First Aquaponics System at Vancouver Island University

The first aquaponics system at VIU. This unit was built by Fisheries & Aquaculture Technnology Diploma student, Julie V., based on barrel-ponics designed by Travis W Hughey http://www.fastonline.org/content/vie.... Nile tilapia (from Redfish Ranch - http://www.redfishranch.com/ are cultured with various edible plants including tomatoes, basil, lettuce, dill, green beans, cucumbers, and broccoli. Super cool!

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  Education

[Zac L.]

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.

[Zac L.]

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.

[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.

[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 :)

[Christian Brown]

How do you prevent all the duckweed from being sucked down the pipe?

[satinhooks]

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

[Ken Richardson]

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.

[Ken Richardson]

@bemmington

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

[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

[Douglas Mallette]

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!

[Alacritous]

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.

[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