10 ms·

Building a Home Aquaponics System: The Basics

254 points by ohjeez 9y ago

mistermann 9y ago
> One very cool answer is aquaponics. Aquaponics is a plant growing technique similar to hydroponics, which is basically growing plants in a medium other than dirt with water. The cool thing is this: Where a Hydroponics system requires you to add nutrients to the water to feed your plants (basically fertilizer), an aquaponics system uses all the nitrates produced by your fish as natural fertilizer! What a perfect solution for my laziness – I can stop doing water changes and let plants do the work for me, all the while saving (a bit) of water and always having home-grown produce on hand! I'm no expert beyond some YouTube research, but apparently plain old hydroponics is way cheaper/simpler/more productive than aquaponics, if the fertilizer aspect doesn't turn you off. Hydroponics vs Aquaponics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0fsehjZfzc& https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0fsehjZfzc& Good educational video on aquaponics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg2MfC-Oi18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg2MfC-Oi18 Here is a very nice aquaponics system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpGwK81tOIs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpGwK81tOIs
- ryanmarsh 9y ago
  With aquaponics you do have to “change the water” with aquaponics. From what I’ve read you can’t take the “hot” untreated waste water and feed it directly to plants. There’s a step in between involving another tank.
  - dundercoder 9y ago
    You typically have a high surface area medium (pea gravel) in the sump or in another tank that provides a bacteria filter for the waste breakdown.
asciimo 9y ago
The author glosses over the true source of the magical, "free" fertilizer: "some fish food." You have to feed the fish. I have never seen an aquaponics zealot do the math on the cost per unit of fish food versus the cost per unit of fertilizer. Intuitively, complexity and costs could be reduced greatly by removing the fish component, i.e. hydroponics.
- mulmen 9y ago
  Is it possible to feed the fish using waste from the plants?
  - asciimo 9y ago
    If they're meat plants. According to this article (http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Knifefish/BlackGhostKnifefish.php#Foods%20and%20Feeding http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Knifefish/BlackGhostKn...), they're carnivores who can eat pellets. Reading this entire page, it looks like Black Ghost Knifefish are not trivial to keep happy and healthy, and will eventually need 100 gallons of water. While I would argue that it's irresponsible to treat any fish as a mere fertilizer producer, this fish may be especially miserable for its limited life.
    - mulmen 9y ago
      Hmm, is there some other kind of fish better suited to this type of system? Some kind of fish that could naturally survive on the plant waste? Maybe not even the waste in the water but some other form of biomass from the rest of the system? e: Sibling comments seem to suggest Tilapia or Rainbow Trout.
      - weberc2 9y ago
        Not sure what you're proposing, but something has to go into the system (fish food or fertilizer) if you're going to be taking things out (food). If the fish are living off of the plants, then you need to feed the plants. If the plants are living off of the fish, then you need to feed the fish. Something something Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy something something.
        mulmen 9y ago
        Yeah good point, that must be why all ecosystems fail without human intervention. /s
peterwwillis 9y ago
Fun use of a bell siphon: Pythagoras' Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfIT3B4y6E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfIT3B4y6E
michaelmior 9y ago
If you're interested in this, you might want to check out AutoMicroFarm[0] [0] https://automicrofarm.com/ https://automicrofarm.com/
- ph0rque 9y ago
  Thanks for the shout-out! I had to put the business on pause this year while dealing with family issues. I plan to get back to it in 2018, however. Edit: Just saw you asking how things have went on Medium. I'll write a blog post / email update about the past year (2017) soon!
  - michaelmior 9y ago
    Awesome! I'm not in a living situation which would allow me to have an AutoMicroFarm set up, but I've been following the project for a few years and really interested to see how things are going.
homulilly 9y ago
I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile since I already keep fish (as pets) and grow hydroponics separately. Unfortunately living in an apartment there's only so much space and I can't do things like run pipes under the floor.
ansible 9y ago
I've read about various aquaponics systems in the past. My main concern would be regarding pathogenic bacteria from the fish getting into the growing plants. Some plants won't have an issue like that, but I was under the impression that other plants like lettuce don't do a good job of filtering microorganisms out of their water supply. This is related to those news reports about contaminated water and lettuce crops from the past decade.
horsecaptin 9y ago
One of the great upsides to Aquaponics is enforced trust. Since fish are very sensitive to water conditions, you can bet that there will be nothing added to the system that will kill the fish. If it is safe for fish, then it is safe for humans. This can't be said about Hydroponics or Soil farming. But with Aquaponics, the farmer is forced to play nice.
King-Aaron 9y ago
I used to run home aquaponics for several years, and it was a very healthy environment for the fish and the plants. If anyones interested, here's a short clip of my Perch from a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojePlSxkjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojePlSxkjs
antoniuschan99 9y ago
If anyone is interested in tracking the climate of their farms on their smartphone I'm producing a Temperature and Humidity Sensor & App with Alerts. Some of our customers are Aquaponics Farms and we're working on a Waterproof Temperature Probe that you will be able to place in the water. Here's more info: http://www.kokonaut.com http://www.kokonaut.com http://www.instagram.com/kokonautweathersensors http://www.instagram.com/kokonautweathersensors If you do decide to buy, you can use promo code EARLYADOPTER10 for $10 off
- nomadiccoder 9y ago
  used these in the past with arduino https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-DS18B20-Temperature-Waterproof-EK1083x3/dp/B00Q9YBIJI?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffab-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00Q9YBIJI https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-DS18B20-Temperature-Waterproof...
  - antoniuschan99 9y ago
    How would you rate it? I have one of these as well and am planning on using it.
nomadiccoder 9y ago
Interesting, In my experience of trying to start a home aquaponics startup (and quickly failing) I found that it is very difficult for this to be small scale, i.e., places like growing power, green and gills, farmed here, which have a comercial aspect are more successful. And 2 it is not cost effective at all. While I loved watching the fish, the difficulty with the plants, lights, nutrients, and automation system was a nightmare that was barely rewarding in terms of produce quantity.
jameskegel 9y ago
New farmers tend to disregard the often lengthy process of establishing a well bred fauna of biological filtration similar to a freshwater fish tank. It helps to reduce rot in the roots and nutrient concentration and uptake issues. Similar lessons can be learned in the field of Tilapia farming as a means of a stage of the water treatment system.
agumonkey 9y ago
Interesting synergy
jlengrand 9y ago
I have tried aquaponics pretty hard about two years ago. I found the idea super interesting ( and still do). After a while my plants started decaying over time. Getting black spots, very white. Started having holes in them, ... After further reading, I learnt that plants need more than just nitrates. They also need manganese, calcium ... A whole bunch of elements you can't get in a closed system (nor in the fish food directly). I went back to growing outside. I would definitely recommend aquaponics, but for people that can setup their system outdoors where rain water will bring all those needed additional elements.
- dingleberry 9y ago
  rain water is somehow pure and should contain no mineral elements
iLemming 9y ago
Anyone who wants to grow anything in a tank should read this incredible book: "Ecology of the planted aquarium" by Diana Walstad. If you don't know what aquascaping is about, try googling "Takashi Amano" and just browse through the pictures you find. I'd guarantee you would dream about creating something like that. And that hobby truly is fascinating. However it's for brave tinkerers and tenacious explorers.
johncogg 9y ago
For those who are interested, here is more content for the series, including how the grow beds and swirl filter are built: https://www.thissmarthouse.net/building-a-stylish-home-aquaponics-system-the-grow-beds/ https://www.thissmarthouse.net/building-a-stylish-home-aquap...

254 points by ohjeez 9y ago

> One very cool answer is aquaponics. Aquaponics is a plant growing technique similar to hydroponics, which is basically growing plants in a medium other than dirt with water. The cool thing is this: Where a Hydroponics system requires you to add nutrients to the water to feed your plants (basically fertilizer), an aquaponics system uses all the nitrates produced by your fish as natural fertilizer! What a perfect solution for my laziness – I can stop doing water changes and let plants do the work for me, all the while saving (a bit) of water and always having home-grown produce on hand! I'm no expert beyond some YouTube research, but apparently plain old hydroponics is way cheaper/simpler/more productive than aquaponics, if the fertilizer aspect doesn't turn you off. Hydroponics vs Aquaponics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0fsehjZfzc& https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0fsehjZfzc& Good educational video on aquaponics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg2MfC-Oi18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg2MfC-Oi18 Here is a very nice aquaponics system: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpGwK81tOIs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpGwK81tOIs

ryanmarsh 9y ago
With aquaponics you do have to “change the water” with aquaponics. From what I’ve read you can’t take the “hot” untreated waste water and feed it directly to plants. There’s a step in between involving another tank.
- dundercoder 9y ago
  You typically have a high surface area medium (pea gravel) in the sump or in another tank that provides a bacteria filter for the waste breakdown.

asciimo 9y ago

The author glosses over the true source of the magical, "free" fertilizer: "some fish food." You have to feed the fish. I have never seen an aquaponics zealot do the math on the cost per unit of fish food versus the cost per unit of fertilizer. Intuitively, complexity and costs could be reduced greatly by removing the fish component, i.e. hydroponics.

mulmen 9y ago
Is it possible to feed the fish using waste from the plants?
- asciimo 9y ago
  If they're meat plants. According to this article (http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Knifefish/BlackGhostKnifefish.php#Foods%20and%20Feeding http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/Knifefish/BlackGhostKn...), they're carnivores who can eat pellets. Reading this entire page, it looks like Black Ghost Knifefish are not trivial to keep happy and healthy, and will eventually need 100 gallons of water. While I would argue that it's irresponsible to treat any fish as a mere fertilizer producer, this fish may be especially miserable for its limited life.
  - mulmen 9y ago
    Hmm, is there some other kind of fish better suited to this type of system? Some kind of fish that could naturally survive on the plant waste? Maybe not even the waste in the water but some other form of biomass from the rest of the system? e: Sibling comments seem to suggest Tilapia or Rainbow Trout.
    - weberc2 9y ago
      Not sure what you're proposing, but something has to go into the system (fish food or fertilizer) if you're going to be taking things out (food). If the fish are living off of the plants, then you need to feed the plants. If the plants are living off of the fish, then you need to feed the fish. Something something Law of Conservation of Mass and Energy something something.
      - mulmen 9y ago
        Yeah good point, that must be why all ecosystems fail without human intervention. /s

peterwwillis 9y ago

Fun use of a bell siphon: Pythagoras' Cup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfIT3B4y6E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfIT3B4y6E

michaelmior 9y ago

If you're interested in this, you might want to check out AutoMicroFarm[0] [0] https://automicrofarm.com/ https://automicrofarm.com/

ph0rque 9y ago
Thanks for the shout-out! I had to put the business on pause this year while dealing with family issues. I plan to get back to it in 2018, however. Edit: Just saw you asking how things have went on Medium. I'll write a blog post / email update about the past year (2017) soon!
- michaelmior 9y ago
  Awesome! I'm not in a living situation which would allow me to have an AutoMicroFarm set up, but I've been following the project for a few years and really interested to see how things are going.

homulilly 9y ago

I've been wanting to do something like this for awhile since I already keep fish (as pets) and grow hydroponics separately. Unfortunately living in an apartment there's only so much space and I can't do things like run pipes under the floor.

ansible 9y ago

I've read about various aquaponics systems in the past. My main concern would be regarding pathogenic bacteria from the fish getting into the growing plants. Some plants won't have an issue like that, but I was under the impression that other plants like lettuce don't do a good job of filtering microorganisms out of their water supply. This is related to those news reports about contaminated water and lettuce crops from the past decade.

horsecaptin 9y ago

One of the great upsides to Aquaponics is enforced trust. Since fish are very sensitive to water conditions, you can bet that there will be nothing added to the system that will kill the fish. If it is safe for fish, then it is safe for humans. This can't be said about Hydroponics or Soil farming. But with Aquaponics, the farmer is forced to play nice.

King-Aaron 9y ago

I used to run home aquaponics for several years, and it was a very healthy environment for the fish and the plants. If anyones interested, here's a short clip of my Perch from a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojePlSxkjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ojePlSxkjs

antoniuschan99 9y ago

If anyone is interested in tracking the climate of their farms on their smartphone I'm producing a Temperature and Humidity Sensor & App with Alerts. Some of our customers are Aquaponics Farms and we're working on a Waterproof Temperature Probe that you will be able to place in the water. Here's more info: http://www.kokonaut.com http://www.kokonaut.com http://www.instagram.com/kokonautweathersensors http://www.instagram.com/kokonautweathersensors If you do decide to buy, you can use promo code EARLYADOPTER10 for $10 off

nomadiccoder 9y ago
used these in the past with arduino https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-DS18B20-Temperature-Waterproof-EK1083x3/dp/B00Q9YBIJI?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-ffab-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00Q9YBIJI https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-DS18B20-Temperature-Waterproof...
- antoniuschan99 9y ago
  How would you rate it? I have one of these as well and am planning on using it.

nomadiccoder 9y ago

Interesting, In my experience of trying to start a home aquaponics startup (and quickly failing) I found that it is very difficult for this to be small scale, i.e., places like growing power, green and gills, farmed here, which have a comercial aspect are more successful. And 2 it is not cost effective at all. While I loved watching the fish, the difficulty with the plants, lights, nutrients, and automation system was a nightmare that was barely rewarding in terms of produce quantity.

jameskegel 9y ago

New farmers tend to disregard the often lengthy process of establishing a well bred fauna of biological filtration similar to a freshwater fish tank. It helps to reduce rot in the roots and nutrient concentration and uptake issues. Similar lessons can be learned in the field of Tilapia farming as a means of a stage of the water treatment system.

agumonkey 9y ago

Interesting synergy

jlengrand 9y ago

I have tried aquaponics pretty hard about two years ago. I found the idea super interesting ( and still do). After a while my plants started decaying over time. Getting black spots, very white. Started having holes in them, ... After further reading, I learnt that plants need more than just nitrates. They also need manganese, calcium ... A whole bunch of elements you can't get in a closed system (nor in the fish food directly). I went back to growing outside. I would definitely recommend aquaponics, but for people that can setup their system outdoors where rain water will bring all those needed additional elements.

dingleberry 9y ago
rain water is somehow pure and should contain no mineral elements

iLemming 9y ago

Anyone who wants to grow anything in a tank should read this incredible book: "Ecology of the planted aquarium" by Diana Walstad. If you don't know what aquascaping is about, try googling "Takashi Amano" and just browse through the pictures you find. I'd guarantee you would dream about creating something like that. And that hobby truly is fascinating. However it's for brave tinkerers and tenacious explorers.

johncogg 9y ago

For those who are interested, here is more content for the series, including how the grow beds and swirl filter are built: https://www.thissmarthouse.net/building-a-stylish-home-aquaponics-system-the-grow-beds/ https://www.thissmarthouse.net/building-a-stylish-home-aquap...