Friday the 10 th December 2010

Aquaponics is a farming method inspired by ancient farming systems from the Aztecs to Egypt, based on the recycling of nutrients in nature. In the aquaponic fish tank, the fish consume food and excrete manure, algea grows in the nutrient-rich water, and uneaten fish food falls to the bottom. These unused nutrients would....(This is from a site that seemingly has not been updated for two years UNFORTUNATELY.But maybe the drive toward A/P is still strong there. Lets hope so...) Aquaponics for Kids. At The Kids Culinary Academy of Vermont ... Vermont summer camp instruction for kids (ages 10-17) at The Kids CulinarY....
 (This next one might be a bit unsettling but needs to be addressed)

You know whats cool? Aquaponics.

This may seem like a random post, considering that this blog focuses on my fight with Crohns disease and my decision to use hookworms as my drug of choice.  But, if you consider that it was my interest in better gardening methods that opened my mind to trying helminthic therapy, methinks this post makes sense.

While talking to a college student the other day about his major in Environmental Studies, the conversation turned to the topic of aquaponics - a new word for me.

 How Much Seaweed Extract... Who Do You Call.........

Aquaponics - Duckweed. Duckweed! I finally got hold of some. Ive been looking around for it for ages, but all the plant stores stock a plant that isnt really duckweed. Every single nursery...

aquaponics philippines feb 2009 | Hydroponic Gardening Review
fish,rabbit, chicken ,duck and veg system, Aquaponics is the symbiotic cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment. Alternate definition:

NorCal Aquaponics is one of the first in the world to offer systems, trainings, knowledge and experience in a Permaculture based Aquaponics design methodology, we call "the Meyers System"!

HOW TO... Set Up Aquaponics, from Videomanic 

First Pick Affnans Aquaponics They are ripening, those Tomatoes are ripening and I pick a few.

This is a little demo system that I have built outside of my house and an explaination as to what the hell Aquaponics is.. Also my project will...

Aquaponics Student shows aquaponics sustainable hydroponics aquaculture.

From GREENANSWERS

Nitrosamines are found in fish as well many other animals, and they break down Ammonia into nitrates that plants love.  The bacterium cultivates in the gravel, so a smart move to make in any aquaponics set up is to run the water cycle through several times and check the flow.  A completely self-rotating.....

Aquaponics: How to eat healthy and support the environment

Friendly Aquaponics Tim Mann and Susanne Friend share the results of their work developing efficient and sustainable

55 GAL indoor aquaponics My 55 Gal planted/fish aquarium converted to aquaponics. I have a 10 Gal tote above with pea gravel and a bell autosiphon.

Course Description
This bilingual Aquaponics and Permaculture 10-day intensive December includes 10 days of outdoor classroom instruction, and hands-on experience at the Aquaponics mini-farm located at the beautiful Ecovillage Resort of Finca Las Nubes. Students will learn about Aquaponics, Permaculture, experience luxurious eco-village living, and much more from experienced trainers & professionals sharing their knowledge and experience in Aquaponics, Permaculture, land restoration, tropical food forest, social justice and self sufficiency. You will learn the skills needed to,,,

We are loaded to deliver another School Kit.
This particular kit has 3 x 1250 ltr tanks with viewing windows, 4 x 585 ltr gravel beds and 2 x floating raft, three x 230 ltr fingerling tanks.
Plus all plumbing , pumps and so on.
Aquaponics is a wonderful educational tool that is for sure.
We decided to fill one of the tanks a few days back and throw a few fish in for some photos. See attached photos.

Please can I stop? I actually went to sleep in front of T.V. Then had to try and sharpen myself up for this. Now my eyes are saying ENOUGH ALREADY.
So I think I had better heed the warning. Hope you get a lot out of this one
Soon Guys & Gals,
OZZIE

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Worms worms everywhere

Redworm, one of many things fish love to eat

My mother gave my husband a brilliant gift for Fathers Day - composting worms. 1000 Eisenia Foetidae or Red Wrigglers, to be exact. She ordered them from Uncle Jims Worm Farm at the same time she bought her own worms and composter.

Reading the instructions, I realized for the first time that composting worms are different from your standard earthworm. Id been popping worms from my yard into my growbeds, assuming that was "good enough." Hasnt hurt, but it seems red wrigglers will work even better.

A few benefits of worms in aquaponics:

1) They turn scraps into rich, fertile compost. The stuff is called "worm castings," but its worm poop. Manure on a micro scale. [I wonder if worms are considered "animals" for the purposes of granting food safety certification. Since theyre cold blooded, they dont harbor e.coli in their guts any more than do fish.]

2) No need to wash your grow media after initial system setup. The worms will clear out left over roots and stuff.

3) Supplemental food for your fish. Worms double their population in short order (90 days, if I remember correctly). They stop reproducing when they reach the maximum sustainable density, so their is no worry that they will start spilling out all over. But this rapid population growth and/or population replacement means you can snag out a few from time to time as a treat for your fish without worrying that you are fundamentally damaging the efficacy of your worm population to process compost.

4) A worm population in your grow beds can keep your system working between batches of fish. In fact, some folks rely entirely on worms for their ammonia source. This is referred to as Vermiponics. Alas, vermiponics appears to be a new movement, to the point where there isnt even a wikipedia article describing vermiponics and its history.

A downside of worms is their need for bedding material and decomposing scraps. On the other hand, I produce more than enough paper and cardboard as a byproduct of modern life to keep my worms happy.

Now that I know regular earthworms arent as "good" as red wrigglers for composting, Ive started taking to tipping found worms into my fish tank, where I used to tip them into my growbeds. Its been gratifying to see the enthusiasm with which fish consume the worms, even dead and slightly dessicated worms.

Next biological enhancement to the system will be black soldier fly larvae - they should be en route right now. Should be fun!

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Camallanus Worms False Alarm

See my next post. 
This turned out to be Midge AKA Chironomus riparius not Camallanus!

Just one more learning experience.

Any advice?

Pictures of Camallanus Worms @ http://inkmkr.com/Fish/CamallanusTreatment/

UPDATE:

Comment by Jim Troyer

Found this Bob:

from:  http://plecoplanet.com/?page_id=48
How to treat for Camallanus Worms For more information on worms you can also check out this article http://www.plecofanatics.com/articles/showentry.php?e=321&catid=2

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