Here is an interesting link. The article states that this 25 sq. ft. system can feed one adult human system with fish and vegetables all year long...
http://upriser.com/posts/this-aquaponic-farm-holds-20-000-lbs-of-fish-and-grows-70-000-vegetables-in-a-1-4-acre-area
Imagine:
From the lecture "Economic Calculation in an NL/RBE" by Peter Joseph...
40:35 Students at Columbia University determined that to feed 50,000 people,
a 30 story farm...
⬋
40:53 30 Story farm on 6.4 acres = feed 50,000 people
78 farms, using 0.1% Los Angeles
land Area = feed 3.9 million
41:15 Apply this to earth population of 7.2 billion. Need about 144, 000 verti-
cal farms to feed the whole world. 921,000 acres of land – given that
about 38% of earth's land is currently being used for traditional agri-
culture, we find that we only need about .006% of the earth's existing
agricultural requirements. If the current agricultural acreage was used to
put 30 story vertical farms side by side, then the food production would
be enough to feed 34,440,000,000,000 (34 trillion people).
42:25 We only need to harness about 0.02% of this theoretical capacity to feed
9 billion (2050 population)
42:40 Makes any argument moot.
So far I have watched many videos on Youtube about Hydroponics and aquaponics.
Two of my favorite videos so far are:
and
I have also recently finished reading 2 free PDF books,
"Barrel-ponics" by Travis W. Hughey, 2005
and
"Aquaponics, Common Sense Guide" by Michael Tezel, 2009
I found "Barrel-ponics" very helpful. I have downloaded many other PDF
documents on building Aquaponic systems and will be going through
each of them.
Tomorrow I will be attending 2 classes at MakerHouse for a total of
6 or 7 hours. I'm very excited to have some hands on instruction in
the building of these systems.
The classes are:
Intro to Aquaponics
9:15 am - 12:00 pm
and
Learn to Build an IBC
Aquaponics System
1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
These are
Workshop led by Tucson AquaPonics Project
and taught by Casey Townsend.
Here are a few
Here are a few
notes:
page 89 0of "Barrel-ponics":
(Chlorine gassing out)
"Let the system run a couple of days to allow the Hydrogen Peroxide or Chlorine to
gas out of the water."
(Adjusting PH)
"Once the system is up and running consistently for a couple days check and adjust
the pH. Adjusting the pH using un-iodized salt (preferably sea salt) to raise it and
vinegar to bring it down."
As far as checking the system with a water test kit goes you will see the following
happen:
First the ammonia will run up quite high. This is normal as the fish will be producing
it and the nitrifying bacteria haven't built up yet. If you start losing fish at this stage
simply remove some of the water and add some well water if possible. If well water
is not available it might be advisable to have some sterilized water on hand. Remember
this handy rule “The solution to pollution is dilution”
When the Nitrosomonas bacteria have built up to sufficient levels you will see the
ammonia to go to zero very quickly. This stage is where I killed a good many fish.
In my impatience I started loading up the fish at just the wrong time!! The second
phase of nitrification has yet to get started. The nitrites will go very high now until
the Nitrobacter reach sufficient levels to reduce the nitrites to almost zero. This is a
very critical time as the nitrites are very toxic to the fish. The nitrates will then rise
and this is where the system is producing the
nutrients for the plants to get healthy. This can take a few weeks to stabilize so don’t
get impatient.
Don't overfeed the fish and you are on your way to a very enjoyable hobby and a
wonderful way to weed free gardening. Have a seat and just watch and enjoy your
hard work!! Once your system is up and stabilized you will almost be able to watch
the plants grow!!
