Hydroponics and Aquaponics?
Image by ceresgreentech
A re-used shipping container will house two fish tanks.
Question by aurora_dreamer0001: Hydroponics and Aquaponics?
I would like to build an amature model of this, small enough to fit in an 8 x 6 window but big enough to grow some decent fruit or vegies that are capable of indoor growing.
I would like to know a book or online resource that gives detailed instructions on building these things. I also would like to make it completely natural, IE no electricity. I don’t mind having to do manual labor once a day or so to make it work, but another thing I was looking into was gravity pumps (without eletricity and metal).
Does anyone have something like that broken down in a way to make one at home as a DIY?
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2 Responses to Hydroponics and Aquaponics?
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I work in a half-acre organic aquaponics farm in a greenhouse in California. Water is pumped into above-ground fish tanks that are plumbed 8″ below the water line, so water drains from the tanks through a series of filters, then out into 125′ long troughs. We grow lettuces and leafy greens in styrofoam rafts floating on the troughs. The lettuce roots pull nitrates from the water, then it flows into a tank and is pumped back up to the fish tanks. The removal of excess nitrogen by plants allows you have a lot of fish in each tank.
With any aquaponic system, there HAS to be continuous flow of water, and continuous flow of air into the water–we have airstones every 20′ in the troughs, and 20 or 30 in each fish tank. Any disruption could prove toxic to the fish.
How do you plan to oxygenate the water, without electricity? The flow of water and air must be continuous, not intermittent, as they would necessarily be with completely manual (non-electrical) systems. Failure to maintain continuous flow results in dead fish or dead vegetables, or both.
FarmCzar
January 24, 2012 at 9:24 am
Sounds like a fun project. Hydroponics is the growing of plants without soil. There are some really good plans on the internet. To answer your desire to not use electricity, I would suggest that you use a “wick” system. Take a look at this website to get more information – http://www.simplyhydro.com/system.htm .
Aquaponics involves growing fish. It also requires a more “active” system as water and air need to be circulated enough to meet the needs of fish (oxygen and clean water) AND the needs of plants (oxygen,water and nutrients). Go to Aquaponics.com to get some really good information.
I have an aquaponics system with 450 bluegills. My system pumps water once every two hours to plant beds filled with pea rock. There is a bell syphyon in the beds that drains the beds when it gets to a predetermined level. Go to Youtube.com and type in bell syphon to see how it works.
I like the aquaponics system over Hydroponics because it uses the natural resources (fish poop) to meet meet the plant needs. Hydroponics require that you monitor nutrient levels and then add nutrients as needed.
Have fun and take a look at all the information on the internet. YouTube.com has a lot of do it yourself information. Just type in hydroponics or aquaponics in YouTube.
kknute
January 24, 2012 at 9:56 am