LaurenRitz
Almost Self-Reliant
Someone pulled up one of my old posts, and reminded me that I've never really discussed my fish/garden system.
First, this is a trigger warning. If you're an aquaponics or hydroponics purist, for the sake of your blood pressure you might want to sign off now.
My system is 4 linked IBC totes in an enclosed garage. A pump takes water from the lowest tank to the highest, and from there everything is gravity feed. It is currently home to a couple hundred minnows and a few goldfish, which keep the algae under control. They spend most of their time at the bottom of the tanks, which tells me that the gravity "fountains" are aerating the water just fine.
I feed them maybe a couple tablespoons of a high protein chicken feed every week. During the summer they eat mosquito larvae and other aquatic insects. They didn't like hard boiled eggs, but they ate the duckweed and the algae to extinction.
Over the winter the tanks freeze pretty solid, but the fish don't seem to mind. The highest casualties come at breakup, when they sometimes flop out onto the ice and get stranded, or get caught between heaving ice flows.
There is no filter. I don’t check PH or temperature, I make no attempt to interfere with the ecosystem at all. The only adjustments I make is to feed them and to add extra water when necessary.
I do note that when I add water (water catchment from the roof) they tend to be surface breathers for a while.
I have been trying to decide on a suitable food fish to add to the system for almost four years. It has to be hardy, breed under my conditions, and able to handle freezing.
I had intended this to be a garden as well, but at best it gets only 6 hours of light so I'm rather limited on what I can grow. Apparently there's not sufficient fish in the balanced ecosystem to truly support a plant population, and I'm afraid that increasing densities to the point that plants can thrive would kill the fish.
I'm working on it. Part of the problem is the rafts sinking under the weight of the plants and fully submerging the root zone. Another has been the rafts actually dumping over when the plant sizes get unbalanced. More fish food, I suppose, but irritating.
I have a repurposed solar panel that might be able to support more lights, but I hesitate to move away from the self-contained setup. I even winced at the necessity of the pump, but I got used to it.
The garden piece is much harder to work with. The fish just settled in and started breeding with no problems. Apparently they like their new home.
I'm still working on the plants. Whatever I do has to avoid messing with the relatively balanced fish ecosystem. It's a slow process of trying different things until I find something that works.
First, this is a trigger warning. If you're an aquaponics or hydroponics purist, for the sake of your blood pressure you might want to sign off now.
My system is 4 linked IBC totes in an enclosed garage. A pump takes water from the lowest tank to the highest, and from there everything is gravity feed. It is currently home to a couple hundred minnows and a few goldfish, which keep the algae under control. They spend most of their time at the bottom of the tanks, which tells me that the gravity "fountains" are aerating the water just fine.
I feed them maybe a couple tablespoons of a high protein chicken feed every week. During the summer they eat mosquito larvae and other aquatic insects. They didn't like hard boiled eggs, but they ate the duckweed and the algae to extinction.
Over the winter the tanks freeze pretty solid, but the fish don't seem to mind. The highest casualties come at breakup, when they sometimes flop out onto the ice and get stranded, or get caught between heaving ice flows.
There is no filter. I don’t check PH or temperature, I make no attempt to interfere with the ecosystem at all. The only adjustments I make is to feed them and to add extra water when necessary.
I do note that when I add water (water catchment from the roof) they tend to be surface breathers for a while.
I have been trying to decide on a suitable food fish to add to the system for almost four years. It has to be hardy, breed under my conditions, and able to handle freezing.
I had intended this to be a garden as well, but at best it gets only 6 hours of light so I'm rather limited on what I can grow. Apparently there's not sufficient fish in the balanced ecosystem to truly support a plant population, and I'm afraid that increasing densities to the point that plants can thrive would kill the fish.
I'm working on it. Part of the problem is the rafts sinking under the weight of the plants and fully submerging the root zone. Another has been the rafts actually dumping over when the plant sizes get unbalanced. More fish food, I suppose, but irritating.
I have a repurposed solar panel that might be able to support more lights, but I hesitate to move away from the self-contained setup. I even winced at the necessity of the pump, but I got used to it.
The garden piece is much harder to work with. The fish just settled in and started breeding with no problems. Apparently they like their new home.
I'm still working on the plants. Whatever I do has to avoid messing with the relatively balanced fish ecosystem. It's a slow process of trying different things until I find something that works.
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