AZHomegrownSolutions

I'm hoping to implement a full scale aquaponics set-up this fall. I want to grow 100-300 lbs of tilapia per year, and the poopy water they live in gets pumped around to plants in a hydroponic style system. The plants act as water filters, using the dirty water as nutients and then the cleaned water goes back into the fish pond.
Here is my main issue: temperature. Tilapia like water roughly 80-86 degrees. It's pretty easy to heat up water, but I can't figure out how to cool it down. My first idea was to put it in a greenhouse (which I'd have to build/buy) and use an evap to maintain temps, this seems expensive and I felt like there's probably a better way. I thought about burying a second reservoir tank-- a sort of geothermal idea, but I don't think the volume of water (somewhere between 100-500 gallons) will be great enough for that to have a significant impact. Do any of you have experience with ponds? I know they must work somehow because people out here have them... If the tank is in the ground and approx. 8' by 3' and 18" deep underneath a shade structure what kind of summertime temps do you think I'm looking at?
My final idea (for now) is to put the tanks in the converted garage building where I work which has the benefit of already having power and a cooling system, and have the piping go through the walls to a set-up outside which will basically be a lean-to style greenhouse/shade house (depending on the season).

The rest of my problems are mechanical and engineering related, as I have zero experience with this type of thing, but I figure they can probably be worked out in the couple of months I have before I have money saved up to begin...

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Hi Rachel,


Please call me at 602-564-1162. I would love to talk with you, as I have experience with Aquaponics. As you can see from my profile picture, I have 2 aquaponics systems in my backyard and would love to show and explain my work with them.


Chip

Reply to This

Rachel and Chip,

Just got an interesting document, "Aquaponics - Integration of Hydroponics with Aquaculture" by NCAT It is short, 28 pages, so maybe you would like to copy it?

Lis

Reply to This

The heat is a real problem. 1. Algae blooms, hopefully the fish will take care of that. 2. Oxygen. When the temp goes up in the water, saturated oxygen goes down. This has been a real problem for me a couple of times, causing a die off of my biggest fish. I use a pond that is in the ground to get heat sink effect from the earth, additionally I shade the pond during the summer. I use pumps to circulate water, that helps cool it and introduce air into the water, some fountains also help. It's a bit energy intensive for the summer, but it seems to work. Unless the pump goes out while you are at work.
Here is a link to another pdf book on fish farming:
http://www.gaiagate.com/greentool/wiki/pmwiki.php?n=Resources.FishF...

Reply to This

RSS

Stay Connected!

Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

* required field

*






Email Marketing by VerticalResponse

Bookmark and Share

Gear Up and Help Out!

There's more! Bumper stickers, travel mugs, caps... Click on the shirt to go to our shop.

We are a proud member of...

Community Partners


Proud Member of the VerticalResponse Non-profit Email Marketing Program

© 2010   Created by Admin.   Powered by .

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service