Great, another time waster

[Howard]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/

sigh



Moved from OT since we didn't have the Home & Garden section when this was created.
admin allisolm

 

[TheVrolok]

Yeaaahhh.. that seems pretty awesome. Could see myself wasting a significant amount of time and money on such a project.

 

[RossMAN]

I came very close to buying this

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142509221/home-aquaponics-kit-self-cleaning-fish-tank-that-g

 

[TheVrolok]

I came very close to buying this

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142509221/home-aquaponics-kit-self-cleaning-fish-tank-that-g

Thank God I don't spend more time on kickstarter, I would be (even more) broke. I want one of those things.

 

[RossMAN]

Thank God I don't spend more time on kickstarter, I would be (even more) broke. I want one of those things.

Tell me about it, I had to logout so I didn't impulse buy everything.

My pebble e-watch should be here in a few months, it will either really suck or rock my world.

 

[TheVrolok]

Tell me about it, I had to logout so I didn't impulse buy everything.

My pebble e-watch should be here in a few months, it will either really suck or rock my world.

I did the same thing once I hit just shy of 500 bucks on projects. Even deleted the bookmark. Not that 500 is major cash, but I'm still in school, so it's a sum far, far larger than I should ever have (logically) spent on upstarts. However, I see some cool stuffs in my future should these projects pan out.

 

[The_Dude8]

I came very close to buying this

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142509221/home-aquaponics-kit-self-cleaning-fish-tank-that-g

it's a nice product, but does it worth $60 thought?

 

[The_Dude8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/

sigh

what is IBC stands for? I know it's a water container.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFM7J_TpTU

 

[Howard]

what is IBC stands for? I know it's a water container.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYFM7J_TpTU

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_bulk_container

 

[Wyndru]

I came very close to buying this

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142509221/home-aquaponics-kit-self-cleaning-fish-tank-that-g

That has "As seen on TV" written all over it. Maybe we will see these in the mall kiosks in a few years for $20, then I might bite.

Cool idea for a novelty gift though, I doubt many people will actually get anything decent to grow in it though, it would be good to grow spices in.

 

[DrPizza]

I've considered it for a few years. I have the space; I just haven't had the time. If/when I get around to picking up a greenhouse, I'll probably have a tank (1000 gallon) of tilapia and a pair of tanks of freshwater lobsters (Australian redclaw crawfish). Rather than purchasing the special materials, there are a lot of simple substitutions that work: rain gutters for the water troughs, etc. It can be done very economically if desired.

 

[mizzou]

cool!

I'm going to go hard core this spring with a new garden. Would love to spend tons of time and see if I can get some decent yields.

 

[wirednuts]

u waste even more time when you smoke it all, but from seed to smoke its all a whole bunch of fun.

 

[zinfamous]

My pops has started growing tilapia in a large converted dumpster out on a buddy/business partner's home agriculture farm.

he's been shopping around various central american countries to help establish sustainable, aquaculture and energy producing farms like this.

 

[z0mb13]

I've considered it for a few years. I have the space; I just haven't had the time. If/when I get around to picking up a greenhouse, I'll probably have a tank (1000 gallon) of tilapia and a pair of tanks of freshwater lobsters (Australian redclaw crawfish). Rather than purchasing the special materials, there are a lot of simple substitutions that work: rain gutters for the water troughs, etc. It can be done very economically if desired.

What kind of maintenance work do you need to do for these aquaponics systems once its set up?

I am planning to build a weekend house in a land of about 10k sq feet, but the problem is I will only stay there during the weekends (on weekdays I live and work in the city, which is about 1 hour drive away).

If I built this kind of system can I only maintain it once a week? Or does it need to be done daily?

 

[Howard]

What kind of maintenance work do you need to do for these aquaponics systems once its set up?

I am planning to build a weekend house in a land of about 10k sq feet, but the problem is I will only stay there during the weekends (on weekdays I live and work in the city, which is about 1 hour drive away).

If I built this kind of system can I only maintain it once a week? Or does it need to be done daily?

Once it hits steady-state (cycled and stabilized) you shouldn't have to do much besides feeding. It depends on how complex and self-sustaining you make the system.

You can also put in a bunch of sensors and transmitters with an Arduino or other PLC and have it accessible online for alarm statuses and whatnot.

 

[z0mb13]

Once it hits steady-state (cycled and stabilized) you shouldn't have to do much besides feeding. It depends on how complex and self-sustaining you make the system.

You can also put in a bunch of sensors and transmitters with an Arduino or other PLC and have it accessible online for alarm statuses and whatnot.

Excellent! This will be my next hobby!

 

[Howard]

Excellent! This will be my next hobby!

As always, it behooves you to research as much as possible on your own.

EDIT: Also, since it's an active science, you can blaze new paths. Seems like shellfish aren't very popular - maybe you can figure out how to do them successfully. Fresh oysters whenever you want.

 

[z0mb13]

As always, it behooves you to research as much as possible on your own.

of course... will require a lot of trial and error

 

[RossMAN]

I've considered it for a few years. I have the space; I just haven't had the time. If/when I get around to picking up a greenhouse, I'll probably have a tank (1000 gallon) of tilapia and a pair of tanks of freshwater lobsters (Australian redclaw crawfish). Rather than purchasing the special materials, there are a lot of simple substitutions that work: rain gutters for the water troughs, etc. It can be done very economically if desired.

Got a spare swimming pool?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKKKrJqqYmo

 

[Kaido]

Is anyone here doing aquaponics? It's booming in my area right now. Had never heard of it before last week, seems pretty cool! You can combine geekery (Arduino etc.) with farming, but in a lot less space, especially if you go vertical:

https://www.engineeringforchange.org/news/2012/03/14/how_to_build_a_vertical_aquaponic_system.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2wWTadsBDA

 

[Kaido]

Wow, this system looks pretty neat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj4MzjxjGck

 

[Kaido]

Meanwhile, in Japan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_WuJ9P1u-k

I lol'd at the complexity of a rotating watering system vs. the cascading pipe system in the link a couple posts up

 

[Kaido]

Neat article on a farm in a shop:

http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2010/12/21/a-farm-in-a-shop.html

I'm seeing this zig-zag trend pop up more & more:

http://www.domusweb.it/content/dam/...rm-in-a-shop/big_315791_6575__LT_4882_UPD.jpg

You have the fish box at the bottom with a simple pump to put the (waste) water to the top, then it trickles down with gravity. Genius. This would be really cool setup in rows in a heavily-insulated greenhouse with a small solar panel & ductless HVAC system...basically have the whole-thing be self-sustaining & easy to run.

 

[Leros]

I came very close to buying this

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2142509221/home-aquaponics-kit-self-cleaning-fish-tank-that-g

Those little desktop kits aren't very good. You're not missing out on anything.