They call those setups aquaponics. It’s a really cool system and one I would love to have as an indoor farming setup some day when I can finance it.
Currently I die a little inside when I do aquarium filter cleaning and water changes. The amount of nutrientns I cannot re-use is saddening. So much good fish poopy going to waste.
Another cost consideration is the food safety licensing and whatnot you would need to have.
Thanks for reminding me that we should know if our hearty fig tree made it through winter. We’ve had hearty hibiscus for several years so I’m optimistic.
If you pick up coco coir (an inert medium for hydroponics when plants need a bit more rooting structure) you can dump that sludge right over top to water whatever plant you have growing in it.
If it ends up getting kinda gross, take it outside and hose a bunch of water through it to rinse it, good to continue. But mostly it just causes the coir to break down a bit faster than it otherwise would, due to the bacteria, so this is basically like adding compost continuously.
Doesn’t work for every plant, but does work for a lot of them! I have potatoes in such a setup right now, and it’s pretty swanky.
Nice! I do dump my buckets into some of our garden beds on occassion. I was a little shy about using it after I watered a houseplant and it grew some kind of fumgus on the soil but that cleared up. I’m guessing that might be the kinda gross you mentioned.
I really hope to get some raised beds for food plants this year but already have a greenhouse needing that needs to be built.
So, forgive my ignorance, because I really don’t know what I’m talking about, but isn’t it possible to use oysters and/or snails to filter and clean your tank in lieu of a mechanical filter? Or does that have a lot of issues I’m unaware of along the way
Snails can eat leftover food waste so it doesn’t decompose in the water, but they still excrete waste of their own so it doesn’t completely eliminate ammonia. Filter feeders can help prevent algal blooms, but many have precise requirements that aren’t compatible with most tank set ups.
There is something called the wallsted method though, and the concept is to use a planted tank with low bioload and enough plants to consume the ammonia that’s produced. It doesn’t work for every setup though, it’s more of a niche thing that requires a bit of planning to pull off
A deep substrate can also help filter ammonia. My 75 gallon freshwater tank requires very little in filter cleaning and water changes thanks to a good cleanup crew, lots of surface area for bacteria, deep-ish substrate, and lots of plants.
Our marine tank is similar. That tank also has a second smaller tank beneath, called a sump, where there is extra rock and biomedia for beneficial bacteria. That tank has a second lighting system set to an opposite photoperiod from the main tank and has a specific type of macroalgae (chaeto) which gobbles up phosphates during the main tank’s night hours.
It can be a delicate balancing act getting it all working well, but when tanks get established it gets to be fairly routine keeping it all going.
They call those setups aquaponics. It’s a really cool system and one I would love to have as an indoor farming setup some day when I can finance it.
Currently I die a little inside when I do aquarium filter cleaning and water changes. The amount of nutrientns I cannot re-use is saddening. So much good fish poopy going to waste.
Another cost consideration is the food safety licensing and whatnot you would need to have.
I use my used aquarium water for our fruit trees, and they love it.
Thanks for reminding me that we should know if our hearty fig tree made it through winter. We’ve had hearty hibiscus for several years so I’m optimistic.
If you pick up coco coir (an inert medium for hydroponics when plants need a bit more rooting structure) you can dump that sludge right over top to water whatever plant you have growing in it.
If it ends up getting kinda gross, take it outside and hose a bunch of water through it to rinse it, good to continue. But mostly it just causes the coir to break down a bit faster than it otherwise would, due to the bacteria, so this is basically like adding compost continuously.
Doesn’t work for every plant, but does work for a lot of them! I have potatoes in such a setup right now, and it’s pretty swanky.
Nice! I do dump my buckets into some of our garden beds on occassion. I was a little shy about using it after I watered a houseplant and it grew some kind of fumgus on the soil but that cleared up. I’m guessing that might be the kinda gross you mentioned.
I really hope to get some raised beds for food plants this year but already have a greenhouse needing that needs to be built.
So, forgive my ignorance, because I really don’t know what I’m talking about, but isn’t it possible to use oysters and/or snails to filter and clean your tank in lieu of a mechanical filter? Or does that have a lot of issues I’m unaware of along the way
Snails can eat leftover food waste so it doesn’t decompose in the water, but they still excrete waste of their own so it doesn’t completely eliminate ammonia. Filter feeders can help prevent algal blooms, but many have precise requirements that aren’t compatible with most tank set ups.
There is something called the wallsted method though, and the concept is to use a planted tank with low bioload and enough plants to consume the ammonia that’s produced. It doesn’t work for every setup though, it’s more of a niche thing that requires a bit of planning to pull off
A deep substrate can also help filter ammonia. My 75 gallon freshwater tank requires very little in filter cleaning and water changes thanks to a good cleanup crew, lots of surface area for bacteria, deep-ish substrate, and lots of plants.
Our marine tank is similar. That tank also has a second smaller tank beneath, called a sump, where there is extra rock and biomedia for beneficial bacteria. That tank has a second lighting system set to an opposite photoperiod from the main tank and has a specific type of macroalgae (chaeto) which gobbles up phosphates during the main tank’s night hours.
It can be a delicate balancing act getting it all working well, but when tanks get established it gets to be fairly routine keeping it all going.