First Aquaponics System at Vancouver Island University

[greenfish13]

I have heard every explanation of what aquaponics is. This has been the best explanation so far, well done!

[jmurray1106]

Sweet video very interesting and educational!!! Do know where i could find plans for how to build one of these systems

[TZMSocialEvolution]

Awesome! Now get a 1 acre footprint and fill it with a 15 story building that is solar/wind/fuel cell powered, completely automated with computers, atmospheric controls and robotics and you'd have a robust food production facility with little need for human labor. Turn it on and let it run...food for thousands.

Also, mix this with the Omega Garden system and you have something special.  :) Good work!

[gaggelou]

Hi,

I plan to deploy Aquaponics on my indoor fish farm as a means to filter out ammonia from the fish water. I deploy big fish tanks of 40 m3 water each. I need to calculate the optimum plant population as well as hydroton (or any grow bed fill) quantity needed to achieve perfect filtering of such water quantity. Is there a proven analogy (i.e., plant population and/or hydroton quantity to fish water quantity) that ensures a well-balanced nitrogen cycle? Your assistance would be invaluable.

[DonBrazo]

nice

[Dinhking]

thanks for this video, i think it is great video

[pippaknuckle]

How does the bottle empty enough to get light enough for the valve to completely close again?

[Aaronator01]

My only concern is the effect this would have on the economy... if everyone were to disconnect from the food grid it would be a... I don't even know, but it would not be good!

[BrockRhodes]

there are many many more things in our economy that are not food today than back before the industrial era, when most people had a kitchen garden, chickens, and a dairy goat to supply almost all their needs for food, other than flour and sugar..that was before the first great depression, and things were fine. there will always be people who want to buy food produced for them, and now agriculture is in a miserable state that can only small-scale sustainable farming can fix.

[juggalomushroom]

on the contriare my friend, I think it would be excellent. Just imagine for a second, how much freedom you would have because you wouldn't need to worry as much about food, and that's just the beginning. Now what if people stopped to think and this ran through their minds "well if we can make food by ourselves this easy, why can't we have energy this easy?" How lovely would it be, they also needn't worry about energy, that would be the TRUE American dream right there.

[Alacritous]

@Aaronator01

If you can become independent of the economy, then who cares?

This dependence on other people is what got us into the mess the world is in now. I'm all for it.

[helliussurla]

@Aaronator01 Watch "Food Incorporated". You'll learn about the workings of the "food grid".

[satinhooks]

@Aaronator01

it would be great if more people disconnected from. the quality of the food industry would increase.

[Aaronator01]

A perfect system would need to be 100% off the grid. Part grows food for the fish like alge and duckweed, another part grows the produce, yet another part houses the fish. Solar power or otherwise should be used. Maybe a shallow growing bed for the fish food; still, shallow, oxygen rich water bathed in Sunlight will produce copious ammounts of fish-food. And you should use more tasty fish! like bass or catfish! MMMmmm... You'll cure world hungar! -or atleast mine. lol

[ketammerah1]

love it....

[crock703]

I see PVC piping in all these set ups. I know most people probably use the food grade piping, suitable for potable water.. but does the PVC contain Bisphenol-A (BPA)? Since the FDA just recently labelled BPA toxic, its illegal to use it for baby bottles and such, but I don't know if regulation has caught up w/ industry stuff like PVC. Any idea?

[bemmington]

Why not use copper pipes?

[elvieken]

@bemmington

The copper will kill the fish, it is poison to them.

[baddudekus]

the flood system is AWSOME

[GuSxMan666]

Cool. Should be very proud of yourself.

[affnan]

Nice system, if you want to reduce components on the water control, check out my Bell valve design. Maybe it could help your system.

Affnan

[a518guerilla666]

the only part i am confused on is the flush valve set up coming from the overflow

[messyjessett]

Good job guys!

[louis12346]

fish pee in water?

[elvieken]

@louis12346

Yes the amonia is turned into nitrites and nitrates which the plants use. It will take up to six weeks or so from the start of running the system for the system to balance and be able to break down the amonia completely.

[YouMockMe]

how much duck weed do you feed each fish? oh, and nice system btw.

[rubioready]

great video, can you tell me where a person can get access to the fish eggs, is it regulated? Are other species of fish fry available to the public......any info would be greatly appreciated ...thank you

[2Aarone]

I noticed a few people mentioning they would like to attempt this.

One thing to remember, which I did not see mentioned, is to use food grade plastics. Also, only use piping, PVC cement and primer suitable for potable water. Some cheaper (and non potable) plastics can leach lead (used in some plastic manufacturing) into irrigation water.

Just a reminder :)

[maciejgrebowicz]

How much does it cost to build one of these?

[GuSxMan666]

i'd say about not more than what you'd think.

[nosoydelciudad]

WOW great video

i am wondering if you can explain a little bit more about the water valve

thanks

[CondemnedPatriot]

This might be a stupid question, but can i use Caulk to seal my pipes? I know its toxic when wet, i dont know if it will hold when dry

[FishAquaMalaspina]

You can use silicone caulk but make sure it does not contain any antimicrobial chemicals. Wait until the caulk is completely set before trying to add water.

[venomousbird]

They sell silicone for repairing aquariums at pet supply centers. Make sure you use that kind so it doesn't leach chemicals.

[CondemnedPatriot]

and how often do uyou feed the tilapia the duckweed? and how much? I have 6 1/2 pound tilapia in my tank,

[FishAquaMalaspina]

a handfull of duckweed was fed to the tilapia about every 3 days. We were not able to rely solely on duckweed as a food source so we fed daily rations (1.5% total fish weight per day) of koi pellets.

[macrumpton]

Was there something wrong with the duckweed as food, or did you just not grow enough of it to feed the fish?

[CondemnedPatriot]

Where can i get duckweed? I too have tilapia, but i cant find duckweed anywhere, I live in florida, does it grow in my climate?

[Bobbygirl39]

Do the fish require any light to maintain good health?

[Bobbygirl39]

I am very interested in attempting to build this system to grow indoors in the winter months just for a project for my son and I to share. Where can we get the tilapia?

Is there a place to get the entire design on paper? Anyone know?

[FishAquaMalaspina]

i put a link to the blueprints for this system in the video description details. Look above!

[DrewDawg50]

You are hot.

[Sonyoooo3]

good i love tilapia.

[Sonyoooo3]

I love this its like all recicle?

[BlackApollo666]

You forgot a vital section to your experiment: the conclusion. Are you feeding the multitudes with this system or are you making yourself a nice salad?

[FishAquaMalaspina]

Now way are we feeding the multitudes with this little barrel system. You can expand this system and possibly feed a few people but ours is a just providing some salad fixings sporadically.

[NewMan826]

Good Jobs..I love it

[greenthumbpacker]

This is one of the slickest aquaponic systems i've seen in a while! Great Work!

[mi0wm1ow]

Heya..nice work..your project is very interesting but there are things that kept me wondering..first is; how do you maintain the power if there was a blackout?i mean without using any power source,could you make a system that only uses pressure?2nd;how many weeks does it take to harvest your plants..thanx ya..your project is totally awesome..thinking of doing my own=)

[rubbe]

could use solarpower

[kirtapnottoc]

im interested in constructing one of these systems im concerned about the well being of the system thru the winter...also the care of the fish during the winter.Any thoughts?

[growguyuk]

awsome..... symbiosis in a modern world...

[FishAquaMalaspina]

Currently we feed the tilapia a commercailly available floating koi pellet at 1.5% of the total weight of fish in the barrel. The amount of food is readjusted every 2 weeks when all 10 fish are weighed. Also a daily handfull of duckweed is fed. I would estimate that we could grow 10 tilapia from 50g - 450g in this system. Currently we use 4 immersion heaters to keep the water at 30C, an oscillating fan, 1 pump, and 1 air pump.

[DanIndiana]

Nice video-thanks for posting it.

Can you recommend any books on this, or where I might get tilapia in Indiana?

Thanks

[Leibensborn]

Very cool and well explained. I learned a lot

[bartaaa404]

Amazing! This is absolutely amazing!

[cavemansbatguano]

Very good well presented, I would like to attempt a simpler version in my bedroom!

[FishAquaMalaspina]

Go for it! You should use a standard aquarium with goldfish and float some herbs on the water surface. There are lots of videos on YouTube for you to get ideas from. Good Luck!

[njolsson]

Great Job, Julie! I have a few questions. How long do you expect this setup to last? How many fish can you raise in that barrel? Do you feed the fish anything else besides duckweed? How much electricity does it consume per month for pumping and heating?

[yutube1000]

what temp is the water are u regulating it - is that a greenhouse? how will u deal with cold weather or indoor humidity?

[JulieVandenbor]

The water temperature is usually around 30 degrees celcius, maintained with aquarium heater bars. The system is surrounded by a small greenhouse which is heated during the winter. We simply open the greenhouse door during the summer if it gets too humid, but so far it has not been a problem.

[emeeul]

Great explanation of how this all works.

[xingyiboxer]

Excellent system, great job! Tilapia are unfortunately illegal to posses in the state of Texas due to the mismanagement of the Parks and Wildlife Dept. that introduced them into the waterways to control the Blue Water Hyacinth. Bass fishermen complained they were affecting the bass population so TP&W responded by banning them. They screw up so I don't get to raise Tilapia. I am using goldfish now but would like an edible fish, perhaps catfish.

[FishAquaMalaspina]

We were actually thinking of building another barrelponic system to test how well catfish would work.

[NOSMOJEFF]

I am puzzled...the 2nd tank with the toilet valve why fill it to a certain level before it goes to the grow medium.?

[barrelponic]

The reason for filling it to a certain level (which is adjustable) is to set the flood of the growbeds to what you might want. As root mass develops it takes less water to flood the growbeds. There may also be a difference in the size of pea gravel that different people use which will change the volume of water needed to complete the flood cycle.

[Itoradu]

This is an awesome video, Julie.

-another barrelponics person