66 replies to this topic

[ERayR]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 02 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

Lehi,

So your post has led me to reading a ton about aquaponics for the last week. In doing so, I was reading about fish choices. Trout vs Tilapia vs Catfish, etc. It appears the pros of tilapia are that they of course are easy to care for and breed easily. The downside is that they apparently are the least nutritious of the choices and have a Omega fatty acid ratio that removes a lot of the benefit of eating fish. Have you read about this? If so, do you plan on trying other fish species later? Just curious.

Also, what are you using to contain the fish? Is it glass, a "tote" container type thing that's been reinforced externally, or something else? Just trying to get ideas!

I would think that some part of the decision as to which to raise would be whether or not the taste was palatable to you.  I dont happen to be overly fond of trout or catfish.  I can eat them occasionally but to raise them and make them a steady menu item would not work for me.  However I don't have the means nor the physical ability to raise any at this time.  My comment was meant only to give you something to think about.

[Matthew J. Tandy]

ERayR,

I suppose that's true. I don't know if I've ever had tilapia, so I can't say what my preference is. I do quite like trout. If large-mouth Bass was possible, I would go for that.:-)

[thesometimesaint]

Tilapia is a bottom feeder like catfish. Some people claim it tastes muddy. But raised in clean water eliminates much of that taste.

[LeSellers]

thesometimesaint, on 03 February 2012 - 03:24 AM, said:

Tilapia is a bottom feeder like catfish. Some people claim it tastes muddy. But raised in clean water eliminates much of that taste.

Ours sure are not bottom feeders.

The taste is rather bland: it's a white fish, not too much fat (but what it has is omega-3).

Lehi

[Matthew J. Tandy]

LeSellers, on 03 February 2012 - 08:45 AM, said:

...not too much fat (but what it has is omega-3).

Lehi

Actually, that was the problem I read about them. Lower in Omega-3, higher in Omega-6, which is not a good ratio:

http://www.genesmart...utrition/84.php

However, it appears the problem can be overcome in a good aquoponics system, as it states the reason for the problem thus:

Quote

The problem with tilapia nutrition is what the fish are eating. Tilapia omega 3 Levels are so low because Tilapia are incredibly hardy, which means that you can feed them just about anything as a fat source. What we’re feeding them is corn oil, or soy, or whatever the cheapest commodity is at the time, packed with short-chain omega 6 fats that they convert to the dangerous long-chain omega-6 fats (AA). Normally herbivore fish eat algae, which contain medium-chain omega 3 fats that they convert to the very beneficial long chain omega 3s including EPA and DHA. Carnivorous fish then eat those fish as their source of omega 3 fats. Humans eat both types of fish.

So, perhaps feeding them algae, the black soldier fly larva, etc, will set things more in there natural order.

[LeSellers]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 03 February 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

perhaps feeding them algae, the black soldier fly larva, etc, will set things more in there natural order.

Yes, as far as we can tell, that's the right information. As of yet, we have not, personally, fed our fish anything but commercial (Matsua^®) feed. However, the information (not on line) we have suggests that the lipid ratios change with their diet, and what we plan on feeding will be more "natural" than the stuff people purchase.

Lehi

[LeSellers]

For those interested in aquaponics (a subset of my own ecoponics), a good resource is Aquaponics Community.

Lehi

[Matthew J. Tandy]

Lehi,

Thanks for all the replies. Still looking for one more item:

Quote

Also, what are you using to contain the fish? Is it glass, a "tote" container type thing that's been reinforced externally, or something else? Just trying to get ideas!

I am trying to get ideas, as I want to do something in my garage later this year.

[ERayR]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 02 February 2012 - 11:16 PM, said:

ERayR,

I suppose that's true. I don't know if I've ever had tilapia, so I can't say what my preference is. I do quite like trout. If large-mouth Bass was possible, I would go for that.:-)

Tilapia is available in the grocery stores and usually for a reasonable price.  Buy some and try it.  I don't like it quite as good as the whitefish(cod and halibut) but it is my choice over trout.

And no it does not taste muddy.

[LeSellers]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 02 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

what are you using to contain the fish? Is it glass, a "tote" container type thing that's been reinforced externally, or something else?

The greenhouse ecoponics system includes a "basement" made of concrete block (lots of iron and concrete—the thing is 7' deep in clay).

The experimental aquaponics system uses 55 gallon Pepsi^® drums I got from the bottling plant. We used most of them for water storage, but five form the grow beds and fish tanks for the system in our basement. All lie horizonally in a frame I built using cull 2x4s from Lowe's.

There are five grow beds (half drums) and two, linked tanks, each with its own pump. The link is a ¾" pipe running between the bung holes of the two drums so the water levels stay more-or-less even. It also allows us to use a single heater or pump, although we have two of each.

The greatest single cost was for the Hydrocorels^® expanded clay aggregate we use for the growing medium. It takes two 45 litre bags for each grow bed. Even with two pumps and a lot of lights, the $300 we spent at the hydroponics store (where we are outnumbered 10:1 by marijuana growers) overweighed the rest of the project by a hundred bucks or so. For the greenhouse ecoponics system, that number will be $3,000.

I'm still trying to get photos on line to show you what we're doing. I'm a bit slow and more than a bit harrassed by all the work that goes into building the greenhouse model. Maybe now with the snow on the ground, I'll have the time to make that happen—but please don't hold your breath.

Lehi

Edited by LeSellers, 03 February 2012 - 02:21 PM.

[thesometimesaint]

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

http://wiki.answers....tom_feeder_fish

Edited by thesometimesaint, 03 February 2012 - 02:22 PM.

[LeSellers]

Well, the doe we had on probation came through.

She'd had two litters, but none of her bunnies survived until this litter on Friday (so far). We have at least six bunnies hiding under her nesting fur. (I don't like to disturb them for a week because a mother can be sometimes so protective that if we do take them out of the kindling [nesting] box, she'll abandon them. So we do a quick count without touching them and have been surprised to find one or even two more than the original count.) They look strong and healthy, so we're encouraged by that.

The first time she had only three, who survived a week or less, and the second was a singleton that we never saw alive.

There's snow all over the place here. We had 20~22" Thursday~Saturday, which has made working on the main ecoponics system impossible. It also made doing much else besides shoveling snow a non-starter. Tonight, though, I think I'll get my radial saw running again (it needed a factory recall applied), and we'll be ready to begin building the frames for the grow beds.

Lehi

[Matthew J. Tandy]

Probably going to try and start my aquaponis system in the next week. Looking at using IBC/Totes for an initial container. Any photos yet Lehi?

[LeSellers]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 10 February 2012 - 11:04 AM, said:

Probably going to try and start my aquaponis system in the next week. Looking at using IBC/Totes for an initial container.

Congratulations!

They do work, but the size is a serious limit.

I hope you visited Sylvia's website (I linked to it in an earlier post).

Matthew J. Tandy said:

Any photos yet, Lehi?

"Photos", yes. Figuring out how to post them, not yet.

Lehi

[Matthew J. Tandy]

Quote

They do work, but the size is a serious limit.

Yeah, they aren't huge, but since I just moved down to Texas and am in a rental for a bit, I don't want anything too hard to move in the future. Takes a bit to adjust to not owning the home I am living in!

Quote

I hope you visited Sylvia's website (I linked to it in an earlier post).

Sure did. And then some. Spent about 40 hours researching, watching vids, etc.:-)

[LeSellers]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 10 February 2012 - 01:25 PM, said:

Sure did. And then some. Spent about 40 hours researching, watching vids, etc.

I'd suggest, if  you haven't seen them already, that you watch Murray Hallams's videos (from Australia). Hallams may be the world's greatest living expert on aquaponics.

When you're ready to build your bell siphons, please don't do what I did for ours; I drilled ³/₈" holes in the shroud. Use a table saw and cut a few dozen horizontal slots spaced vertically and circumferentially around it instead. We're always getting hydrocorels stuck in the holes, and often get some between the shroud and the bell. (Not a good situation.)

Lehi

Edited by LeSellers, 10 February 2012 - 01:55 PM.

[Matthew J. Tandy]

Quote

I'd suggest, if you haven't seen them already, that you watch Murray Hallams's videos (from Australia). Hallams may be the world's greatest living expert on aquaponics

Lol, I've discovered already it's hard to take more than a couple steps into serious aquaponics without bumping in to his materials, videos, etc. I've watched several videos and interviews with him in the last week.

Quote

When you're ready to build your bell siphons, please don't do what I did for ours

Well, I am not certain yet about going with an ebb and flow right off the bat. My concern is starting cost, and the substrate material can get a little pricey. I will probably go with a floating raft system and some leafy greens to start off on the basics. Since a bell siphon is simple enough to plug in to the drain hole later, it offers me the ability to expand as I learn on the job so to speak. But that is good advice on the shroud holes.

[Matthew J. Tandy]

Lehi:

For your basement trial setup, what did you do for grow lights? They seem to be the msot expensive element.

[LeSellers]

Matthew J. Tandy, on 13 February 2012 - 03:47 PM, said:

For your basement trial setup, what did you do for grow lights? They seem to be the msot expensive element.

We use standard four-foot T 12 florescents and several red "party lights" that I installed in ordinary Edison fixtures.

You're right: they can be expensive, but high Kelvin (5000) values seem to cover the needed red and blue wave lengths the plants need to grow and flower. We added the red lights when winter came and we lost the red wave frequencies from the window next to the system.  

Lehi

Edited by LeSellers, 14 February 2012 - 11:39 AM.

[Storm Rider]

thesometimesaint, on 03 February 2012 - 03:24 AM, said:

Tilapia is a bottom feeder like catfish. Some people claim it tastes muddy. But raised in clean water eliminates much of that taste.

Nope; they are not bottom feeders at all and are not at all like catfish.  They are closer to a brem or perch