7 Good Reasons to Remove Solid Wastes.

January 13, 2010

The accumulation of particulate wastes in an aquaponics system (which largely comprise faecal matter and uneaten feed) will negatively impact your fish in a variety of ways including:

Solid wastes may clog bio-filters and reduce their operating effectiveness.

Particulate matter consumes oxygen during decomposition which means that there is less oxygen for the fish.

The presence of solid wastes encourages the growth [...]

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Taking Advice

December 14, 2009

The enduring model of skill formation is the apprenticeship system.
It has served humanity for thousands of years and it is the means by which people most effectively develop the skills to do all manner of things including making bread, brain surgery….and aquaponics.
The apprenticeship system comprises three essential elements:

apprentices – whose job is to learn the [...]

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Mythconception #8 – Water Turnover

December 11, 2009

One of the more recent aquaponic myths to circulate is the one that says that the contents of the fish tank must be turned over each hour.
It’s another one of those quaint notions that defies logic.
The fact is that the frequency with which the contents of a fish tank must be turned over are driven by [...]

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Mythconception #7 – Grow Tank Depth

December 8, 2009

Here we go again, the myth makers are at it again. 
This time, it’s grow tank depth for raft systems. 
The suggestion is that grow tanks should be 300mm (12″) deep…..and some of the reasons being proferred for this depth include:

the more water in a system the greater its stability.

shallower tanks may heat up (or cool) down quicker.

shallower [...]

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Vermiponics – Aquaponics without Fish

December 6, 2009

Aquaponics is great.
And the flood and drain model is particularly interesting…..and useful. 
But what if you wanted all of the benefits of aquaponics but none of the complexities of rearing fish?
Or what if you can only grow fish during a particular season?  What do you do to keep your plants going during the off-season?
Well, there is a [...]

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15 Good Reasons to Have a Trickling Bio-Filter

November 21, 2009

Biological filters are the means by which people like you and I are able to grow our own fish.  In short……no bio-filters; no aquaponics!
Bio-filters are simply good places for nitrifying bacteria to live and play.  They provide the optimum environment for the bacteria that convert the potentially toxic wastes produced by the fish into organic plant [...]

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Mythconception #6 – Aquaponics is Easy

October 26, 2009

There are some people who would have you believe that operating an aquaponics system is just…..easy!
The  people most likely to tell you that aquaponics is easy are those who want to sell you aquaponics kits or equipment – so their interest is fairly obvious.  You’re much more likely to sell something to someone if you [...]

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Mythconception #5 – Sustainability

October 22, 2009

We often seen the word sustainability used in conjunction with aquaponics but just how sustainable is it?
Water use efficiency and the absence of herbicides and pesticides are powerful arguments in support of sustainability…..and so is the conversion of fish wastes into plant food.
But these are only part of the picture.
Any notion of sustainability has to acknowledge the following:

The use of wild catch [...]

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Mythconception #4 – Removal of Solid Wastes

October 21, 2009

This ‘mythconception’ would be amusing if not for the fact that it is responsible for the premature death of so many fish.
The purpose of grow beds in a media-based aquaponics system is to facilitate nitrification and to grow plants……in that order.
There’s a prevailing belief among some aquaponicists that an additional function of grow beds is [...]

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Mythconception #3 – Grow Bed Depth

October 20, 2009

A commonly uttered nonsense has it that media-based grow beds must be at least 300mm (12 inches) deep and, I have to say, that this is one of my favourite aquaponics myths.
How did this idea come about?
Probably the person most responsible for the current interest in gravel grow beds was aquaponics pioneer Tom Speraneo.
While he wasn’t [...]

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