Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
We recommend
plastic food grade water troughs
for Fish Tanks. Call around to local
feed supply stores and hardware stores in your area to find plastic food-grade water-trough
tanks (
not galvanized tanks
unless you paint them with epoxy paint - the zinc is toxic to
both plants and fish, plus they are known to leak). If you are very kind (it never hurts to
smile and beg) to the clerks in the feed stores, they'll order you a tank to be delivered to
their store so you can pick it up there. They have relationships with tank vendors and cata-
logues to order from those vendors.
If you can't find what you're looking for, shop online. Here's a good link:
http://www.tank-depot.com/
TRADE SECTRETS #9:
It is vital you keep your Grow Table full of seedlings and plants at all times because the plants strip the nutrients
from the fish waste before the water flows back into the Fish Tanks to keep the fish healthy. If you fail to keep
your Grow Table planted to its maximum, your fish will suffer because the plants are not stripping the nutrients
from the water. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you keep your Grow Table full of seedlings and plants
and do not have fish in your Fish Tanks, your plants will suffer from the lack of the nitrogen provided by the
nutrient stream (the poop).
TRADE SECRET # 10:
Temperature variances between fish and plants:
The temperature necessary to maintain growth and health for the plants and the fish is slightly different.
The fish prefer a warm water temperature between 78 and 85 degrees F, while the plants prefer 72 to 73 degrees
F.
Aquaponics Systems work most effectively when installed inside a greenhouse structure for maintaining tem-
perature and protection from bugs, birds and predators.
The tolerance levels for the fish and vegetables in an aquaponics system are also slightly different:
The fish can be kept in tanks as warm as 92 degrees F, yet they can survive water temperatures as low as the low
50's F. They stop eating when cold. We recommend using aquarium heaters in the Fish Tanks and insulating the
Fish Tanks and clarifiers/settling tanks in cold climates.
The plants can stand higher temperatures (104 degrees F), and they simply stop growing at around 50 degrees
F. If air temperatures remain below 60 degrees F, blossoms will drop and/or the vegetable will not mature to
harvest.
