[donsgal]

Raise fish in a tank? I know there are probably many who have a pond or two on their land that is stocked. However, we don't have the room for a full-fledged pond and are wanting to use a stock tank to raise some catfish or maybe some crappie.

Does anyone here on HT do this and if so I'd love to find out more about how to do it, and what to watch out for!

thanks

donsgal

 

[botebum]

I don't do this but I remembered running across it whilst researching what I needed to know to start a catfish pond(yet to be built).Catfish in a barrel

Doug

 

[stickinthemud]

I've wanted to do this for years!
We visited New Alchemy Institute on Cape Cod about 1980 and saw their "ark" bioshelter. They raised fish (tilapia) in tall translucent fiberglas tanks. The tanks stored solar heat and then fish waste water fertilized hydroponic vegetables. The name has changed to the Green Center but they still have research reports and other publications available.

http://www.vsb.cape.com/~nature/greencenter/newalchemy.html

Click on "aquaculture" for a .pdf file "A Primer on New Alchemy's Solar Aquaculture"

Good luck!
CW

 

[Shinsan]

Go to www.backyardaquaponics.com for a ton of information and advice, (and for some good laughs, check out their General Banter forum while your there.)
If you do visit that site, could you post an opinion of its merits here?
I think it's great, but I'm probably a bit biased.

 

[MariaAZ]

Shinsan, I visited the URL you posted but got something that looks like a "parked page" with links to commercial sites and other aquaculture-related site. Maybe I missed where the link to the forums is.

 

[donsgal]

Shinsan, I visited the URL you posted but got something that looks like a "parked page" with links to commercial sites and other aquaculture-related site. Maybe I missed where the link to the forums is.

Same here. I even looked for an old copy of the website at archive.org and there was nothing there. Hmmmmmmm :shrug:

donsgal

 

[stickinthemud]

The "Anybody in Texas..." thread is also about fish in tanks.
It includes a link to http://www.backyardaquaponics.com
CW

 

[Shinsan]

My appologies to anybody who tried to visit the site I posted.
I had inadvertantly typed in aquaculture when I should have typed aquaponics, and the error has now been corrected. No need to go hunting for it - here it is again:

www.backyardaquaponics.com
.

 

[MariaAZ]

It's a very informative site! I never thought about growing food fish in my backyard! I'd love to give it a try.

 

[Toads tool]

In an old Organic Gardening I read an article about raising ducks in pens above carp and catfish. Tests showed that raising fowl above fish will not only grow fish quicker but recycles all the food the fowl eats. Thus cutting down on fish food cost.

MMMM... Duck Poop

 

[suitcase_sally]

I'd be concerned about fish in 55 gallon steel drums. Metal is toxic to fish.

 

[jross]

In the 1980's PSE&G, the electric company I worked for ran a project with the state, raising tilapia in small tanks. It was succesfull but the commercial fishing lobby used their influence to insure it did not accelerate into a competitive entity. Now with fish stocks low, Chinese tilapia suspect, this may the opportune time to start a project. Tilapia were used because they seem to tolerate overcrowding well, have good flavor, and reach a marketable size quickly with little waste.

 

[jross]

I'd be concerned about fish in 55 gallon steel drums. Metal is toxic to fish.

Even concrete is toxic unless it is coated. These days plastic is cheap and can be used to line anything. Unless of course the plastic comes from China. A 55 gallon drum is small for raising any fish to a decent edible size. If I were to start a project, I would invest in three swimming pools at least ten feet wide by 48 inches deep and installing a screened drain at the very bottom along with the surface skimmer. I would also interconnect the pools with isolation valves . Bulkhead fittings can be had any pool dealer.