as I can get the net pot to sit tight in there, that it will work great, roots being able to get thru not an issue. He also mentioned that most commercial set ups use "net" pots. (?!) Again, like with many areas in aquaponics, finding much conflicting info.

Sylvia Bernstein said:

Michelle (and anyone else), I can get you whatever you need from HydroGardens. Just send me a private message and we can work something out that works for you.

Sylvia

[TCLynx]

Wow this Forum thread has been busy.

Michelle, Michael Cosmo got his shade cloth from Vertigrow I think. They don't list the aluminet on the web site but I think if you call them they might be able to get it. Send a Message to Cosmo and He can probably help.

On the other side of things, I got my shade cloth through growers supply (farm tech) and they had fairly good shade cloth pricing for a published web and catalog dealer.

[Michelle Silva]

Thanks Susanne.. I appreciate the tips you have listed on your site.

Susanne Friend said:

Michelle Silva said:

[...]On the "Friendlies" site it is stated to use 2" net pots, and now being told I need slit pots(which by the way, I'm being told are technically not 2")! So when I told the supplier I needed "2" net pots W/ A LIP he said these were the only "2" net pot that Poppleman makes.

I hope I can save someone the hassles I've had with all these posts about net and slit pots.

MY APLOGIES! This should read "SLIT" pots. They have the rim. I will change that on our site immediately!

[Michelle Silva]

yes, I remember he did.. I'm waiting to hear back from them,thanks.

TCLynx said:

Wow this Forum thread has been busy.

Michelle, Michael Cosmo got his shade cloth from Vertigrow I think. They don't list the aluminet on the web site but I think if you call them they might be able to get it. Send a Message to Cosmo and He can probably help.

On the other side of things, I got my shade cloth through growers supply (farm tech) and they had fairly good shade cloth pricing for a published web and catalog dealer.