Aquaponics Book

If you are out there thinking about building your own aquaponics  system
you might like to buy this book from me.  It includes detailed professional blueprints
and directions to build your own Microaquaponic system. (My system has
two 100 gallon fish tanks and two 8x4 foot plant troughs. ) The book gives you
all the set up and grow information , materials list, fish and plant information and lots more.

Materials for  this system run anywhere
from $1000 to $1500 depending on where you live. Here in Hawaii materials
are  more expensive than on the mainland US.

The book by Friendly Aquaponics "Outdoor Micro Systems Do It Yourself Manual "
is $100.  Email me  for more information   :
hawaiimicroaquaponic@gmail.com

Or go visit the writers , my friends,  at friendlyaquaponics.com . They have a huge
aquaponic system .

Starting Plants from Cuttings

A plant sprouting holding table is necessary in an aquaponic system.
I have a long narrow table that is shaped like a rectangular baking pan.
Net pots filled with planting medium (coconut fiber and vermiculite)
set in the pan after the seeds are inserted. Water flows through this pan,
then out the drain at one end. Seeds sprout here in the sun and wait to be inserted into the
aquaponic system. Germination may occur in days or weeks , depending on the type
of seed and the weather.

There are shortcuts  in aquaponic system planting. As a beginner this is a good one to try:

Take an 8 or 10 inch  cutting from the top of your favorite tomato plant.
Insert it into an empty net pot until it goes at least an inch through the bottom  of the pot.
Fill in the net pot around the cutting with coconut mix  planting medium.
Cut all but the top two or three leaves from the cutting.
Insert net pot in the aquaponic system and STAND back.
You are about to have an incredible growing experience.

Planting to foil the insects

No pesticides can be used in an aquaponics system that has live fish dwelling there.  The fish  water is circulated through the troughs where the vegetables live and then returned clean to the fish tank. 

Any pesticide on the plants will be dripped into the water and  will kill your fish. Therefore , dealing with insects is tricky.

About the only thing you can do is to plant  'stinky' things that repel insects.  My favorites are :

bunching onions, basil, and french marigolds.  I scatter the 'stinky plants' throughout the system with extras near the beans , peas and cabbage type plants. The onions and basil  we eat  when they mature, 

 the marigolds  are just pretty.  French Marigolds will grow into huge creatures

and take over your system , if you let them. They need heavy pruning and after a couple of months replaced with new small starts. I take the old marigolds and plant them in the ground nearby . They rarely even wilt and continue to grow and chase away the insects.

We have small mosquito fish living under the vegetable troughs to control the 

mosquito  population. The mosquitoes lay eggs in the water and the tiny mosquito fish 

eat the larvae . Occasionally the mosquito fish population  explodes and we scoop out a 

few  and the chickens have a treat eating the extra small fish. .

Tubers in an Aquaponic system

Did you ever wonder how to grow root crops in an aquaponic system?
It can be done and the results taste great. The trick is to use really big net pots
filled with lots of coconut medium .

For carrots, parsnips, beets , you can plant a circle
of seeds in each pot. Taro , a tropical tuber, works also.

Of course this means you need to make big holes in your  floats and insert the big filled net pot.
If you can't find big net pots  , take a regular black plastic pot and slice pieces out along the sides
and bottom of the pot.

Happy weed free gardening !

Start a Tree

If you want to really give a seedling tree a jumpstart ,
do this :

Start the seed in a net pot filled with coconut fiber and vermiculite.

Once the seed germinates put the net pot in the aquaponic system  and
leave it there until the tree is about 12 inches tall.

Take the tree and net   pot out of the aquaponic system
and plant it wherever you want  it to grow. Do not try to remove the plant from the net pot.
Just pant the whole thing in the ground . Be sure to water it
a lot when you  plant it and for the next two weeks.

Stand back and watch it grow ! You will be amazed.

Sexy Vicious Fish

Tilapia like privacy when they breed , usually. We have a special tank just for 'breeders'.
That is where they are suppose to have sex and make little fish. The two big tanks are where they  grow and turn into fish fillets.

Last week we noticed something was eating the roots of the plants and the tiny mosquito fish in the plant troughs were disappearing. So we did a test. Dropped a few pieces of fish food in a  plant trough and watched .
Several 6 inch Tilapia came in for a snack. We repeated it with a fish net in hand.
Several fish later we thought we had them all.  Three days later we repeated the test and caught several two inch Tilapia.
So how did they get from the breeding tanks into the fillet tank and through the filters and into the plant troughs?  Seems some of the fillet fish didn't mind having sightseers around when they made whoopee.
They created fry and when we washed the filters the tiny fry swam into the troughs . Then they ate
the mosquito fish and some of the plant roots . After a month or so they were doing some real damage to the system.

Guess we need to be faster when we wash filters.

If You are TIRED of pulling weeds then…….

If you are tired of pulling weeds then aquaponics is the way for you to go.
I have had a system for a year and half and can count the weeds I have pulled out of the system
on my fingers .
This is the ideal lazy way to grow vegetables . I feed the fish everyday
and stick seeds in net pots once a month. Then I sit back for 3 or 4 weeks
and wait for my crop .

Even if you are 80 + you can handle this !