Aquaponics

PD-Riverman · #21 05/31/10, 07:49 PM

I flood mine about every 30 minutes then completely drain---the flood and drain takes about 1 to 2 minutes, so for 20 some minutes there is no water in the beds other than the damp rocks. For a pump I use the cooler air-re-ater deal from Wal Marts---runs off a 12 volt battery and cost around $20. It is designed to set in a big cooler and recirculate the water to add oxygen. Not sure how long it will hold up but I have been using it about 6 weeks now and it is a used pump I have had for several years that I use alot in a cooler for catfish bait(live bream) and I used the pump for other things in the last several years.

What Kind of "Fine Materials" are you thinking about using. Alot of the people use the expencive clay pebbles, but a poor man like me had to use pea gravel, but it works good.

Yes The PH is important but so far I have been in a good reading.

around

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueJuniperFarm

How often do the grow beds need to be flooded? Anyone know? Would they need flooded less often if they had more fine materials in them, instead of the fairly large pebbles? I'm thinking that if they could get by with being flooded twice a day, I could do it by hand until I could afford a pump for the system.

Kathleen

Freeholder · #22 05/31/10, 08:00 PM

Our gravel pile is mixed sizes from sand up to large pebbles. That's what I was thinking of using.

How do you go about finding out what your state regulations are on kinds of fish you can raise?

Kathleen

PD-Riverman · #23 05/31/10, 08:11 PM

As far as Sand you would have to use a fine filter to keep it in the beds. Pea Gravel is made up mainly from small rocks like a "Pea".

As far as what kind of fish I can raise----I never asked. If I was going to use something like Tilapia, I think "MOST" states allow you to raise them in containers/tanks/etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueJuniperFarm

Our gravel pile is mixed sizes from sand up to large pebbles. That's what I was thinking of using.

How do you go about finding out what your state regulations are on kinds of fish you can raise?

Kathleen

fishhead · #24 05/31/10, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Navotifarm

Isn't the pH of the water a contributing factor to ich? Too alkaline?

Only if it's so far out of wack that it stresses the fish.

I forget the life cycle of ick but I remember something about having to treat the organism when it leaves the fish because it's protected once it's attached. UV should work on it or ozone. We used formalin or maybe it was potassium permanganate in three evenly spaced treatments.

**Shrek** · #25 05/31/10, 10:26 PM

I have two used hot tubs sitting in the out building at my mothers farm that I am studying up on how to modify them to raise myself some shrimp in since the oil spill instead of reselling them for hot tub use.

**Shrek** · #26 05/31/10, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueJuniperFarm

Our gravel pile is mixed sizes from sand up to large pebbles. That's what I was thinking of using.

How do you go about finding out what your state regulations are on kinds of fish you can raise?

Kathleen

Contact your county co-operative extension service.

fishhead · #27 06/01/10, 07:03 AM

I was taught to use pea gravel because the space between the gravel allows oxygen to reach the roots during the drawdown following flushing. That's important.

The flushing forces the carbon dioxide out of the gravel and then when the water recedes it pulls oxygen down to the roots.