UCAN's fearless leader took to aquaponic home farming when he realized that he might be able to cut his water consumption by up to 90% and he could harness the excess power generated by his photovoltaic array that is pumping out over 100kwhrs each month MORE than he uses.   OK, and he realized he could make some money, to boot.  He's never denied being opportunistic when it comes to making money rather than spending it. 

Aquaponics is an old concept but it is using some mid-level technology in pumps and timers.   The cool thing about aquaponics is that it recreates a natural biosystem without the need for any added fertilizers, chemicals, or pesticides. And some experts have estimated that they require only 10% of the water normally needed for regular farming.   Michael is carefully measuring his usage so that he can verify aquaponic advocates' claims. 

As in nature, the plants and fish sort of scratch each others' backs.    The scientific term is "symbiotic".   In short, the plants keep the water clean and, in turn, the fish feed the plants. Well, sort of. Actually, the waste from the fish tanks is treated with natural bacteria that converts the waste, largely ammonia, into nitrates that are used as essential nutrients by the plants. In turn, the plant roots serve to filter out this waste, so that the fish poop doesn't despoil the fish tanks. Everything stays clean and well fed.

The only regular farming activity needed is feeding the fish and that's handled by an automatic fish feeder that feeds them twice daily. Only a small amount of water is needed periodically to replace water that gets evaporated over time. And because Michael built the system in his garage, there is even less evaporation.

The entire system is powered by the electricity generated by Michael's photovoltaic system. So the sunlight powers the pumps and lights that grow the plants and keep the closed system water circulating. And if that isn't cool enough, Michael can contract with companies who will buy the fish and vegetables that he grows, pay him for whatever he doesn't use personally, and then sell it as organic, locally-produced product. No trucks importing the food from other states. No oil-based fertilizers or pesticides. The only non-solar energy required is the effort by Michael to harvest the fish and plants. (which he's not all that happy about, but is sated by the money he'll be making).

While it sounds complicated, it really wasn't. Michael contracted with Grow Foods, a local installer of aquaponics systems. None of the equipment is patented so anyone can do it.  For about $2000, they shipped and assembled:

* Two seventy-gallon tanks for the fish:

* Gravel - 2.5 lbs./gravel for every 5 gallons of water in the fish tank

* Water pumps - 3-4 watt pump capable of lifting 18" - 54" at 30 - 100/gal/hour (small circulation or fountain pump is ideal)

* Aquarium air pumps sized for the number of gallons in the fish tank

* Two large grow bsed that sit on top of fish tanks

* Growing Medium -  they used expanded clay pebbles.  A bit more expensive but great for growing tubers. 

They also provided the tilapia and shrimp that will grow in the tanks.   As for the plants, Michael chose to grow assorted lettuces, basil, tomatoes, peppers and french green beans.   The high-nitrogen fertilizer generated through fish waste promotes especially lush foliage.  And the special full-spectrum grow lights give all of the light that the plants need to thrive, while giving bugs nothing to live upon.   So no pesticides should be required as there's no soil. 

Aside from plants and fish, the other major component of aquaponics is the water itself. That said, carefully monitoring the water's pH, which determines acidity, is of the upmost importance to ensure safe levels for the fish. Water quality testing equipment is very important to ensure that both fish and plants remain healthy. Michael also has to keep an eye on dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and chlorine. Within the first two weeks, the beneficial bacteria stabilize and little additional maintenance is needed thereafter.

Michael has planted an identical "parallel" garden in his backyard using the exact same plants, purchased and planted on the same days, as the aquaponics garden.    He is using hte parallel garden as a control to measure the plant growth performance as well as compare water consumption.

The progress and details of Michael's new aquaponic miracle garden will be charted and provided on these pages, so keep checking in so that you can follow the progress of this living laboratory in his garage. 

Early on, he found that the fish were doing great, the herbs, string beans and lettuce are thriving and the tomatoes are struggling.   The aquaponics system is requiring about 10 gallons of water per week.    In contrast, the outdoor "parallel" garden is requiring 10 gallons of water per day.   The lettuce in the outdoor garden aren't growing at all (too hot), the beans and peppers are struggling, the basil is being attacked by bugs but the tomatoes are going gangbusters.

By October, it became clear that there were two major problems with this installation.   First, the grow lights seemed to be adequate for the basil, lettuce, herbs and strawberries.   But the peppers, tomatoes and beans simply weren't thriving.   Second, and perhaps more importantly, the nutrients provided by the fish were not adequate.   Most of the vegetables were showing signs of malnutrition.  Unless he added nutrients to the water,  only the basil and lettuce would grow.   Despite the stresses exhibited by the plants, the tilapia appeared quite content and ever hungry.  

In early 2010,   Michael is going to move the installation outside and try again.   This time, there will be natural lighting.  And he's going to add soil to the hydrotron pans so as to provide for some of the nutrients that weren't present in the first experiment.   He'll continue to keep you informed of the progress.

In the meantime,  here's lot of information about this installation that might help you decide whether and how to create your own aquaponics experiment. 

Vendor:   John Choisser
Grow Foods, Inc.
17005 Castello Circle
San Diego, CA 92127
jchoisser@growfoodsinc.com
www.growfoodsinc.com
858-414-1007

To see the specs for Michael's project,  click here and go to the attachment. 

To see the owners manual (8-pages),  click here and go to the 4 X 4 manual attachment below.

If you've got an outdoor pool that is just too expensive to maintain and you are thinking of getting rid of it,  THINK AGAIN.  It could turn out to be the perfect aquaponics site.   Just fill with fish and place growing pans over it for the plants.  Your old pool can become a serious money-maker!