Ive been inspected

Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
His name is John Odenkirk, and hes Certified Fisheries Scientist #2043. Hes the guy who inspects aquaponics facilities for the neighboring 11 counties - required for facilities that are requesting permission to raise tilapia.

He came. He snapped. He left.

It was a pretty painless process. And after he conveys the form and picture to the right people, my permit should be in the mail in a matter of a couple of weeks.

I was happy to show him my auto-siphon. Didnt look like hed seen one of those before. And I was happy to show him my current water chemistry: 7.6 pH, 0.0 ppm Ammonia, 0.0 ppm Nitrite, and 80.0 ppm Nitrate.

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Poor Mans Greenhouse aka High Tunnel

$50 Greenhouse at doorgarden.com

One of my early rants focused on the fact that it gets cold up here in the continental US. And not everyone has a greenhouse.

But with the White House using hoop houses and the USDA running around helping folks construct high tunnels, Ive been seeing a lot about how one might be able to do a greenhouse for far less than $$$. The idea is you bend PVC pipe between anchors at either edge of the area, then drape the hoops with 6 mil polyethylene. Done.

Some things to consider.

Structural Stability


Door Garden reports the structure sprang back to shape once the snow was removed. But there are various ideas for making the initial structure stronger.

1. Go Gothic - theres a reason those northern barbarians didnt use the classic roman arch - because it was liable to fail under load (think snow). A pointy arch can do beautiful things. Check out the post Another snow day at tinyfarmblog.com.
   
   
2. Use metal conduit rather than PVC. Turns out a conduit bender can be had for less than $40, and metal conduit is about the same price as PVC. Check out the Chiots Run post about Building Hoop Houses out of Electrical Conduit.

Size constraints

• Tiny yard. I live in a townhome. The entire thing is only 20 wide and about as deep.
  
  
• Covenants. Im not allowed to build anything that is taller than the fence around my yard.

Im thinking of using the metal conduit to achieve a slightly more complex shape that would give me enough space for two rows of aquaponic growbeds without being taller than 6 feet. Here are some initial sketches:




The tall, flat wall will be next to the northern side of my fenced area. For the 8 x 15 plan shown, the conduit, bender, and 6 mil sheeting will run me about $250 (prices at Home Depot as of 2/21/11). Add a door, some lumber, and chicken wire, and were around $300. Id do a CHOP2 configuration, so there will be ~200-250 gallons of water in the system even though the tank, itself, is only 150 gallons. The Rubbermaid growbeds are $130 for the 150 gallon tank and $70 for each 50 gallon growbed and sump tank, so those would run me $700. Total $1000.

But Id have no cost for grow-lights and the electricity needed to run them. Thatd be sweet.

Too bad I cant use tilapia outdoors. Ill have to figure out what fish could do OK outside. Goldfish always work - theyre cheap and dirty, perfect for aquaponics. But ornamental goldfish can be carcinogenic if theyve ever been treated with Malachite Green, so we couldnt eat them. Ill give my buddy at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries a holler and find out what he recommends.

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Linking all that is Aquaponics and that which is Not

This may seem to be a strange title, but hopefully you will see the connections. Every AP System has at its core a fish tank, some form of growing area, plants, fish or other aquatic creatures and a flow system that provides the connection between all of them.The other additive is some form of propulsion (usually in the form of an electric pump) so that water and the products of the system (nutrients etc.) can be distributed throughout the system. Then we can add the bacteria that makes itself available to convert by-products of the system so that life is breathed into it.

Oh yes, I had better include the other bacteria. The bad bacteria that can settle in any corners and cause what can be, major problems within your system. We need to be aware that just as we have aerobic bacteria, we also have anaerobic bacteria in our AP system. However just as you and I have both good and bad bacteria in our bodies, its the proportion of bad bacteria that is allowed to develop that can cause problems.

Fortunately, provided we are aware of good housekeeping procedures in and around our AP system we are pretty certain of keeping it in a safe condition.

There are other thing that can be added to the list that can be byproducts or by-producers in your AP system for example Soldier Fly Larvae, Worms, Duck Weed, Lupin and probably many other available items and products that will gradually be recognized as beneficial to a system.

My hope is that each one of us can and will benefit by what is and will be available through the internet and of course through this Blog.

So to any new visitors, welcome pull up a log and sit a while.....

So now, back to my notes....
First up is a site that goes something like this...
Aquaponics is the marriage of organic hydroponics and aquaculture. Fish waste becomes

Heres a twist, this is a site introducing another site. So seeing as how Ive already provided a link to that other site, I thought I might as well do the same for this one...
The worldwide demand for seafood is huge and ascending. The global seafood industry is...

 The Final Offering for Today.

Garden brings hope to Schaumburg campus

See You Soon

Ozzie

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