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Mike Centex
Mike Centex
8 years ago

Of all the projects I’ve undertaken in gardening, poultry, tree and fruit production and sustainable agriculture, nothing has captured the interest or imagination with my teenagers as much as the aquatics component of aquaponics. I’ve made them responsible for the fish while I’m responsible for the veggies. We get to share managing the total ecosystem together. They have no idea how much they are actually learning in the process. It’s just fun for them. They now are reponsible for measuring PH, total solids/ppm, how dissolved O2 changes with temp, Etc.

Thanks Jack for sharing all the info you’ve learned through major trial and error that’s allowed me to easily and cheaply build a small backyard aquaponic system that is really a living classroom for my kids.

I think you are on to something big here with aquaculture & aquaponics. It is a lot easier than most folks envision, once you understand the practical applications. And there are no restrictions against keeping fish in my POA!

tom moser
8 years ago

Hey Jack thanks for all the great info. Im toking to start aquaculture project soon. Is there any where that I can find more info on building the system. I see a lot of Aquaphonic info but Im not looking to grow vegetables at this time.

Cian Smith
Cian Smith
8 years ago

On feeding, have you ever tried a gut bucket? Take a pail and drill some holes in the bottom and a little up the sides. Hang it over your open top fish tanks and toss it some gutted fish, leftover chicken, guts etc. Flies will swarm, and the maggots will drop through the holes into the water. Sometimes it takes a little shake or two, but you’ll usually get a decent return.

Dave
Dave
8 years ago

What about shiners? For those that don’t eat a lot of fish, raising these as bait for sale may be a better option especially if you are also selling produce from your system.

Professor Sweat
Professor Sweat
8 years ago

Thank’s for the great show and information. Aquaculture can be scaled to almost any size. A few weeks ago, I built a single 30″x10″ wicking bed to place over an established 40 gallon barrel pond I have on my apartment’s porch. It’s planted with vining crops that will trellis up a lattice I fixed up behind the pond. It’s working great so far with mosquito fish and I’ll be adding half a dozen tilapia soon increase the nutrients and perhaps get a small, tasty meat yield. The small size of the pond makes it economical to heat with an aquarium heater for colder weather conditions. I also use the fish water for watering my container garden and algae for fertigation. It’s fun stuff, I can’t wait until I have more space to size-up.