Aquaponics

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kENge18wIqg Will Allen on tilapia Aquaponics http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kD2gDzbuYc Growing Your Greens (13min)

2. Aquaponics a sustainable, food production system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish,crayfish or prawns in tanks), with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment.

3. Symbiotic means that both benefit.

4. aquacultureeffluentaccumulate in the water, increasing toxicity for the fish and this water is lead to a system of … hydroponics where by-products from the aquaculture are broken down by nitrogen-fixing bacteria & then filtered out by the plants as nutrients Here are the 2 parts: Clean water goes back to the fish.

5. Aztec cultivated agricultural islands known as chinampasfor agricultural use where… plants were raised on islands and waste dredged from the Chinampa canals was used to manually irrigate the plants. History

6. These polyculturalfarming systems existed in many Far Easterncountries and raised fish South China & Thailand cultivated and farmed rice in paddy fields in combination with fish as early aquaponics systems.

7. Facilities to Raise Fish are evolving

8. Monoculture: Raising single species in structure • Polyculture: Raising two or more species in same structure

9. Most common structure for raising fish • Natural Ponds • Manmade Ponds • Drainable • Must be built near a water supply Ponds

10. Manmade tanks (indoors or outdors) • Usually made of concrete • Must be near a water source • Common in fish hatcheries Raceways

11. Examples:

12. Rectangular shaped, commonly 5:1 (or greater) length to width ratio • Average depth of 3- 5 feet • Constant water flow to eliminate areas of poor circulation

13. Deep cylinder tanks, similar in operation to horizontal raceways • Concrete, plastic, etc. • Have less surface area than raceways • Easier to fit into operation Silos

14. Use existing water sources (pond), but enclose the fish in a cage • Cheaper initial investment that other set ups Cages

15. Indoor tank, recirculates same water through the tank Closed or Recirculating Systems

16. …just add plants and you have aquaponics

17. Common system:

18. Here is how it works:

19. This is the cycle

20. Here are details

21. There are plenty of options listed in resources online to begin http://aquaponicshowto.info/aquaponics-fish.htm

22. Using the ground for cooling purposes:

23. What is in the soil component is critical to success… We’ll begin with a simple system this year and hopefully lead to one in the ground.

24. Worms are our friends… Remember Fred? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFGQR5ERaPQ (9min) educational video vermicomposting

26. They use coconuts at Growing Power.

27. This is fairly easy to set-up for a small system

28. This could be set up with bins from Walmart

29. Lowe’s has a $10 earth box clone from Growumshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FH_N92mvLSk

30. Just wait until we go to Growing Power!  This guy has found a way to trade or recycle everything!

31. http://www.hydroponics-simplified.com/hydroponic-seeds.html http://www.hydroponics-simplified.com/hydroponic-plants.html *You MUST provide bright light close to the flat, or the babies will grow long and spindly and flop over. We're talking only 1-2" above the plants! Don't skip past this bit of advice! Bright fluorescent lighting creates thick, short, stocky, healthy seedlings. He started with plants …and added the fish

32. There are ways to be creative… This will be my house in the next couple of years

33. Where is Mrs. Hoffmann?? …You know how obsessed I can get!!

34. Well, plants are people, too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhdCk46mU9o Jflswampthing

35. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fStmk7e9lJo Plants have feelings (6 min) http://vimeo.com/15521523 12 min on vimeo an episode on talking to plants Mythbusters:

36. Maggot farming season 3 episode 21 Dirty jobs