# Urban Startup using Aquaponics (hydroponics + aquaculture)



## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

Figured you guys would appreciate this!



> It's called aquaponics- a gardening system that combines hydroponics (water-based planting) and aquaculture (fish farming). It's been hailed as the future of farming: it uses less water (up to 90% less than traditional gardening), doesn't attract soil-based bugs and produces two types of produce (both plants and fish).


Video: Internet of food: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland - YouTube

Source: This man deserves more recognition! He's a GENIUS! : videos

Original Article: Internet of food: Arduino-based, urban aquaponics in Oakland - videos - *faircompanies


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

Interesting comment from the source thread,



> [-]lostpasswordagain 344 points 3 hours ago
> This will prly get buried but, I will jump in here. A non-profit that I founded researches and installs system such as these in many developing nations. I browsed though the video fairly quickly (didn't have much time) however if you use fish such as blue tilapia that will feed on lage you eliminate the need for fish food entirely. What happens is you allow the water run-off from the growing bed to settle in an 'alge tray' the nitrates and nitrites from the plants encourage alge growth in this tray. When the tray fills with water it spills over the ledge carrying the alge with it and feeding the fish. Also you can create hand pumps fairly easily from PVC pipe and tire rubber. This eliminates the need for electricity completely. Hope this answers some of your questions.


lostpasswordagain comments on This man deserves more recognition! He's a GENIUS!


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## ctclee (May 3, 2010)

Simply fantastic !!


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## scottyama (Jan 6, 2013)

does anyone have a seasoned outdoor aquaponics system working here in the lower mainland?

S


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

scottyama said:


> does anyone have a seasoned outdoor aquaponics system working here in the lower mainland?
> 
> S


I was wondering the same thing. I'll be starting my aquaponics system out side when the weather warms up if all goes well I'll start up my indoor one in the fall.


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## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

Awesome idea!


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

I usually grew some vegetables (i.e. water cress, Romaine lettuce, etc.) by floating them over my above ground koi pond from spring to late summer. This spring, I may do the same but in my greenhouse to keep the koi more protected from the raccoons. For the lettuce, I cut small holes in pieces of styrofoam and inserted the seedlings inside to float on the surface. The water cress can be grown by having the roots in the water or even floating the small planting pot on the surface.

If I build it inside my greenhouse, I will be using something very similar to the one in the video, except using old spare fish tanks cause these will become my main filtration system for the koi pond. The added advantage is that I will be able to grow my tomatoes, bell peppers, hot chili peppers aquaponically. I have also been using the fish waste water (both from the existing koi pond and from washing out my canister filters) to water my garden and greenhouse over the last several years, instead of using lots of chemical fertilizers. 

I already have most of the materials needed for doing a very similar system in the spring, except I plan to use my spare fish biofilter materials for the first section, then have the water go to the floating "raft" aquaponics tank. My electronics friend will hopefully be helping me set up a solar powered system to power most of the pumps and any other equipment. In the meantime, I will just run a long extension cord to the greenhouse. 

I love the fact that he's having good success in a contaminated, concrete jungle setting. Thanks for posting this video. Love seeing other urban farmers out there. 

The last couple years, almost all my family's vegetables from late June till early October have been from my garden (Brocoliini, cauliflower, N.Z. spinach, bok choi, pak choi, beans, sugar peas, 8 types of tomatoes, 6 types of sweet bell peppers, 5 types of chilli peppers, carrots, onions, garlic, zuccinni, etc.). We also harvest a lot of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries (as well as lots of other fruits) from the garden & greenhouse. I love the challenge of trying to grow as much food from my urban garden as possible, and now that the big greenhouse is built, its time to expand my aquaponics experiments in there. Eventually, my hope is to have the greenhouse mainly occupied by my citrus tree collection (2 Improved Meyers lemon, Eureka lemon, Washington Navel, Calamansi, and 2 Kishu mandarins (although the Kishus are in pots inside the house right now). Even been harvesting some ripe Improved Meyers lemons these last couple of weeks from the greenhouse. 

Would be great to see other BCA members become urban farmers too. This video of the Oakland urban farmer hopefully inspires some of you to join the revolution. Many members/mods have been over here and eaten the veg (i.e. especially the brocollini) so you know how much better the veg from your garden will taste compared tot he commercial stuff in the supermarkets.

Anthony


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

That is awesome. Pics are a must when you do it!

Living in a Condo my options are limited but one day I hope to have a back yard and will try out some off the grid tactics. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

So tonight, Felicia my 4 years old had a bit of a cough and I went into the greenhouse to pluck her a fresh home-grown, made-in-Canada, lemon off my Improved Meyers lemon tree:bigsmile: . Cut it up, squeezed it into some honey water & voila, a lovely home remedy drink for my little girl.

Regarding the aquaponics topic, been doing some research as to which veg species work best and it appears that leafy veg work fine in a low bioload system but fruiting plants, like tomatoes need a high bioload system. Mostly cherry-type tomatoes are successful, whereas the big ones, like Beefeaters, are not as easy to grow using aquaponics due to the much higher nutrient levels needed.

Trying to figure out if my koi would survive in a 110g Rubbermaid "pond" inside the greenhouse or will it overheat in mid-summer. I'd probably have to install fans for when it gets really hot and sunny. There's also the added headache of preventing raccoons from going into the greenhouse to get at the fish.

Anthony


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## poiuy704 (Nov 6, 2010)

These guys out in Agassiz do a great job of combining coho salmon and wasabi

Bruce Swift: Fish farmer on Vimeo


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

poiuy704 said:


> These guys out in Agassiz do a great job of combining coho salmon and wasabi
> 
> Bruce Swift: Fish farmer on Vimeo


Thanks for posting . It's a neat video.


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