Backyard Hobby System Aquaponic Calculators

Backyard/Hobby System Aquaponic Calculators

New Version 2.0 Domestic System Design Tool

At Aquaponic Solutions we have updated our domestic aquaponic system design calculator to Version 2.0 for all those people who wish to design and build their own backyard/hobby/domestic media bed aquaponic systems. This model allows you to size the media bed (gravel bed) of your system based on important requirements: the fish feed to plant use ratio requirement (we use a modified UVI ratio model for this) and the solids mineralisation requirement (to make sure that the solids that enter the gravel bed are broken down and mineralised efficiently and completely).

There are many different sizing approaches for media bed aquaponic systems, but none of them are actually based on the use of sound or established scientific or technical principles. Our new updated sizing model uses established and well known associations for fish feed input to plant use ratios and known and established gravel bed solids mineralisation rates.

The model is provided as an excel spreadsheet for ease of use and we also provide a document that explains the model and explains how to use the model. We hope this assists you with designing your backyard or hobby scale aquaponic systems. Happy aquaponicing!

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Win Some

I planted a lot of seeds in vermiculite and waited for them to grow as I finished setting up my system.  Alas, my dread brown thumb curse seems to have struck.  The only seedlings popping up have been a few errant elm seedlings, and I have been harvesting a lot of those from my grow tanks.  While shopping for a few extra feeder bases for my chickens I purchased bedding plants at at 75% discount, making them almost disposable if they dont thrive.  While planting them I had evidence that the red worms are spreading through the bins. 

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Roundup and Billings markets some lessons

I decided to check out the Roundup and Billings markets to get photos to replace those I lost in a computer crash last year.

Roundup

Im glad I had a chance to see Roundup again because I learned a lesson in visiting markets: dont count on actually seeing the market.

I suppose that is not fair to Ray, the sole vendor who showed up on this hot Saturday. He made the effort to do his part, even if no one else did, including the market manager.

But there was no market sign when I drove past the Busy Bee Cafe, and the parking lot looked empty, so I spent a few minutes exploring Roundup, pretty much seeing the town in that time.

The highlight was a surprise museum in the back of a store whose name I forget (sorry!) -- look for U.S. and Montana flags flying and the "Gifts and Souvenirs" sign.

The owner said she wanted to display all the cool stuff people in town have been saving, and the result is an eclectic collection of mounted stuffed animals, saddles, and shelves of old odds and ends. Did you know ground coffee used to come in large glass jars?

I went to check the market area again and there was Ray. His table was covered with flea market items and some bags of Kettle Korn he had made. He explained that he had sold this delicious treat at the Billings market for years, where he was told he made the best in the state. It was pretty good, and an adequate reward for driving an hour north of Billings to visit a market that almost wasnt there.

Ray told me you can freeze the Kettle Korn. He said you can then pop it in the microwave to make it taste fresh again.

Another treat was the banana cream pie at the nearby Busy Bee Cafe. They also gave me a large to-go cup for a last refill of their very very tasty raspberry lemonade. Do stop at the cafe if youre in town.

Billings

But before I drove to Roundup, I had been at the Billings market, where vendor booths covered several downtown blocks.

I learned that you can eat radish seed pods -- they taste like the radishes themselves.

But the most interesting lesson was how to cart your purchases home. The following are a few ways I saw people carrying their goods: red wagons (available for use at each end of the market), shopping carts, and luggage.

Roundup Saturday Market

Busy Bee Cafe parking lot, 317 1st Avenue West

May 29 - September 25

Saturday, 9 am - 1 pm

Yellowstone Valley Farmers Market

Under the Skypoint, downtown Billings

July 17 - October 2

Saturday, 8:30 am - noon

In August (4th - 25th)

Wednesday, 4:30 pm - 8 pm

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Tomatoes in December and a Primrose Bonanza

Through thorough insulation and the use of a small propane heater on nights that go below 30 degrees, we have been successful in maintaining growth in our mint, parsley and tomato beds, as well as some of the strawberry plants. As I worked in the greenhouse this evening I harvested a handful of cherry tomatoes from the somewhat struggling vines. Today we went shopping for some nitrogen absorbers. In other words, our fish are outstripping our vegetation. I have become familiar with the cold hardiness of primroses, mostly as I enter and leave the Provo LDS Temple where the winter plants of choice are the hardy little plants that almost seem overcome by a sharp frost or deep layer of snow, but which bounce back as soon as warmth returns, providing a green ground cover in the winter and giving a lovely floral display in early spring. Although so far I have avoided floral plants in favor of fruits, vegetables and herbs, our trout are growing and as they grow, they eat more and provide more plant food. Without an adequate amount of vegetation, they will end up with too much nitrogen in their water. Cooks nursery in Orem, west of the 1600 North interchange had mostly indoor plants and poinsettias for sale, however we found some flourishing primrose plants in a cool corner of a heated greenhouse. We placed them in the rain gutters that I used for float trays in the summer. I was pleasantly surprised to pay only a little over a dollar a plant for 18 plants.

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Some of the results Three Sisters planting

Some of the results .... Three Sisters planting
Zucchini .... .... Red Beans ... white corn ..

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Larvae Harvest Plants thriving

First BFL harvest this morning!
I found three large larvae- 3/4" long and black, in the catch bin this morning.  I took them down and fed them to my chickens.  For the next few days Im putting the harvest bucket in a shady place near a spot where I put some food scraps under a layer of wood compost.  I plan to let any that come out of the bin in the next few days find their way to a place where they can become flies and breed.   It took a week from putting little white larvae in my collector bin to the appearance of the mature larvae.
Also, the grow bins in my aquaponics setup are doing well.  I planted various herbs, a squash and some tomatoes and all are apparently thriving five days after being planted. 

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شراء تجهيزات وأدوات أكوابونيك جوله Buy Some Aquaponics tools tours

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Two Weeks and Fish are Thriving In Spite of Some Problems

When I was dealing with 20 cent feeder gold fish I didnt feel the economic pinch too much if a bunch of them floated to the top of the tank a day or so after I brought them home. I feared at first that I was responsible but a reliable source told me that feeder fish are notoriously infected with various things that make them short lived. The survival of two of the original gold fish through last winter, living on algae apparently, surprised me when I noticed them at last. The trout represent a greater investment. I paid for them by the inch as well as paying for delivery. Fortunately the delivery cost was split between me and another aquaponist in the area who ordered larger fish from the same trout farm. In addition, the man who delivered the fish threw in a few extra. Actually he threw in more than ten extra. But he didnt want to carry a load of water and a few small fish all the way back to his trout farm. Following his recommendations, based on the number of fish, I fed them about a cup of fish pellets from Intermountain Farm Association where I purchased 50 pounds for just a little over $35. Even though any remaining pellets should be discarded after 3 months, this still beat the price of fish food from the pet store. Then I discovered that my three hens are crazy about fish pellets. I had read somewhere that hens fed on fish meal produced eggs with higher levels of omega fatty acids, so I consider it a win/win situation. The fish pellets are twice the cost of layer pellets for the chickens, but with no need to worry about wasting the pellets after ninety days have passed, I figure all is good. At any rate, feeding the fish at the rate of a cup a day didnt work out well. The fish let a lot of the pellets sink to the bottom of the fish tank where they became food for algae. Suddenly my pumps seized up from algal clogging and the water in the system turned nearly opaque. After cleaning the pumps and getting them started again I put a piece of polyester upholstery foam in a rectangular plastic colander and set it beneath the outlet from the fish tank into the sump. The following day, Thursday, we didnt feed the fish. On Friday the filter was filthy, the water in the fish tank was crystal clear and the fish eagerly ate the handful and a half of pellets fed to them. No casualties were detected. I was happy to learn that even commercial aquaponists use chelated iron as a supplement. I have used it with good effect. My tomato plants had turned a sickly yellow green earlier this month but an application of chelated iron brought them back to a lovely green. Ill wait until the greenhouse gets too cold to support them before pulling them out and replacing them with cold weather crops.

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